Violating the Majesty of the Creations of God - Essay Example

Client’s Violating the Majesty of the Creations of God The majesty of the mountains is a sight from any point wherethey exist in view one of the most awe inspiring vistas created by God on this green Earth. One of the worst travesties of our beautiful world is that in the pursuit of profit many of the wonders that exist are stripped of not only their beauty, but the long sustaining value that they hold as a part of the natural world. The Appalachian Mountains are one of the most breathtaking sights in the United States. However, according to Orion Magazine “If you were to board, say, a small prop plane at Zeb Mountain, Tenn., and follow the spine of the Appalachian Mountains up through Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, you would be struck not by the beauty of a densely forested range older than the Himalayas, but rather by inescapable images of ecological violence”. In respect for the power of God and the glory of his creation, some Christians have taken to protesting this form of ecological destruction in support of preserving the land. Through using the faith of their beliefs and the respect that they have for God, a group of Christians have become activists in order to stop this form of devastation and promote healthier alternatives to the coal mining process of blowing off the tops of mountains. The blasting off the tops of mountains is a technique for getting to the interior of the mountain in order to mine for coal. There are some advantages to this technique in that it no longer requires blasting into the mountain and creating deep shafts in which men have to work. Instead of excavation, the intrusive covering over the needed coal is sheared away. As attractive as this may sound, the result of doing this kind of violent and destructive mining is to strip away hundreds of acres of forest in favor of the blast then the bulldozing of the coal out of the mountain. Buckley discusses the idea that this is one of the greatest causes of deforestation in the region, ending the existence of countless species (177). The coal is stripped in horizontal layers with the excess product that isn’t coal to be pushed down valleys that sit below the mountain. The results of this practice has been that 6,700 valleys have been filled with waste from the top of the mountain and over 700 miles of streams destroyed with many thousands more destroyed in this process. Haul roads have replaced the multiple streams that used to crisscross through the mountainous region (Orion Magazine). Just as terrible as the devastation to nature is the devastation to homes in the region. There is a high rate of physical symptoms that have emerged in relationship to the blasting which increases sediment and dissolved minerals into the air and the water tables in the region. A high rate of nausea, vomit, diarrhea, and shortness of breath has come along with effects that are long term that include damage to the kidneys, the liver, and to the spleen. Cancers are occurring at a higher average within the population as well as bone damage from the effects of drinking contaminated water. Because of the damage to the region, natural barriers to water have been destroyed, leaving homes vulnerable to flooding. One of the saddest stories that has inspired activist to action is that of Debra and Granville Burke whose garden was destroyed four times through floods from the mining. The company TECO refused to replace their garden, even though the food from the garden was how they survived the winters. Debra took her life on Christmas morning because the difficulty of her life after these loses was just too much for her to face. In the face of starvation from the indifference of a huge conglomerate she chose to ease her burdens from this life. The people of the region suffer from “contaminated water, flooding, cracked foundations and wells, bronchial problems related to breathing coal dust, and roads that have been torn up and turned deadly by speeding coal trucks”, but 80 percent of the coal is shipped to other states with the people of the region suffering for the comforts of the rest of the nation (Orion Magazines). One of the reasons that the people of the region are so thoroughly dismissed is because of the high rate of poverty in the mountains of the Appalachians. According to Anglin, “Not only is Appalachia the embodiment of poverty in a rural, normatively white population, it provides potent imagery of what is wrong with the poor” (566). The imagery that accompanies the ideas about the inhabitants of the areas in question reside in a myth through which the diminishment of the people is defined through a blame on them that stems from a belief that they refuse to rise above the poverty that is consumed by ignorance and filth that suggests that they are responsible for their situation through apathy. It paints a negative picture and means that few, even notable anthropologists, believe that giving help in these regions is justified. It makes it almost acceptable to ruin their homes and destroy the land on which they live because their lifestyle does not warrant consideration. Anglin states, however, that scientists and observers should “criticize accounts such as this for perpetuating a "myth of exceptionalism" and consigning studies of Appalachia to the realm of folk lore” (566). The people affected by the tyranny of the coal companies raining earth and contaminants down on them is very real and a culture which has very little influence in the political realm appears to have little voice with which to stop what has happened in the wake of such aggressive techniques. Activism has emerged, however, that is intended to create change in the region. According to Julia Bonds of the Mountain Activists, a group of local people who have taken up the cause, “The coal companies are the real terrorists in America. And we’re going to expose them for the murdering, lying thieves that they are” (Orion Magazine). Bonds, a woman in her 70s makes the point that people such as herself are being denied the right to live and be comfortable in their own homes, oppressed by corporations who consider them less than human and without any compensation for the damage that is being done their people. Others have taken up the cause, however, as Christian groups have formed their own activists groups in support of the travesties against the people of the region. Sharmane Chapman-Crane, speaking as a member of the Mennonite Central Committee Appalachia asks “Doesn’t it say in Scripture, “Who can weigh a mountain, measure a basket of earth?” Ms. Chapman-Crane said, recalling descriptions of God’s omnipotence in Isaiah 40:12. “Well, only God can. But now, the coal companies seem to be able to do it, too.” (Banerjee). Chapman-Crane’s group is supported by the National Religious Partnership for the Environment which works towards environmental issues through actively pursuing change through awareness, protests, and governmental lobbying. According to executive director Paul Gorman “People of faith are thinking afresh about human place and purpose in the greater web of life,” Mr. Gorman said. “They are asking, what does it mean to be present in a crisis of God’s creation made by God’s children?” (Banerjee). A new group has joined the cause called Christians for the Mountains who have used media to create awareness among other churches and groups. Allen Johnson claims this is a spiritual issue as the attack on the mountains is an attack on nature, thus attacking God. There are those who are opposed to the position that has been taken by activists against the use of mountain top blasting. Darrell Caudill represents groups who believe that the Earth is intended for the use of man and such technologies as blasting off mountain tops is just another method of producing from what God has provided. He states “Why did God produce coal then and put it underground?” said Mr. Caudill, who attends a nondenominational evangelical church. “He produced things that we need on this earth. Without coal, you wouldn’t have the warmth and light you have right now” (Banerjee). Some believe that the Earth was positioned in order for humans to use as was needed. Rather than sustainability, the idea of resourcing it for human needs without concerns for the future can be furthered through the idea that it is only necessary until the end of days when Christians will be called home to God. This point of view, however, is short-sighted and without creating systems that can be sustainable and do as little harm as possible, resources will be used up and the Earth will suffer. Through Conradie the ideas that supporting activism by Christians in relationship to the Earth can be found through understanding that God is in his Creation, thus stripping the land of its resources is the same as stripping God of part of his existence. As members of the Earth population, Christians should be defined by the way in which their service the Earth as much as they take of her resources. If God is a part of the Earth in the sense that He has inserted himself within his Creation, then as stewards of the Earth it is the position of the Christian to guard it against the acts that corporations will take that cause such harmful and deeply invasive damage. The position of Christians should be one of fighting this type of act so that the preservation of God’s creation is attended. There is no escaping or justification that can suggest that the topography of the region isn’t completely altered until it is unrecognizable. Although there are laws in place to recreate the general nature of the mountain tops through restoration, it is rarely done and the laws have little to no power to help to restore what has been lost. According to Scott, “The "overburden" is then deposited in an adjacent valley, where it buries mountain streams and runs into conflict with the Clean Water Act. Although MTR regulations formally require companies to use this "overburden" in the restoration of the mountains "approximate original contour," the WVDEP typically grants exceptions to this rule, and mining companies almost always leave their mining sites flattened and surrounded by valley fills” (485). According to Scott, not only are the coal mining companies coming in and legally destroying the regions, they are illegally leaving them in their chaotic and dangerous states. The mandates that God has left with the Christians is that they should be relevant in their communities, taking up the battles of those who cannot fight for themselves and reflecting the charitable nature of Christ in their daily lives. It is clear that in supporting the activist position against the blowing up of mountain tops, they are protecting their Creator from destruction at the hands of corporate greed. Although mining has always been a dangerous activity, this type of mining alleviates some of the burdens of mining, while putting the nearby population at risk. It would seem the responsibility of Christians to their world is based on multiple levels of engagement with the world. The mountain top technologies that have been developed to manage the land in a way that is invasive and destructive. Christians should be involved in the activism that is required to put an end to such practices. Even more importantly is the initiatives to save the nearby populations from the aftermath of such work. Through making sure that the Earth is preserved for their individual lives, their food saved and their water left uncontaminated, the people of the region can begin to heal from those actions that were taken at their expense. The ideals that Christ left for his people supports the mandates that this issue requires in relationship to behaving as though people are more important than profit. Through activism that protests the actions of mining companies in creating this type of devastation, the Christian ideals are preserved and expanded to influence the choices that are not living up to the best possible use of technology and human charity. Works Cited Anglin, Mary K. “Lessons from Appalachia in the 20th Century: Poverty, Power, and the "Grassroots”. American Anthropologist. 104.2 (June 2002), 565-582. Print. Banerjee, Neela. “Taking On a Coal Mining Practice as a Matter of Faith”. The New York Times. 28 October 2006. Web. 4 May 2012. Buckley, Geoffrey L. “The Environmental Transformation of an Appalachian Valley, 1850- 1906” Geographical Review. 88.2 (April 1998), 175-198. Print. Conradie, E. M. Christianity and Ecological Theology: Resources for Further Research. Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 2006. Print. Orion Magazine. Mountaintop-Removal Mining is Devastating Appalachia, but Residents are Fighting Back. Grists: A Beacon in the Fog. 17 February 2006. Web. 5 May 2012. Scott, Rebecca R. “Dependent Masculinity and Political Culture in Pro-Mountaintop Removal Discourse: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dragline”. Feminist Studies. 33.3 (Fall 2007), 484-509. Read More