Seeking a “Green” religion

In my last Blog I discussed why society puts a higher value on a Medical Doctor than an Environmentalist, Ecologist or Climatologist. This has not always been the case, many if not most pre-Christian societies were immensely respectful of the environment. Such societies often recognized that phenomena such as the sun, earth, moon, sea and weather as well as objects such as trees, mountains etc possessed personalities and were to be worshiped as deities. For the Egyptians the gods Shu, Geb, Ra and Nut represented the atmosphere, earth, sun and sky. The weather and sky was especially rich in Gods with Wikipedia listing no less than 82 – see my links. Interestingly Africus is the Roman deity for wind, while the Khoikhoi had Tsui (Tsui'goab) who multi-tasked and did magic, rain and thunder affairs. These gods represent religions that were deeply sensitive of the natural world and respectful of the cycles of life and death in all its manifestations. The “Mandala”, although Hindu in origin is representative of the significance of cycles that these religions share and is usually, but not exclusively depicted as a circle. The circle has come to represent neither a beginning nor an end, and an equality and balance of all elements of the earth. The directions North, South, East and West of the circle have come to represent the Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The commonness of these four elements is embedded in the rituals practised by Celts to the Shaman, and universality of the circle depicted in the artwork of the Aborigine to the Khoikhoi. Few people who have visited the Stonehenge Circle on the Salisbury plains of England leave the site unmoved and are a testimony to the spirituality that such a place generates.

If you interpret such religions in the context of Climate Change and a sustainable environment, its seems that these ancient folks knew a thing or two; why else would they pay so much reverence to the atmosphere and weather? The worshipping of a plural society of gods and goddesses certainly hedges your bets and recognizes equality of gender. Further a suit of “Pagan” values is clearly evident in the “scientific” principles of Gaia (that is why it is named after the Greek deity that oversees the earth). The emergence of Neo-Paganism as a religion is a claimed re-discovery of spirituality (and eschews materialism) and provides for an intimate respect for nature. Consequently Neo-Paganism more directly embraces the paradigm of “think globally act locally” than the big three religions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths which are more concerned with self-preservation (eternal saviour) than saving the earth. So just possibly Neo-Paganism provides the emergence for a “Green Religion” that recognises climate change.

A

Adad
Afa (mythology)
Africus
Aktzin
Alignak
Altjira
Ami-Te-Rangi
An (mythology)
Ani (Etruscan divinity)
Anshar
Anu
Ao (mythology)
Apu-Hau
Ara Tiotio
Atua I Kafika
Atutuahi
Awha

B

Baal
Badessy
Baiame
Binbeal
Bunjil

C

Chac

D

Daramulum
Dievas (Lithuanian god)

Dievs (Latvian god)
Dyeus

E

Ehecatl
Eitumatupua
Enlil

F

Fa'atiu
Fisaga

G

Gardaitis

H

Hadad
Hau (mythology)
Hau Marangi

I

Indra

J

Jupiter (god)

L

La'a Maomao
Laufakanaa

M

Mamaragan
Manannan mac Lir
Mata Upola
Matagi
Matuu
Mextli
Mug Ruith

N

Negafook
Nganga
Notus
Numakulla

O

Olorun

P

Paka'a
Perkele
Pluvius
Pērkons

R

Raka Maomao

S

Sabazios
Set (mythology)
Shango
Shina-Tsu-Hiko
Shu (Egyptian deity)
Svarog

T

Tawhiri
Tengri
Teshub
Tinia
Tlaloc
Torngasoak
Tsui
Tua-Uo-Loa

U

Ua
Ukko
Ungud
Uranus (mythology)

V

Varuna
Viracocha

W

Wuluwaid

Z

Zephyrus
Zeus
Zibelthiurdos
Zu (mythology)

Why are Ecologists not as important as Medical Doctors?

The health of us as an individual is not dissimilar to the health of the world. We all need energy obtained from the integrating of various body systems from locomotory system for obtaining the fuel, the alimentary system to process the fuel using the oxygen obtained from the respiratory system to combust it and a digestive system to get rid of waste products. As an individual these integrated systems suffice to create a functioning body, but this body is built for an operational lifespan where upon it ceases and so there is no sustainability. Here Mother Nature (and Farther Darwin) were really clever in designing (and describing) in-built sustainability by providing us the ability to make copies, the really neat bit is that the copies are not exact and more copies are produced than are needed (sounds like economics – creating a market for something you did not have, probably never needed but indeed becomes indispensable such as the camera chip on the cell phone). By combining surplus production of copies with modifications of the blueprints, sustainability of the life-form, like us is usually ensured even when circumstances change. Essentially selection operates to optimise our suitability of each life form to the environment. Consequently we are all little more than iterations in a gigantic game of life, and life is little more than a sexually transmitted disease.

After analyzing ourselves lets examine the world – it is also an integration of systems that includes transfers of heat and energy. Differential heating among different land and ocean surfaces causes compensating air movements (wind). Winds are one way of redistributing heat and both cause and prevent rainfall as well as determine where the rainfall will happen. Winds essentially drive systems such as oceanic upwellings by removing surface water so that colder water from the ocean depths upwells to replace the “lost” surface water. The atmospheric and oceanographic circulations consequently attempt to equalize global phenomena – again this is similar to our bodies which attempt to maintain constant environments within themselves (called homeostasis and where some animals are better at maintaining this than others - so we have homeotherms like ourselves that very precisely regulate our temperatures) . If our thermostats go even slightly wrong we run to our GPs with a “Fever”. The concern we have for our bodies somehow is not carried through to concerns for our environment. There are so many serious issues facing the world with global warming and more erratic and extreme weather events. Our Tundras are thawing, glaciers are retreating, and snow capped mountains are melting and large chunks of the ice shelf the size of Belgium are breaking away (Larsen B ice shelf). Animals are moving in response to these changes with fish migrations in the oceans and the arrival of new animals from distant lands (e.g. egrets arriving in the UK). Although measured temperature increases are occurring, atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels are increasing even more steeply (but has some way to go to get to the levels that existed when then dinosaurs were around) we are not responding as actively and collectively as when an illness raises our own temperatures. Consequently the medical profession is still seen as being more important and its practitioners better paid than ecologists, environmentalists and climatologists who are essentially the doctors of our ailing planet. Lets all get our lizard skin suits on for another hot date with a sweaty Mother Earth.