Crystal Clear

I’ve heard it often enough – environmentalists (and/or scientists) are doomsday people just out to scare the masses.

What with climate change scenarios that claim extinction of 80% of species, widespread disease and suffering of those in developing countries, etc.  this is mentionedregularly.

So today, I read about research done which found the following positive and hopeful conclusion:

We provide startling evidence that most ecosystems globally can, given human will, recover from very major perturbations on timescales of decades to half-centuries. (From PLoS ONE)

“‘Overall,’ said Yale professor and study co-author Oswald Schmitz, ‘the damages to these ecosystems are pretty serious. But the message is that if societies chose to become sustainable, ecosystems will recover. It isn’t hopeless.’”

So – if we transition to more sustainable system, the world will be able to recover – and on a shorter timeline than previously thought. A word of caution: they did find that 25% of ecosystems “showed no recovery or were beyond recovery” and that “ecosystems degraded by humans took longer to recover than ecosystems that suffered natural disturbances”.

From my faith standpoint, this ability of the world points to both the way in which God made it (able to adapt and recover) and to the way he upholds and renews it, even when we humans make a mess. God didn’t give up – he sent Jesus to save the entire universe. And yet, humans still have a responsibility – we need to stop making messes, and transition to living sustainably on this planet.

Final note: this research is dealing with ecosystems. Messing with the climate will take more time to recover and may hamper the ability of individual ecosystems to recover. So, let’s make adjustments now!

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