Environment and Religion (blog #21)

The second half of this chapter focuses on the spread of religious ideologies and the negative impact humans started to have on the environment in light of the industrial revolution and the spread of industry that was reliant on burning fossil fuels around the globe. Personally the environment and religion have always been hot buttons for me; first because this is the only planet we have and it was intended for the survival of all species, not just humans, and second because people should have the right to believe in whatever god or religion they chose. Although religion is still a hot topic in the global community today, I feel like environmental degradation and protection presents a more immediate and intense focus within our local and global communities. Strayer illustrates that movements concerning the protection of natural resources and the use of alternative fuel products have become more common in the twentieth century, but they have not had as much impact as they would have liked. Many have started to criticize the idea of global warming because they argue that predictions made about when ice caps would melt and glaciers would disappear have not been entirely accurate; however, it is challenging to say if the original predictions were wrong or if policy changes and changes in behavior resulted in a slowing of the disappearance of ice caps and glaciers. Environmental degradation and protection have been a growing concern within America since the beginning of European colonization; though concerns were mostly voiced by natives the idea of sustainability did start to spread among the colonizers. Despite long-lasting concerns and controversies policy changes, regulation and behavior has changed very little over time and is still very far from where it needs to be.