God looked over everything He had made; it was so good, so very good!    Genesis 1 v 31 (MSG)

Last week we were faced with the catastrophe of the flooding in Nepal because of the collapse of part of a glacier high in the Himalayas. The loss of life has been devastating with many more missing. The search for those in the hydro-electric tunnel complexes is ongoing.

A major cause of the disaster has been global warming, causing the melting of the glaciers. While global warming is part of nature, it has been accelerated by the expansion of industrialisation, world population and unbridled pollution of the atmosphere.

Let’s face it: we have done a pretty poor job of caring for our planet. In the beginning, it was not apparent, but after the industrial revolution, everything changed. We mindlessly used the earth’s resources without any thought of replacing them. We dug coal and minerals out of the ground, pumped oil from vast underground caverns and polluted the atmosphere. We cut down forests, so needed for oxygen, for the wood or to make room for plantations, including those for drugs like opium.

We created plastics without a thought of the damage we caused. The half-life of plastics is about 500 years (depending on the type). Much of the plastics end up in the ocean, forming vast floating garbage islands called gyres eaten by fish that we eat. Micro-plastics are now present in our bodies and have even been found in our hearts.

Fortunately, we are realizing that we have caused so much damage and efforts are being made to reverse as much of the harm as we can. Many countries are signatories to, among others, the UN Environment Programme and the legally binding Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Lord, we pray,

• For the people of Tibet, for the families of those who have lost their lives, for those who have lost their livelihoods, for the rescuers, who despite the dangers, try to save lives.
• We are sorry for the part each one of us has played in damaging Your creation, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Make us aware of the part we can play in our own small way to contribute to the sustainability of our planet.
• For the many environmental agencies working actively to slow down the pollution of the atmosphere, the Earth, rivers or the seas.
• For the many industries on which we rely so much, that they might make every possible attempt to ameliorate their contribution to the pollution.