Today is Fauna and flora Sunday, those terms are heard often
in a biology class that one took somewhere and after that not much thought is
given to it. So what is this flora and
fauna, fauna and flora? Well it could be
the Siamese twins that dated fester and Gomez in the Adams family but not
today…
Fauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or
time. The corresponding term for plants is flora. Flora, fauna and other forms
of life such as fungi are collectively referred to as biota. Zoologists and
paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in
a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonora Desert fauna" or the
"Burgess Shale fauna".[1]
So we are talking about Life, Anything and everything that
breaths, no matter how they do it all creatures and plants breathe. I know it is not the season but I cannot help
myself and quote the Ghost of Christmas present; from the 1970 movie musical
scrooge with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse , “The sins of man are huge, A never ending
symphony Of villainy and infamy Duplicity, deceit, and subterfuge. And no one's
worse than Ebeneezer Scrooge, though man's a handy candidate for Hell I must
admit life sometimes has its brighter side as well. I like life, Life likes me,
Life and I fairly fully agree, Life is fine, Life is good…Life and I made a
mutual vow, 'Till I die, Life and I, We'll both try to be better somehow”
Being better somehow is what life calls us to be. As in today's Gospel Christ is calling us to
pay attention to more important matters than what clothes we wear or where we
are going to go out to eat tonight. The
centering prayer today, Psalm 104, calls us to see the interconnectedness
between us and all of Gods creation. In the Psalm there is a line that says the
Earth is satisfied by Gods work.
The Earth is satisfied by Gods work. Well now there lies a problem. You see humans have never been satisfied by
Gods work. We are always trying to
improve upon it, or fix it. We try to
control what was never meant to be controlled and are surprised when it goes
drastically awry. We built damns, we
encased rivers in cement, we build on flood plains, and we use pesticides and
poisons to control what we see as pests, and where has that gotten us?
The psalm points out the interconnectedness of all creation
how one part of creation opens itself up to provide for another. There is a co dependence in nature that
relies on each and every other part of God’s creation doing its part. For a long time man did his best to play by
the rules. Knowing that water ran
downhill people created a terrace farming system that allowed crops to grow
without creating erosion. Knowing that crops and plants use up nutrients people
learned how to replenish nutrients in a natural way and rotate crops so that
the land would always be hardy.
Heck the story of Joseph even tells how knowing that there
are seasons of drought people learned the cycles of the weather and prepared
for the worse and learned to survive.
But all that was man cooperating within the set ecosystems in which they
lived. All in all there is a simple fact
the natural world does not need human kind in order to survive.
Humans had to learn to adapt to their environment in order
to survive. Our ancestors were very
aware that we are dependent on the earth for e very aspect of our being. The fruit of the earth nourishes us, the
water keeps us alive, the landscape and plants and animals have fueled our
imagination for centuries spawning some of the greatest artist ever known. Yet, until recently we paid no attention to
what we did to the planet and its consequences.
Yes Genesis 1:28 says man is to “subdue” and have dominion
over the earth. Yet with Dominion comes
responsibility. A ruler, a king, a
conqueror, or invader does not last long if the region in which it has control
is not cared for. Look at our own human
history for the answers to any question you might have about dominion and
relation.
“In that ancient world, it was quite common for people to
set up some kind of an image, symbol or representation to signify the locale of
their god’s jurisdiction. Since ancient monarchs were often thought to be
divine, they could be considered images of the god. Israel would certainly
reject any thought that its monarchs were divine. Therefore, the man and the
woman in the creation account could be depicted as royalty with responsibility
for the rest of the created world. However, they would not be considered
divine. The world was not theirs to do with as they pleased. They were
accountable to God, as the story of the first sin demonstrates (Genesis 3). We
can say, then, that while human beings are totally dependent on Earth for their
life, they have a special duty to exercise responsibility for the created
world, and they are accountable to God for this responsibility. Today we speak
of this responsibility in terms of stewardship. The second creation account
says it in very simple words. It directs us “to serve and guard it” (Gen. 2:
15; my translation).”[2]
Give you an idea on just how bad we are at our role of
serving and protecting in California alone there are some 283 plants (flora) in
California listed as threatened endangered or rare. Six pages of plants alone. There are 124 species of fish animal and
invertebrate (Fauna) 41 pages of mammals and their accounts. All of this can be found at California Department of
Fish and Wildlife. But that is
pretty scary when that is just our state.
What Kind of stewards are we?
As I did further research I found that there are a total of
11,577 vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered plants species in the
world. On that same list there are a
total of 1208 mammals, 1375 birds, 2343 fishes that is a total of 4926 species
and that does not include reptiles, amphibians, insects, mollusks, other
invertebrates and fungi. When you add
all of them together on this list there were 23, 919 vulnerable, endangered or
critically endangered flora and fauna. This is from International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.[3] What kind of Stewards are we?
“The message of the Gospel text redirects our attention from
awesome aspects of the natural world in their own right to human attitudes
regarding our well-being in that world.
It describes a kind of carefree attitude that is present in various
lifeforms. Animals are not anxious about
their next meal, and yet they seem to survive; flowers do not worry about their
covering, yet they are enfolded in their beauty; grass is not disturbed by the
brevity of its life, yet it continues to grow. Why do we human beings seem
unable to trust nature in a comparable way? Why do we fail to see that, through
the mysterious workings of earth, God provides our basic needs? Might it be
that we humans are not satisfied with the way we have been created? We want
more than we need, so we exploit and we hoard at the expense of the earth
itself, of other human beings, and of other form of life?”[4] I mean look at what we have done just across
our border.
We created very smart environmental protections in our
country. We do not want factories
dumping mercury onto our water. So, we
paid no attention when they built factories in Tijuana. We paid no attention when those factories
dumped mercury and lead into the local water ways. We did not cared if another part of our earth
was poisoned as long as it wasn’t ours?
Luckily a group of women got together and sued the EPA for allowing the
factories to do to them what they would not allow them to do in our neighborhoods.
But one does not need to look past our borders. I mean just
look at the air quality verses neighborhoods one lives in. Environmental health news reports;
“Tiny
particles of air pollution contain more hazardous ingredients in non-white and
low-income communities than in affluent white ones, a new study shows.
The
greater the concentration of Hispanics, Asians, African Americans or poor
residents in an area, the more likely that potentially dangerous compounds such
as vanadium, nitrates and zinc are in the mix of fine particles they breathe.
Latinos
had the highest exposures to the largest number of these ingredients, while
whites generally had the lowest.
The
findings of the Yale University research add to evidence of a widening racial
and economic gap when it comes to air pollution. Communities of color and those
with low education and high poverty and unemployment face greater health risks
even if their air quality meets federal health standards, according to the
article published online in the scientific journal Environmental Health
Perspectives”[5]
As Human beings go, we average white people have been horrible. Somewhere along the way of learning to
exploit the earth to get what we want, we also learned to exploit our fellow
humans. It is bad enough we treat the
earth with basic disregard but we treat each other even worse. Somehow, somehow we had been called to be
stewards of this planet to learn to live with her and all of God’s creatures
and yet we have managed to Rape pillage and destroy her. We have managed to marginalize exploit and
burden ourselves in the constant search for more. More power, more control, and more stuff.
In genesis Adam and eve eat of the tree they were told not too and then
when God comes walking in the Garden they hide themselves from God. This is the lesson we have yet to learn. We as humans continue to take too much, live
where we shouldn’t break into the planet in ways we were never meant to and
when repercussions occur. We run, we
hide, we cry out. Then we go right back to our bad behavior.
I must say we have started to learn from our behavior and not
everything is doom and gloom. People and
scientists are looking at the way we live and many are making a conscience
effort to change. Because of that some
trends are reversing. For example the
national wildlife foundation reports;
“Habitat loss, hunting and poaching, toxics and other man made
interventions have at some point pushed all of the following species to the
brink of extinction.
In some cases species have even been declared extinct in the wild!
But the good news is that human intervention has also saved these
species. Protection of habitat, effective control of hunting and captive
breeding programs have all played their part in these dramatic rescues.
Whilst in many cases there is still much to do to assure the future
security of these species, many are now safely on the road to recovery.
BACK FROM THE BRINK
Tigers in the Russian Far East (Amur Tigers)
Gray Whale
Southern White Rhinoceros
Black Rhinoceros
African Savannah Elephant
Mountain Gorilla
Saiga - The saiga (Saiga tatarica) is the world’s northernmost
antelope. It originally inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe zone.
Greater one-horned Asian Rhinoceros
Golden Lion Tamarind
Takhi - Przewalski's Horse”[6]
We can make a difference by participation in
programs that help to reverse the carbon foot print man leaves behind. Animals like the Grizzly bear, and the bald
eagle have all made comebacks thanks to conservation efforts. One interesting
story I read talks of the trumpeter swan. “People living in 19th-century
Minnesota must have found trumpeter swans delicious, because the species was
eliminated from the state — and practically from its entire range in the United
States — after it was over-harvested for food. The largest native waterfowl
species in North America, trumpeter swans didn't successfully return to the
wild in Minnesota until a number of ecological agencies partnered in the 1980s
to restore them, according to a statement released Feb. 11, 2016, by the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Trumpeter swans' Minnesota
population is currently estimated at 17,000, and continues to grow”[7] We can be good stewards!
It is news and stories of the creatures
making comebacks, of people finding better ways to seek food sources without
over fishing or destroying habitats. It
is when we make true efforts to set aside unique environments and protect them
that makes us good stewards. One of the best things we have done in order to become
good stewards is something like the Paris accord. This is where a 195 countries have agreed to
reduce the carbon and green gasses output sin order to slow climate change.
We are good stewards when we decide to
plant climate appropriate plants around our homes. We are good stewards when we use solar if we
can and uses electricity outside of peak demand. We are good stewards when we seek out
sustainable food sources, not just for ourselves but teach others how to do so
as well.
We are Good stewards when we care for those
who are less fortunate than us, the marginalized, and the neglected and make
sure they have safe clean and healthy environments to live in. Many see this connection to the flora and
fauna as a connection tot eh earth, plants and animals, but it is also a
connection and responsibility to each other.
We are responsible for our neighbor just as we are responsible for the
earth herself and all that encompasses.
Once we learn how to do it all with equanimity and healthy practices
then we will witness the kindom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
[1] wikimedia,
Fauna, August, 2016, accessed September 6, 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna.
[2] Norman C. Habel,
David Rhoads, and H. Paul Santmire, eds., The Season of Creation: A
Preaching Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011), Digital eBook.
[3] International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Changes in numbers of
species in the threatened categories (CR, EN, VU) from 1996 to 2016, Medium,
accessed September 6, 2016,
http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/summarystats/2016-2_Summary_Stats_Page_Documents/2016_2_RL_Stats_Table_2.pdf.
[4] Habel, Rhoads,
and Santmire, The Season of Creation: A Preaching Commentary.
[5] Cheryl Katz,
Unequal exposures: People in poor, non-white neighborhoods breathe more
hazardous particles, Medium, accessed September 6, 2016,
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2012/unequal-exposures.
[6] world wild life
foundation, 10 species that may have just escaped extinction, Medium, accessed
September 6, 2016,
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/back_from_the_brink/.
[7] Mindy
Weisberger, Species Success Stories: 10 Animals Back from the Brink, Medium,
accessed September 6, 2016,
http://www.livescience.com/54010-species-success-stories.html.
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