nvironmental issues may seem like a new concern for religious faith, but how could that be possible? Humans have never lived without Creation. Today, as for millenia:

Humans live from the earth:    

• harvesting food from plants and animals
• extracting energy from sunlight or fuel for heat and light
• consuming raw materials, shaping and exchanging them, releasing wastes

Humans live on the earth:    

• dwelling place, and traveling from place to place
• breathing, eating, and drinking that which makes us healthy or ill
• living in community with our neighbors, in justice and peace — or otherwise

Humans live with the earth:    

• the land, with its forests, prairies, meadows and mountains
• the waters that encircle our shores and run through our landscapes
• the air and climate that envelop us
• the living creatures that amaze and delight us

Ancient wisdom illuminates the pain and the promise of our lives as we seek to live rightly and well in this world. Jewish and Christian communities have, in word and deed, addressed particular environmental concerns through the life – and Creation – affirming teaching of their traditions.