The problems:
1. Failing to live "sustainably": using up a resource, leaving
nothing for future generations.
Ex. using up fossil fuels, soil erosion in formerly fertile areas,
peat bog mining, depletion of water table by over-irrigation, destruction
of wetlands and open space in suburban sprawl, deforestation, over-
fishing, species extinction, accumulation of nuclear waste without a
permanent storage area.
2. Pollution: damaging a resource by introducing toxins into the
environment.
Ex. smog in cities, pollution of oceans, rivers, lakes, ozone
depletion by chlorofluorocarbons, pesticides such as "estrogen
mimickers," acid rain.
Ex. Global warming, with potential weather pattern changes, due in
part to burning of fossil fuels.
Industrial growth in developing nations and overpopulation of the earth will compound these problems.
Information is confusing, sometimes conflicting: It is hard to determine the actual urgency in each of the above issues. It would be foolish to say we are not damaging our environment at all; it would also be foolish to say that the world will end tomorrow unless we do something drastic. Each issue lies somewhere on a spectrum of urgency, and not all issues are equally urgent.
Hunger: Current hunger in the world is not caused primarily by a shortage of food or overpopulation, but rather by economic disparities, distribution problems, and war. But in the long term, overpopulation and the destruction of farmable land will limit how many people can be fed by the planet. It would be impossible to feed the world's population a typical meat-intense Western diet with current farmland.
Economic issues: Changing our individual lifestyles (recycling,
eating less meat, using less gasoline, etc.) will help, but it's not
enough. Businesses and governments also need to change. The best
solutions will not only be good for the environment, but will make
economic sense for all involved.
--The "hidden costs" of future pollution clean-up could be better
reflected in today's prices.
--Consumers and investors can favor "green" businesses and utilities.
Environmental solutions also have to make sense economically for developing countries and poor families. Before forcing them to change practices harmful to the environment, we must provide alternative farming techniques and technologies.
Worldviews matter in finding environmental solutions:
There are many and diverse groups that are pushing for better care of
the environment, but to forge a public policy we need some unity of
worldview to help us balance values against each other:
The Christian perspective on the environment:
God has made us stewards (caretakers, managers) of the earth. That
means we have different rights & responsibilities than other life on
earth:
Unfortunately, the church historically has been ambivalent on these issues, due to:
But, there are a large and growing number of Christians dedicated to
the environment. They are working out the theological issues, educating
the church, and studying the science. We recommend:
Books by Calvin B. DeWitt, such as Caring for Creation (Baker,
1998)
Au Sable Institute of Environmental
Studies: Christian organization with semester programs for students,
and other programs
Scientific issues at the beginning of life:
Conception is not a single, instant event. Several hours pass
between germ cell fusion and DNA fusion.
Implantation occurs several days after conception.
Twinning (formation of genetically identical twins) can occur
over several days, from shortly after conception until after
implantation.
In vitro fertilization allows conception and development
through the blastomere and blastocyst stages to happens for several days
in vitro. Embryo can then be implanted surgically.
Cloning produces a new individual with identical DNA.
Theological issues at the beginning of life:
Care for the weak and helpless: This principle is clear and
often repeated in scriptures. But it does beg the question of
personhood. Should we consider a zygote or five-day embryo a person?
Ethical issues at the beginning of life:
In vitro fertilization: Usually, extra embryos are produced
that are later discarded rather than implanted. For some people, this is
sufficient reason not to use the procedure. For others, it isn't
sufficient reason.
Human cloning: If a human is cloned, the clone must be
treated as a fully human individual person. Would it even be possible
for parents of a cloned child to treat them appropriately, as a unique
individual? Would a clone, simply by finding out that he/she was a
clone, have their sense of individuality damaged? Those questions lead
many people to call for a complete ban on human cloning.
Genetic screening of embryos:
--If you can detect and correct fatal genetic defects at the
blastomere stage, this raises few ethical questions.
--If you can only detect defects, how severe of a defect warrants
killing the blastomere?
--If you can correct defects in one set of nuclei but not the whole
blastomere, you could use "embryo cloning" techniques to re-start
development in a donated egg. How severe of a defect would warrant this?
Stem cell research:
--Research on existing stem cell lines seems ethical and useful.
--New human embryos shouldn't be produced just to do stem cell
research.
--We should avoid blurring the distinction between human stem cells
and human zygotic cells.
Since there is great potential for "borderline cases" here,
techniques for producing, culturing and manipulating stem cells should
first be perfected in animals. Once a technique is perfected in
primates, so that we know how the technique would work on human cells, we
could evaluate its ethical status.
--Science gives us information on the chemical/biological processes at
the beginning of life, but doesn't answer the question of when
"personhood" begins.
--Theological principles teach that all humans are valuable ("made in
God's image") and that the weak and helpless should be protected. This
gives us reason to be cautious and place a high intrinsic value on early
life.
--The value of scientific learning and new medical treatments to heal
the sick give us reasons to do research, but not at the expense of
violating principles to protect life.
Other bioethics issues we didn't have time to discuss: The pros and cons of plant and animal cloning. Control of medical and genetic information on human individuals. Making expensive medical research and technologies available to the poor. Persons in persistent vegetative states. Euthanasia.
There is a growing number of books, articles, and websites by
Christians and non-Christians with useful information and insights on
these and other bioethics topics.
Recommended book: The Outer Limits of Life, by John Medina,
(Oliver-Nelson, Nashville , 1991)
Recommended website: The Christian Medical & Dental
Society