Stewardship of the environment
Stewardship of the environment is well embedded in the ethos of Seventh-day Adventism. As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in honoring God’s creation by keeping the Sabbath. We advocate for a wholesome lifestyle and recognize God’s call for faithful management of the natural environment and its resources. In recent decades, the world church has issued numerous statements calling for respect of creation, reaffirmation of the dignity of created life, restraint in the use of the world’s resources, and a reevaluation of individual needs to conserve limited resources.
In an interview with Mountain Views, Shelly Miller, Ph.D. talks about stewardship of the environment and the responsibility Seventh-day Adventists have in caring for God’s creation, as well as understanding some of the challenges environmental steward- ship poses today.
Miller is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, and faculty member of the interdisciplinary environmental engineering program. Her research interests include indoor air quality, health effects, sources and exposure to particulate air pollution, and development and evaluation of indoor air quality control measures. In addition to her status as an award-winning scientist and member of numerous professional societies, she is also known for her passionate interest in improving the overall culture for women in society and leadership, and is committed to social justice. She particularly focuses her energy and resources toward understanding and improving air quality in low-income communities. She lives in Boulder with her husband and two children and serves as a discipleship elder at Boulder Adventist Church. —Editor
Mountain Views: In your view, what constitutes environmental stewardship?
Shelly Miller: Environmental stewardship is the conscious care-taking of our surrounding environment, including our home, school, community, and also the larger world in which we live. Conscious care-taking means reducing our use of resources, and reusing as many resources as possible. It also means continuing to learn about our resources including water, air, soil, waste, and how they need to be cared for.
Mountain Views: A negative view of the condition of the world, in terms of how we can fix what’s wrong, often permeates the pages of Adventist publications. How can Adventists and Adventist publications be more positive toward the environmental conditions plaguing us today? After all, the Adventist Church has issued numerous statements on the topic, but words are often not matched by actions.
Shelly Miller: One suggestion would be to balance the content of publications with both issues that need addressing and fixing, as well as sharing with readers the beauty of our environment. For example a short piece of writing on the impact of emissions from diesel vehicles, and also a short piece sharing the amazing beauty to be found at Rocky Mountain National Park. How to visit includes parking your car and not driving too much and taking the bus!
Mountain Views: What would you suggest be done to achieve global ties and cooperation to address environmental problems?
Shelly Miller: How about when we do mission projects focused on health, we also include the environment? When I went with a medical team to Nepal to offer services to the community, one of the things I wish we had addressed was the horrific water quality in the country, and this was obviously one of the major reasons for the health problems they were having. We could partner with organizations that focus on the environment in developing countries.
Mountain Views: Referring to the Golden Rule—treat others the way you want to be treated—the way we treat the environment affects others, too. What tie do you see between religion and protecting the environment both within Christianity and within other religious world-views?
Shelly Miller: I think there is a conflict between being loving stewards of our environment—taking care of it and appreciating it—and also wasting it because the end of the earth will be coming anyway and the devastation of the earth is a sign of the times. This is not congruent in my mind—we must always take the best care of the earth and our bodies that we can. I add “bodies” because one environmental issue is the use of pesticides on our environment, and eating organically.
Mountain Views: How could we get our next door neighbors and other people in our community who don’t believe in creation, or who may not understand the significance of creation, to care about the environment?
Shelly Miller: I think a lot of people care about the environment, regardless of what they believe about creation. They love the beauty, the time they spend in the environment, etc. I think we need to focus on improving the stewardship of the environment by Christians. Typical health concerns aside.
Mountain Views: Is there a role to fill or a greater involvement the government can take to reduce the production of plastics, paper, and other man-made environmental dangers that, consequently, seem to fuel consumerism and capitalism?
Shelly Miller: Oh yes. We cannot leave the environment to individuals, the market, etc., because it is a public good. We must demand the government care for public goods so that we all can enjoy them. And capitalists will exploit public goods for their own benefit, which in the end will destroy them.
Mountain Views: It is said that students educate their teachers. How does your involvement as an educator with teaching about and advocating for proper stewardship of the environment impact your personal life?
Shelly Miller: I am a strong advocate for living in a healthy chemical-free home, for minimizing our carbon footprint, for eating organically, for not using too much water in our gardens, for not using herbicides and pesticides, etc. It drives my family crazy sometimes—for example when I said we were not using Teflon anymore due to its possible toxic contribution to the food cooked in it. My husband did love our Teflon pans! And when I found out there were flame retardant chemicals in our furniture I got rid of it.