The ‘Anthropocene’ (Part 1)
G’day & Chao (hello in Vietnamese),
The air is becoming more mild and warmer. The smell of floral and grass. Spring has finally arrived in Melbourne!
A while ago in one post, I noted I will share my thoughts on a talk I attended called ‘Responding to the Anthropocene’ (July 19). Sigh, this is a very delayed entry post...
I found this event on Facebook (I stumbled across it on my news feed).
I wanted to go because during that time, I came across many readings and articles related to climate change and environmental issues in this age of the ‘Anthropocene.’
I was interested because it had a ‘Christian/biblical’ perspective on this topic i.e religion + ethics
The church camouflaged with the cityscape buildings. The mid-sized room(approx.2 20-25 ppl) was behind its chapal space. The room felt nice and cosy. The main speaker, David Horrell, a Professor in ‘New Testament’ studies in England. Fact - He has written a book called
The Bible & The Environment: Towards a Critical Ecological Biblical Theology.
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SPEAKER 1 - DAVID HORRELL
Sigh, I will admit that I found it difficult to grasp Daniel’s argument/opinion.
I didn’t research or read Clive Hamilton’s Defiant Earth book Daniel discussed about.
He critiqued:
- Hamilton doesn’t address new way, ethics or a vision for our role as humans on this planet in the ‘Anthropocene’ epoch.
He proposed:
1. VALUES (rethink)
- Go beyond our ‘morals...’ We need a holistic response - not only speak of animals and our local ecosystems for of Earth and its totality.
2. ACTION (radical)
- Decarbonise(?) our systems (economic & consumption) eg. reduce animal agriculture(methane levels) and oil (industries)
SPEAKER 2 - JONATHAN KEREN BLACK
Jonathan a member from JECO, was invited to this talk (I have heard of him from ARRCC! )
He gave a Rabbinical interpretation to our purpose on Earth:
“Humans are responsible to take care of the Earth.”
I was surprised that Rabbis also use the Bible text as a foundation for living. He talked of the story of ‘Noah & the Ark’ as a metaphor for humans as ‘corrupt’ beings.
He proposed:
- Marketing
Jonathan argues that we shouldn’t use ‘advertisements’ built for ‘coveting’ purposes - luring people for consumption...
If we apply ‘advertisements’ in trying to influence people to do or buy something, it should be now used to help the issue of climate change.
Examples:
1. Eating less meat
(He noted that it is hard in countries like China & India where middle class is adopting a more Western diet with a lot of meat...)
2. Build a new tax system
(Based on how many carbon emissions in production... does anyone know more about this system - I’m a bit lost in this one!)
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Audience participation:
Solutions we proposed:
- Shift from ‘interfaith’ to ‘interbelief’ (people may be turned off by the word ‘faith’ - ‘interbelief’ may portray a more ‘universal’ and ‘open’ community of people who want to learn about values we all need (’collective consciousness’ - the interconnectedness of everything...)
- The need for stories today in contrast of spiritual views and opinions similar to Augustine’s pessimism. eg. Aboriginal storytelling (indigenous perspective in Australia!)
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TAKEAWAYS:
I managed to record some key words/phrases/points:
- Epoch, human impact, religious ethics, environmental ethics, difference between economy & economics, Hamilton’s book as an earth centred response not human response...
- I found that David did not reference his opinions from his Christian faith or from the Bible. I was open to hearing the other speaker (Jonathan) who talked a bit about his ‘Jewish’ faith (although I have forgotten most of it...)
QUESTIONS:
- How can we engage and create/drive change to talk more about the interconnections between faith & the natural environment? What if someone was not of a ‘Christian’ faith?
- How to connect with people other fields of work related to the studies of the ‘Anthropocene’ - earth scientists, researchers, sociologists...?
- And lastly to answer the main question highlighted in the talk:
“WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN AND RESPONSIBLE TOWARD A DEEP FUTURE?”
What words, language, tone, images best help reach people to think about ourself, our relationship with our neighbour/friends & with the Earth?
I am constantly reminded about the power of ‘art’ to move and connect people! We need more stories. What’s some of your ideas?!
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That’s all folks! What do you think?
The next post will be about the ‘Part 2: My reading on Hamilton’s Anthropocene book & his radio talks.’
Until then, Chao! (also goodbye in Vietnamese)
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I am intrigued to hear your thoughts/opinions on this subject matter. Let’s create a growing dialogue from different peoples’ experiences and disciplines!
email me at: [email protected]
or use the ask box above!
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Having a ‘dialogue’ is crucial in the 21st century. We need to have every citizen share their experiences and thoughts on ‘sustainability’ in general. We can then carry everyone’s voices of different disciplines, in the designs of the built environment to produce ‘good’ buildings and foster general harmony & cooperation with everyone. To our future descendants, see you soon...
Event references:
https://www.centrerasp.org/events/anthropocene
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/583e0474e6f2e18631eda85c/t/594b587a20099efbc56b554c/1498110094024/Responding+to+the+Anthropocene+Conference+Flyer.pdf
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03/10 - first draft