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“From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.” (Romans I: 20)

“Have you not seen how God sets forth a parable? A good word is like a good tree whose roots are firm and whose branches reach heaven. It gives its fruit during every season, by leaves of its Lord. And God sets forth parables to people that they may remember.” (Al-Qur’an I4: 24-25)

As you likely know, people of faith and environmentalists don’t always see eye-to-eye. The narratives of faith and the green movement can seem to diverge pretty widely at points, and members of both sides have often viewed the other with suspicion and distrust. In recent years, though, we’ve seen efforts by both groups to “reach across the aisle,” and the development of concepts like “creation care,” which attempt to bridge religious beliefs with environmental concerns.

In November, the Sierra Club joined the conversation with its publication of Holy Ground: A Gathering of Voices on Caring for Creation. Bringing together clergy, lay people, and thinkers on the topics of religion/spirituality and the environment, Holy Ground is an anthology of meditations (essays just doesn’t seem to work) on the role of caring for the Earth while remaining faithful to the tenants of one’s faith.

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Tonight was the Time 100 Gala, where Time Magazine celebrates 100 of the most influential people in the world today. This year, three religious leaders are included.

What Richard Cizik, Patriarch Bartholomew I, and the Dalai Lama have in common is that they’ve all made headlines from leading green movements within their respective faith traditions.

Richard Cizik

Cizik, an ordained Evangelical Presbyterian miniser and head of the Office of Governmental Affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals fights global warming by quoting the Bible and calling on congregations to practice “creation care.” Cizik challenges conservative evangelicals to recognize climate change as a serious threat to the health of the planet.

Cizik also makes friends with scientists such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Eric Chivian, ignoring a once perceived barrier between the religious and scientific communities.

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There is a video available that is worth watching if you have a free hour and, like me, are into this kind of stuff! Otherwise, I will give an overly simplistic summary below.

The basic spiritual crisis we face as individuals is our failure to recognize that the sense of self is a construct. The construct creates a feeling of alienation. This causes us to try to find meaning in accumulating wealth and things to verify our existence, creating further anxiety and sense of lack. The solution to the problem is to realize that the sense of self is indeed a delusion. This results in a caring attitude toward everyone else because of the recognition that we are not separate but part of a whole.

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Due to commercial and illegal logging, the rate of deforestation in Thailand has been one of the highest in Asia.

Most of the primary forest in Thailand is gone, with secondary forest only covering roughly 20% of the land area. This is compared to over 70% forest cover prior to World War II.

As Perry Garfinkel states in Buddha or Bust: “The environmental impact [of this deforestation] is inestimable—from silting that kills fish and leaves riverbeds dry, to the loss of nesting and feeding for birds and other wildlife.”

Enter the forest monks of Thailand, who have come to be known as environmental or, “Ecology Monks.”

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As a recently-established brand, they first focused
on making sweatshop-free t-shirts (printed with water-based inks), but
will soon be offering their popular styles on organic cotton,
furthering their commitment to bettering the planet. By signing up for
the company’s e-mail newsletter, you are entered into a monthly drawing to win a free Wisdom Tee.

WT’s
first three designs, sporting text statements, have been featured in a
wide variety of media outlets and still get oodles of attention.
"Buddha is my homeboy," "peacemaker," and "one planet, one karma" are
still available in the company’s online store, as well as four new
designs. Three of the new graphics available feature artistic images of
the most well-known social and spiritual legends: Mother Theresa, Dalai
Lama, and Ghandi.

Last but not least, the company’s first organic
cotton shirt for men and women displays a delicately simple list of
inspirational and centering words, no doubt representing the purity of
the organic cotton the tees are made of. Prices range from $28-$36 for
women’s t-shirts and $26-$34 for men’s styles. Ten percent of all money
made from purchases is donated to Kiva,
a non-profit website that loans money to small businesses in developing
countries, "helping the world’s working poor make an important step
towards economic independence."