Short Term Probs
After trekking up a snow-covered hill, I discovered the hike was completely worth it when I saw that my first copy of The Economist had come in the mail.
While reading this fantastic magazine, I came across an article titled “The tragedy of the high seas.” As I was reading I made a connection with a book I’m reading, American Theocracy. Both readings consist of a main theme surrounding overuse of resources.
The gluttonous use of a resource is a sign of people valuing short-term interests over long-term.
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Proverbs 25:16
“Have you found honey? Eat only what you need…”
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Garret Hardin smartly decided “that when a resource is held jointly, it is in individuals’ self-interest to deplete it, so people will tend to undermine their collective long-term interest by over-exploiting rather than protecting that asset.”*
Unfortunately, this is not a new concept. In the 18th and 19th century, “the Dutch, British, and New England whaler…opened up new territories as they depleted familiar ones… from the Bay of Biscay, Greenland,…the European Arctic, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Brazil, Chile, the South Pacific, Japan… Kodak, Kamchatka, the Bering Sea, and the… Alaskan Arctic.^”
I realize that was a long quote, but the reason was to point out how many places the whalers depleted of sperm whales for their own profit. Europeans used whale oil for numerous occasions, such as “soap; lighting for streets, households…machinery, cosmetics, and even… paints.`” Now the protection status of sperm whales is endangered (but is slowly recovering due to the International Whaling Commission*).
Now “two-thirds of the fish stocks in the high seas are over-exploited.^” Some researchers are even suggesting that when 2048 comes around there will be no fish left.` I’m not sure I want to live in a world where I can’t have sushi.
The Washington Post throw out that, “Each year, about 40 percent of all food in the United States goes uneaten.`” The UNEP suggests about 33% of food in the world gets wasted.* That means the people in the U.S.A waste more food than the world, percentage-wise.
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1 Corinthians 10:31
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
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Wasting materials is not a very Godly, or efficient, way to operate. Not only does that make us selfish and solely concerned with the short-term, we’re sending a message to future generations that we don’t care about them and that there are no consequences for their actions.
I encourage everyone to take the time to decide whether they really need that extra piece of fish or they really need to drive into town for that one little thing that can probably wait.
God blessed us with this bountiful earth, but let’s not abuse our planet to the point where resources are so endangered and too expensive for anyone to afford.
If you’re intrigued with short-term thinking, read this article about our government and their consistent short-term thoughts: http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/what-your-party-leaders-aren-t-telling-you-about-the-debt-20140225
Sources:
*The Economist, The tragedy of the high seas
^American Theocracy, Fuel and National Power
`American Theocracy, Fuel and National Power
*http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/mammals/sperm-whale.aspx
^The Economist, The tragedy of the high seas
`http://www.animalplanet.com/endangered-species/no-more-fish.htm
