Not A Roadmap Extra Credit
Father Pedro Walpole lives in Southeast Asia and strives to promote sustainability through not only science but his Jesuit ideals. I found the discussion to be stimulating, as Father Walpole denotes how the words “economy” and “ecology” share the same word origin of oikos. I found this to be ironic as in our current society these two entities are working against each other, especially if the tragedy of the commons is taken into account. As Father Walpole evinced, a balance between the economy and ecology must be maintained in order to attain sustainability. He describes this struggle as the “struggle, within, outside and together”. This carries a certain spirituality when pondering environmental justice. Walpole argues that humanity needs to make the model inclusive, of all people. Yet, in doing do the needs of the individual may suffer as they think of the “well being of all creatures”, as said by the Father. By referring to the idea of creation Walpole religiously references the idea of human responsibility. In the Bible, God allows humans to dominate the Earth, the word dominate carries a very negative connection though. Yet, in religion class we discussed Rahner’s idea of co-creation, in which humans use this power to nurture that which the Lord has bestowed upon us. Going even further on this idea, Father Walpole advocates the idea of “living simply”, in order to care for not only for ourselves, but to the environment. I thought Father Walpole had a valid point when he said we need to realize what is enough. As humans, this idea of conservation is not as simple as cleaning up trash, or recycling. In order to maintain sustainability, a change must occur within, a spiritual change that drives individuals. The father also denotes that one must realize that they are not in charge of their destiny, or fate and in this we find freedom. This connects to the idea of community, Father Walpole said when he was in Germany a student questioned if the community cared for him as he did for it. However, community is needed to fulfill Father Walpole’s triangle of community, a domain of common interest, and practice. This triangle will be an integral part of altering one’s mindset according to the father. Ultimately, I thought that this emphasis on community, the self, and our relationships with the environment was a very unique method to conservation. Overall, although the amount of spirituality within the discussion surprised me, but I did find it very enlightening as it exposed me to a new way in which to view the notion of conservation.