Earth Care is Transgenerational
“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.” President Lyndon B. Johnson upon the signing of the Wilderness Act, 1964.
Global warming, BP oil in the Gulf, GM foods, depletion of rainforests, extinction of animals – probably is not what President Johnson expected those of us alive in the 60s to leave future generations. However, if we are going to affect change it will be done in a unity of generations. Perhaps it is time for congregations to reach out to the iGeneration and Generation Z folks within their communities to invite them to become active or even lead Earth Care ministry efforts.
Ben Georgoff is one of two newly elected representatives of The Great Lakes Region YOU. He and Clay Kinson were elected at June Rally. For the first time in region history, the representatives are both male. If you have any doubts about Ben’s card-carrying abilities as an iGeneration representative, check out his handiwork at www.glryou.org. He redesigned the region’s YOU website last year.
A rising senior at Canton High School, the second largest school in the country with 6, 200 students, Ben has lived in the Plymouth Canton area of Michigan his entire life. Raised Catholic, Ben has attended Farmington Hills Unity for the past six years. His first YOU event was two years ago and it didn’t take him long to get involved and step into leadership.
Ben says the turning point for his environmental activism came in viewing Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth.. “Although I recycled, I didn’t’ really understand why until I saw that movie,” he says. “It led me to research the environmental spectrum.” He laughs now when he talks about calling peers on trashing recyclables. “A two-step difference between the recycling can and the trash can. Why not?” Although he doesn’t feel he does a whole lot to promote environmentalism, he does donate to RePower America.
When asked what he might do to involve YOU in Earth Care ministry, he is not short on ideas. One of his passions as Regional Representative is to create more communication between Region and chapters. The weekly Inspiration might be one vehicle to promote Earth Care. He would like Region to consider ecological impact when planning events--perhaps Great Lakes Region could even plant a tree or two at event locations. He would also like to see economies on driving to events perhaps with more regions using buses rather than individual cars.
While he believes most YOUers are aware of environmental concerns, he does not believe that is true across his generation. Many of his peers reflect the opinions of their parents. In an ideal world, he would love his peers to take an unbiased look at the issues. The progressiveness of YOU is a factor he believes is part of its strength. He is intrigued by innovation and quotes demographic statistics for Popular Science magazine. “Did you know most readers are kids and not adults? Most readers are from middle and high school.” He hopes that innovation turns to green energy and that it not step too far in the future. He gives the example of the electric car of 1990 being dropped for the hydrogen car. The electric car being further developed than the hydrogen car could have been economically feasible sooner.
Ben is also very aware of food as an environmental concern and is quick to relate to the issues of pesticides and corn subsidy. “Have you heard about the Indian farmer suicides after Monsanto’s globalization efforts?” he asks.
Ben is not unique among the YOU in his environmental philosophy, but he is a leader. Perhaps the YOU and other Unity youth are allies in developing Earth Care ministries. Let’s challenge our youth to join with the adults in creating the world we would all like to see—one that respects all creation. Perhaps together we can create that world future generations will thank us for, and not hold us in contempt.
