Mother Earth versus single, low-income mother of five

My Heart Leaps Up

My heart leaps us when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

This William Wordsworth poem has always struck a chord in me, and I am proud to say that I still get jumping-up-and-down excited every time I see a rainbow, or even thunder and lightning. I grew up gardening, climbing mountains and kayaking. Gardening and clambering up tress in my own back yard, and exploring the lakes and mountains of Maine, Vermont, Alaska and Washington in the summer. No family vacation was complete without an excursion into the wilds of nature. Although I am not my chaco-wearing, granola-eating, backpacking mother, my love of wilderness runs deep. Nature has ever been a source of inspiration, peace and joy for me.

I first experienced profound Christian devotion in the heartbreakingly beautiful mountains of rural Appalachia. Each spring, I look with wonder at the tree blossoms and flower gardens that adorn Washington, DC, and especially Georgetown University's campus. The concept that God lovingly made each leaf and flower is amazing. To look at each one is like gazing with admiration on the brush strokes of a most beloved painter who captures light and color in just the right way, but is even more startling when we consider that all of created earth is utterly unnecessary.

Just the other day, I was sitting outside of a nearby café saying a rosary and contemplating a deep purple and gold pansy. I was conscious of the little pansy's perfection because it in no way imaged man's own sin. All around us are objects created by man, which image sin. Any object created by man can be used properly, and yet still be used for ill. A book is intended to convey information; it cares not whether the information it conveys is beneficial or harmful to its reader, and in either case it functions as a book. The possibility for evil is built into a book, indeed, into all objects made by imperfect human hands. But nature can only be used for good, unless it is misused. A tree fulfills its function by placing its roots in the ground, growing and producing leaves, flowers or fruit (depending on what type it is). For a tree to be used for evil, say when it is made into a battering ram or another weapon of war, its natural function must be interrupted by man. This is striking, I think.

If I wax overly sentimental about nature, it is only to show that although I am by no means a "hippy dippy," I have an ingrained proclivity towards nature for its own sake. And so I have, thus far, been skeptical about conservative arguments against environmentalism. But about two weeks ago, I heard Alexandra “Sandy” Liddy Bourne from the Heartland Institute speak about global warming and the energy crisis. Her passion for these issues shone through her very convincing talk.

Sandy first gave the typical talk questioning global warming science, and then moved into a discussion of the economy. But then Sandy talked about the effects that proposed environmental protection legislation would have on individual low-income Americans, and already was having on the poor throughout the world. If pending legislation goes through, gas prices will rise to the point where low-income Americans are paying 18 to 20 percent of what they make on fuel in order to even make it to their jobs. This is unconscionable. Sandy spoke from personal experience: she had grown up, along with four siblings, the child of a single mother in the DC area, and so she knew just how devastating such a cost would be to a poor family. Sandy also talked about how the use of corn for ethanol has already driven up the price of corn around the world. Though this barely affects Americans themselves, many people in developing nations rely on corn as a staple food, and are less and less able to afford it. The focus on the poor, and on the individual, was something I had not heard before, but it makes sense that legislation crafted by wealthy Americans such as Al Gore to pursue this pet project would fail to take into account the lives of impoverished individuals.

Many times, I have heard about the toll that environmental policies may take on the economy, but when I (who have never taken so much as an intro to economics class) hear the word ‘economy,’ I have only a vague and nebulous idea of the subject in my head. Typically, I think of dollar signs and am unable to grasp any nuance. When faced with the choice of a dollar sign or a flower, I am inclined to choose the flower. But when faced with the choice between a low-income single mothers in America’s inner cities and hungry children in Latin America or the flower, my choice is obvious.

Sandy also noted that we don’t even have a full and accurate census on all of the land we own and what resources it contains. We focus on land such as ANWR, but do not even talk about the other places, which are less rare in terms of ecology, that could be opened up for drilling. Another interesting fact I gleaned from the talk was that Hurricane Katrina hit many, many oil rigs and yet none spilled. Modern technology has served to eliminate many of the threats that we continue to harp on when discussing environmental policy. Essentially, Sandy advocated that our policies be based on a measured and rational assessment of the facts, instead of on emotion. Sounds reasonable, no?

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces
Various fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
- St. Francis of Assissi Canticle of Brother Sun/ Canticle of Creatures