Entitlement. That's what came to us, sitting in the circle at the college dorm last fall. It struck a chord as well during January's Faith Expedition to Belize, as we sat in a circle at Jaguar Creek Center. On both occasions, "entitlement" presented itself as a big part of what ails our planet these days.

At the campus meeting, one young woman told of her frustration at other students' unwillingness to take the most modest steps toward earth stewardship, as when they walk right past. The case in point: students' tendency to walk right past the recycling bin to toss their soft drink cans in the trash.

At Jaguar Creek, the group mulled over Americans' seeming lack of concern about their consumption of the earth's bounty—to the tune of 200 pounds of materials per person per day—and general tendency to ransack the earth with abandon.

Entitlement—a loathsome word to some, especially when referring to financial support for the poor. But quite acceptable, even the prevailing attitude, when applied to the consumer class.

So what is meant by the word in this context? A feeling that because of one's standing, one's wealth, one's place in the world or natural order, one may do as one pleases with the earth's bounty.

It is one's right to toss the can. Or drive the bigger car or own the larger home or consume without regard for reducing/reusing/recycling/ re-anythinging.

Perhaps the closest biblical analogy is the arrogance of some within the Corinthian congregation (cf. 1 Cor. 3 and 4) as they did what they pleased without regard for the health of the whole. There's also the sense that we've just gotten "too big for our britches," as my dad used to say (not to me, of course!).

What Paul prescribes for the Corinthians fits us as well: remember that your life is a gift from God, and you must never risk destroying the community for the sake of your own self-interests.

It is not easy—in fact, quite difficult—to refrain from doing what one has the power to do (toss the can), especially when there seem to be no immediate negative consequences. Yet there may be no more important attitude for Christians concerned for the well-being of the ecosystem, and who believe the world is entitled to our respect as part of God's good creation.

David Radcliff

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Have you ever envisioned your church yard as a sanctuary? Imagine a sanctuary for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. It's not difficult to accomplish and offers the opportunity for every congregation to be good stewards of God's creation in their own backyards.

Here are a few guidelines to get you started:

1. Use no chemicals. There are a myriad of nontoxic ways to fertilize, promote healthy plant growth and keep the landscape weed free. Hazardous and harsh manufactured fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have no place in our church yards. A sanctuary should be a safe haven for insect and animal pollinators, caterpillars and earthworms. Without them there will be no flowers, butterflies or birds.
2. Promote diversity. Both in the landscape and the lawn, diversity of plant life means less maintenance, better survival and greater attractiveness for wildlife. Old fashioned, fragrant flowers are more attractive than hybrid varieties to pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds and they often reseed themselves.
3. Mow high, leaving the grass 3 or 4 inches high and let the grass clippings replenish the soil. Mulching mowers do this especially well. The result is a greener, more drought tolerant lawn, with a diversity of plants and no need to fertilize or apply herbicide. Taller grasses shade out many weed plants and cutting back on mowing saves time and energy.
4. Plant native wherever possible. By selecting plant varieties that are acclimated to your climate and region most of the problems of invasiveness, special watering needs and overwintering can be avoided. These are also the plants that can best support the native wildlife population.

There are lots of great resources for guiding your efforts to create a nature sanctuary in your church yard or your own backyard. Listed here are a few of the best. If you have questions or need more resources you can e-mail Dianna at ullerys@aol.com.

Resources:

• Soil and Water Conservation Service in your county
• The Butterfly Book: an easy guide to butterfly gardening, identification, and behavior
  by Donald W. Stokes
• Nature's Design: a practical guide to natural landscaping
  by Carol A. Smyser
• The National Wildlife Federation's Guide to Gardening for Wildlife: how to create a beautiful back
  yard habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife
  by Craig Tufts
• The Bird Garden
  by Stephen W. Kress

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"If a Tree Falls. . ."
A new campaign to support forest preservation efforts in Central America has been initiated by the Brethren Witness office. Called "If a Tree Falls. . .", the program will help preserve rain forest in Belize and assist in reforestation efforts in Guatemala.

The Belize initiative is focused on helping purchase acreage for the Eden Conservancy, a key 4000 acre tract of rain forest linking two existing preserves. "This will provide a vital wildlife corridor between these two protected areas," said Samantha Morris, recently returned from her BVS assignment in Belize. Samantha's project was with the Christian Environmental Association, the organization coordinating the Eden Conservancy project.

Across Guatemala rampant deforestation is leaving vast swatches of mountainside barren of forest cover. When asked about deforestation rates in Guatemala, Jorge Garcia of the Roman Catholic Pastoral Social office in Huehuetanango, simply said: "Es criminal."

The "If a Tree Falls. . ." campaign is supporting Jorge's office in its goal of planting 50,000 trees per year in badly deforested areas. BVSer Robert Stiles has been working with him on this project.

Here are the numbers: Every $125 preserves an acre of rain forest in Belize. Every $1 plants 10 forest trees or one fruit tree in Guatemala.

A colorful educational/promotional poster is available, as are background materials and a project guide. This would be a great project for Vacation Bible School or a Sunday School class. Contact the Brethren Witness office to request materials.

Participants in 2001 Faith Expeditions to Belize and Guatemala can visit both these projects.

Can't see the forest. . .or the trees
Global deforestation rates at 37 million acres per year affect much more than the scenic beauty of the landscape. Among other qualities, forests prevent soil erosion, inhibit flooding, moderate climate, provide habitat for plants and animals, absorb carbon dioxide, provide products from medicines to paper to fuel wood to food to lumber, and are prime recreation sites.

What can you do? At home: Pay attention to packaging, which accounts for 50% of all paper consumption in the U.S. Cut down on paper use (the average American uses 703 pounds per year, five times the global average). Plant trees. At church, work or school: Encourage the purchase of paper with a high recycled content. Suggest that people use the one clean side of already used paper for their note-taking or copying needs, and that two-page documents be duplexed. Nationally/globally: Get your congregation involved in the "If a Tree Falls. . ." campaign of forest preservation in Central America. Sign on to a letter to President Clinton calling for protection of pristine National Forest areas.

Incredible but true: due to deforestation and the burning of forest land and forest products, the world's forests are currently a net producer of carbon dioxide, rather than a net absorber of CO2. —World Watch Institute

Contact Lauryn Estes at lestes_gb@brethren.org for a copy of the letter. Last date for signing on is July 10.

A Day in the Life
A new tool to assess one's impact on the environment has been developed by Creation Awareness Advocate Marisa Yoder. Called My Daily Impact, this resource analyzes daily choices in matters such as car use, water and energy conservation, and general consumption, and then helps one gauge the ecological impact of one's lifestyle. A background sheet explains the various areas in detail, suggesting alternatives to high- consumption patterns.

Formatted in a booklet form, My Daily Impact is available from the Brethren Witness office.

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Eco-Gathering
"On Earth as it is in Heaven" is the theme of an ecumenical environmental gathering set for May 2001 in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Eco-Justice Working Group of the National Council of Churches, the event brings together leaders in the field of Christian ecology with environmental advocates from churches across the United States. Shantilal Bhagat was keynote speaker at last year's conference.

Church of the Brethren environmental leaders, including district-appointed Creation Stewardship Advocates, will gather prior to the event for support and information sharing.

Cost for the three-day experience is $140. Contact the Brethren Witness office for more information.

Belize/Guatemala II & III
Due to the popularity and value to the January 2000 Faith Expedition to Belize and Guatemala, this environmentally-focused experience is now being offered annually by the Brethren Witness office. Leadership for the 2001 trip will be provided by Samantha Morris. Samantha recently completed her BVS project at the Jaguar Creek Center, a Christian environmental education center that serves as the Belize base for Brethren environmental learning tours in Central America.

By late May, the 2001 Belize/Guatemala trip was filled to capacity. Fear not! Plans are being for a second experience early in 2001 that will offer much of the same itinerary and will be led by Tom Benevento. Tom has extensive experience in sustainable development and is currently serving as Latin America specialist for the Global Mission Partnerships office of the General Board.

Those wanting to experience jungle life while helping with construction and general maintenance projects are invited to the Jaguar Creek Center, during the month of January. Lyle Neher of the January 2000 trip will be at Jaguar Creek during this peroid. Participants will be expected to pay their own expenses while assisting with a variety of projects ($25 per day plus air fare). Persons can stay as much of the month as suits their schedule. Contact the Brethren Witness office for more details.

BVSers Needed
Environmentally-related BVS positions in Guatemala and Belize are currently open and in need of qualified volunteers. In Guatemala, the volunteer would work with projects involving wood-conserving stoves and water-storing cisterns, both of great value to poor families. In Belize, several positions are available at the Jaguar Creek Center, a Christian environmental education facility in the jungle of Belize. Spanish language facility is required for the Guatemala assignment, but not for Belize.

Both projects are linked to on-going Brethren efforts in these countries. In Guatemala, significant funding for the stoves and cisterns project is provided by the Global Food Crisis Fund. The new "If a Tree Falls. . ." program of the Brethren Witness office supports reforestation efforts in Guatemala and rain forest preservation in Belize (adjacent to Jaguar Creek).

Contact Brethren Volunteer Service or the Global Mission Partnerships or Brethren Witness offices of the General Board.

Take a Deep Breath
At its Annual Conference meeting, the General Board will be considering lending its support to Clean Air Principles, a collaborative effort by faith communities and clean air activists. The Clean Air Principles call for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and chemicals, and for an interational cooperation on meeting clean air standards; deny that there is a "right" to pollute; assert citizens? right to clean air and to know whether their air is clean.

The Clean Air Principles are being advanced as a way to make the government aware of broad-based support for clean air, especially as the Clean Air Act faces reauthorization in the near future.

I laced up my running shoes, pulled my hair back into a pony tail, and headed for the country road. It was one of those days that lured you outdoors. The sun had softened the winter ground, and the sky was clear of haze; a perfect day for a run.

I jogged through my neighborhood expecting to see kids shooting baskets and organizing a game of road hockey. Instead adults scurried around their yards like worker ants. Assorted gadgets were out and running—from leaf blowers, to chain saws, to weed whackers. The racket produced from these inventions made it impossible for any neighborly exchange.

The sound of my running feet was buried beneath the barrage of noise. Invisibly, I ran on and tried not to breathe too deeply of the fumes drifting around me. Every now and then, I glimpsed an iridescent TV screen glowing through a window. This Pied Piper of children had seduced them once again.

I crossed the road and headed away from my home and towards the mountains. The world became peaceful again, and the sound of birds and a tumbling creek sang in harmony. Above my head, a red-tailed hawk spiraled down until settling on a nearby branch. Softly molded mountains closed around me. Ah yes, I remember now, this is how creation was meant to be.

The sun was warm and the sky a periwinkle blue, but my eyes kept lowering to the ground. Every few yards, beer cans and fast food paper products littered the roadway. I looked back up to see towering pines and squirrels chasing each other around and around a red maple tree. I was reminded of a moving TV commercial. A Native American with a proud and weathered face was surveying pollution around him. As he turned to see more waste in a once beautiful stream, a single tear slowly etched down his face.

My senses heightened, I turned onto a busier stretch of road, and into a cloud of smoke. A man and a woman were heaping piles of leaves onto a raging fire. I tried to hold my breath until I was out of range, but with three miles already run, I needed oxygen. Once again in clear air, I took a deep breath.

The winding road home was a beautiful sight. It rippled out in front of me; an invitation to come, look, and listen. My body clicked into cruise control, and the miles glided by. Before I knew it, I was back in my own driveway. The machines along the street were silent, and my neighbor waved a greeting. I grabbed a broom and began to sweep my porch. The simple words of an Andy Murray song came to mind; "One person at a time does it all. . ."

The next day as I ran my loop, I noticed that the trash along the road had been picked up. Feeling some guilt that I hadn't done it first, there was joy knowing that someone else cared too. Because in the words of Shantilal Bhagat, a respected Brethren environmentalist, "Creation is speaking loudly, and we must respond."

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• Each U.S. citizen consumes his or her weight in stuff (minerals, wood products, food, energy, etc.) per day (just over 100 kg. per person)
• U.S. person creates 1300 # of trash annually; we use a third of all materials consumed by people on earth, with about 4% of the world's population.
• With about 14 billion acres (6 billion hectares) of land available globally for production, this averages out to around 3 acres per person. In the U.S., per capita consumption demands 10 acres or more of productive space–far beyond one person's fair share. In other words, if everyone (all 6 billion people on the planet) consumed like we do, we'd need two more planets like this one.
• Every product we purchase/consume requires on average 30 times its weight in materials to produce, package and ship.

• CO2 emissions by U.S. citizens: 5 tons of CO2 per person per year. Per person emissions in poor areas of world: approximately 1/10 of a ton per year. Energy usage for all purposes (in coal equivalent): 10 tons per person per year in U.S.; 150 pounds per person per year in Bangladesh.
• Automobile miles driven per capita in U.S.: 6,000 per year; Cameroon (or other poor country) 75.
• The U.S. consumes 25% of all fossil fuels consumed in the world. Two billion people around the world do not have access to electricity.

• The U.S. has lost 50 % of wetlands since colonial era, 90% of prairie, 95% of virgin forests; one quarter of all large mammals are endangered, 14% of birds, 12% of plants; we have lost 33% of all topsoil through erosion.
• 37 million acres are deforested around the world each year. One acre of rainforest recycles 1000 pounds of CO2 each year. Rainforest is being cut down at the rate of an acre a second. Major culprits: Fire wood for cooking, ranching and agriculture.
• U.S.'ers and other "developed" countries, with a small percentage of the world's people, consume 84 percent of the paper. The average U.S. citizen consumes about 730 pounds of paper products a year (writing, packaging, etc), while the world average is 125 pounds, and the poorest countries (for instance, the 20 poorest countries in Africa) have a per capita paper consumption of less than a pound. Seventy or more pounds per person is considered the minimum needed to insure basic literacy and communication.
• Per capita water use in U.S.: 1300 gallons per day (100 gal. of this in household, remainder in agriculture and industry, i.e. it takes 8 gallons of water to grow one tomato in an irrigated field). Around the world, 1.2 billion people don't have easy access to clean water (there is no potable water from any faucet in Guatemala).