Arsenic Poisoning

Arsenic is a common natural and anthropogenic contaminant in sediments, surface waters, and ground waters. In Taiwan, Bangladesh, and the United States arsenic poisoning has been linked to disorders such as hyperpigmentation (Black-foot disease), Peripheral Vascular Disease, skin and bladder cancer, and gangrene ^2,3. Sporadic occurrences of Black-foot disease occurred in southwest Taiwan in the early twentieth century with a peak incidence in the late fifty’s ². The cause of this arsenic poisoning was due to resident’s use of contaminated artesian wells ². Arsenic poisoning incidents reduced significantly when residents began switching to tap water in the endemic villages ². Awareness of this outbreak caused the EPA cancer risk assessment to use the cancer data from Southwest Taiwan to predict the cancer risk assessment in the United States ^4,6. Recently changes in water quality standards in America along with greater understanding of arsenic toxicity have increased the necessity for methods of determining potentially bioavailable arsenic in field environments as well as characterization in natural environments.

Complex geochemical and biological mechanisms control the distribution of arsenic within repositories in the biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Arsenic in water is primarily found in two oxidation states, As (III) and As (V) ¹. As (III) is considered more toxic than As (V), and is generally less mobile. Therefore, under many conditions As sequestion is undergone through reduction. This, however, is problematic because reducing environments release arsenic from arsenic bearing minerals such as oxyhydroxides. This is exactly what happened in Bangladesh when buried deposits of peat acted as electron donors for the reduction of arsenic bearing Goethite into the groundwaters^3. Controls on the distribution of arsenic include: redox conditions, pH, presence of Iron and Manganese Oxyhydroxides, and metabolic activities of microorganisms. Iron oxides, however, generally control arsenic speciation in near-surface environments ¹. Iron, when present, in the environment, controls the mobility, fate, and bioavailability of aqueous arsenic species by converting bioavailable arsenite (AsO₃^3-) and arsenate (AsO₄^3-) species to immobilized forms adsorbed or coprecipitated in iron oxides ¹. Chemical availability of As is an indirect measure of bioavailability. Bioavailability refers to the concentration of a target chemical that actually enters the systemic circulation of an organism from an administered dose⁵. (commonly considered the total concentration of the chemical present in the organism’s environment). It is generally assumed that dissolved phases are most bioavailable ⁵. Chemical availability of As is dependent on speciation. Therefore, when the speciation of arsenic in a soil system is known the chemical availability becomes a good indicator of bioavailability.

The World Health Organization estimates that 41 million people worldwide (some sources estimate 57 million) are drinking groundwater contaminated by arsenic at unsafe levels ¹⁰. In Taiwan alone approximately 2 million people are potentially exposed to polluted water ⁹. Arsenic, although rare in natural abundance in the lithosphere, is common in sulfides such as chalcopyrite, realgar, orpiment, galena, marcasite, arsenopyrite, enargite, and it has a strong affinity for pyrite, one of the world’s most common minerals ⁹. It is also common in other minerals through substitution. Arsenic in groundwater is often the result of dissolving weathered rock and soils or through reduction of iron oxides. In the case of the massive epidemic in Bangladesh the arsenic is released to the groundwater through goethite (FeOOH) reduction ⁴. Which is driven by microbial degradation of buried deposits of peat. The peat acts as an electron donor so that iron oxide reduction can take place.

Arsenic is often added to groundwater through anthropogenic sources such as use in alloying agents, wood preservatives, mineral extraction and processing wastes, poultry and swine feed additives, pesticides, and highly soluble arsenic trioxide stockpiles ^1,9. The most globally significant anthropomorphic source of arsenic is probably through combustion of fossil fuels ¹². The arsenic mainly appears as arsenite in the dust and travels through the atmosphere releasing arsenic throughout the globe. In 1988 Nriagu and Pacyna estimated that as much 70% of the global atmospheric As flux is anthropogenic. In the past arsenic acid was even used as a cotton defoliant in the southern part of the United States ¹¹.

Globally, millions of people are at risk for the adverse effects of arsenic exposure. Contaminated drinking water is usually contaminated through inorganic arsenic. Inorganic arsenic is more acutely toxic that organic arsenic species ^2,3. Other countries than Taiwan and Bangladesh that currently face arsenic exposure include: Argentina, Cambodia, Chile, China, Ghana, Hungary, India, Mexico, Vietnam, Tibet, Thailand, as well as the United States ^1,2,3,9. As the world population increases beyond 6 billion clean drinking water is quickly becoming one of globe’s most valuable resources. In order to protect our drinking water we must continue to study and understand contaminants of all varieties. This is a fundamental mission and goal of the applicant’s research group at Texas A&M University. This project will directly aid in this endeavor. Additionally, the international component to the proposed research will serve as a reminder to the scientific community of the importance in scientific collaboration and goodwill across global borders in solving the world’s environmental issues.

 This post is an excerpt from a copywritten article written by Clint Miller. All quotes must be cited to me.

Evaluating Arsenic Availability in Taiwanese Soils using DOWEX M4195, Fe³⁺ Substituted, Resin; Clint Miller; NSF EAPSI Grant Application; 2007

References

1. A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters; P.L. Smedley*, D.G. Kinniburgh, Applied Geochemistry 17 (2002) 517-568

2. Long-term arsenic exposure and ischemic heart disease in arseniasis-hyperendemic villages in Taiwan, Chin-Hsiao Tseng, Choon-Khim Chong, Ching-Ping Tseng, Yu-Mei Hsueh, Hung-Yi Chiou, Ching-Chung Tseng, and Chien-Jen Chen; Toxicology Letters, Volume 137, Issues 1-2, 31 January 2003, Pages 15-21

3. Arsenic poisoning in groundwater: Health risk and geochemical sources in Bangladesh, H. M. Anawar, J. Akai, K. M. G. Mostofa, S. Safiullah, and S. M. Tareq; Environment International, Volume 27, Issue 7, February 2002, Pages 597-604

4. Significance of Exposure Assessment to Analysis of Cancer Risk from Inorganic Arsenic in Drinking Water in Taiwan; Kenneth G. Brown and Chien-Jen Chen; Risk Analysis, Volume 15 Issue 4 Page 475-484, August 1995

5. An In Vitro Gastrointestinal Method To Estimate Bioavailable Arsenic in Contaminated Soils and Solid Media; Rodriguez, R. R.; Basta, N. T.; Casteel, S.; S. W.; Pace, L. W.; Environmental Science & Technology, 1999, 33, 642-649

6. Inorganic arsenic: a need and an opportunity to improve risk assessment; W R Chappell, B D Beck, K G Brown, R Chaney, R Cothern, C R Cothern, K J Irgolic, D W North, I Thornton, and T A Tsongas; Environ Health Perspect. 1997 October; 105(10): 1060-1067.

7. Quantification of Potential Arsenic Bioavailability in Spatially Varying Geologic Environments at the Watershed Scale using Chelating Resins; Lake, G. E.; M.A. Thesis, Texas A&M University, 2002), 227 pp

8. Assessment of the phytotoxicity of chromium in soils using the selective ion exchange resin extraction method; Pei-Fang Yu, Kai-Wei Juang and Dar-Yuan Lee; Plant and Soil 258: 333-340, 2004.

9. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency; Allan H. Smith; Elena O. Lingas; Mahfuzar Rahman; Bulletin of the World Health Organization; Print ISSN 0042-9686; Bull World Health Organ vol. 78 no. 9 Genebra 2000

10. Worldwide Occurrences of Arsenic in Ground Water; D. Kirk Nordstrom, SCIENCE VOL 296, 21 JUNE 2002; 2143-2145

11. Occurrence and Distribution of Arsenic in Soils and Plants; Leo M. Walsh; Malcolm E. Sumner; Dennis R. Keeney; Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 19. (Aug., 1977), pp. 67-71

12. Quantitative assessment of worldwide contamination of air, water, and soils by trace metals; Nriagu, J.O., Pacyna, J.M., Nature 333, 134-139; 1988

Yet another reason why Kyoto could not include emerging nations

The argument has gone on and on in America about Kyoto. Why endorse an agreement that isnt binding to developed and developing nations alike. Part of the reason is simply emerging nations often do not have the political stability to enforce a multinational environmental pact. This Reuters article is yet another example.

 African Union mission to Kenya fails to end crisis

By Daniel Wallis and Wangui Kanina
NAIROBI, Jan 10 (Reuters) – An African Union mission to resolve a political crisis in Kenya that has killed 500 people ended in failure on Thursday as the president and opposition leader accused each other of wrecking talks.

AU Chairman John Kufuor said both sides had agreed to work with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. But President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga neither met nor agreed how to end the crisis.

Controversy over Kibaki’s re-election in a Dec. 27 vote triggered political and ethnic bloodletting that has displaced 250,000 people, dented the stable reputation of east Africa’s biggest economy and disrupted supplies to nearby countries.

Odinga says Kibaki rigged the election.

Ghanaian President Kufuor, Washington’s top Africa diplomat Jendayi Frazer and EU and British envoys met Odinga on Thursday to pile pressure on him and on Kibaki to reach a deal.

Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) distributed the text of a draft agreement it said had been drawn up with representatives of both Kibaki and the ODM under the facilitation of the World Bank’s country director, Colin Bruce.

The text agreed to re-examine the elections and hold fresh polls if needed, but the ODM said Kibaki refused to sign.

“It is true to his character and can only be treated with the contempt it deserves,” said ODM Secretary General Anyang’ Nyong’o. “This is a slap in the face … to the (AU) mission and the international community,” he said.

Kibaki’s office denied knowledge of the agreement and in a statement it accused the ODM of blocking negotiations.

“The government had offered dialogue which was to be facilitated by President John Kufuor but Orange Democratic Movement leaders have not been responsive,” it said.

Kufuor put a brave face on his two-day mission before leaving the country on Thursday.

“The parties agreed to work together with a panel of eminent African personalities headed by Mr Kofi Annan … towards resolving their differences and all other outstanding issues including constitutional and electoral reforms,” he said.

“Both sides agreed there should be an end to the violence and they also agreed there should be dialogue,” he told reporters as he left for the airport.

TEAR GAS

In a sign tensions were still high after two weeks of violence, riot police fired tear gas at around 70 pro-opposition women who marched and blocked a road in a Nairobi suburb.

Some women lay down, stripped to their bras and shouted “Shame on you” at police who tapped their plastic shields with their batons. Police then fired tear gas to disperse the women, including one clutching a baby to her bosom as she fled.

Previously regarded as a gentlemanly leader with a passion for golf, Kibaki has shown a steely side to Odinga, a former political prisoner and wealthy business owner who helped Kibaki win a 2002 poll but was sacked from government in 2005.

Kibaki has insisted the poll results stand despite inviting Odinga to direct talks on Friday — an offer the opposition leader has dismissed unless it is internationally mediated.

Behind closed doors, Kibaki watched the swearing-in of a core cabinet whose appointment on Tuesday prompted more violence in Nairobi slums and western towns dominated by Odinga.

A U.S. State Department spokesman criticised Kibaki’s move.

“He (Kibaki) announced a cabinet in a way that caused serious problems in the political process,” he said.

“We did not think the move was appropriate at the time.”

Kenya’s state-funded National Commission on Human Rights presented a petition to police on Thursday demanding a criminal investigation into alleged abuses by the electoral commission.

Washington and Britain have both said the poll was flawed.

Both Kibaki’s and Odinga’s parties say they will be able to mobilise a majority in parliament. Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement has threatened to occupy the government side of the chamber when parliament opens on Jan. 15.

The official death toll from election-related political and ethnic violence is 486, although aid workers put it at more than 500, and the opposition say the toll could be nearer 1,000. (Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri, Joseph Sudah, Andrew Cawthorne and Katie Nguyen; writing by Alistair Thomson; editing by Andrew Roche)

http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL10430276

Public Enemy……Teflon?

Did you know that Teflon® (manufactured via DuPont) is made from a compound called PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid for all us chemistry nerds) which is almost certainly a human carcinogen? PFOA is a type of perfluorinated compound, and is currently under review by the EPA.

Here are a few facts about PFOA³:

1. It is very recalcitrant. This chemical seems to never break down in humans or in the environment⁴.
2. It is ubiquitous.
   • PFOA is in the blood of 95% of Americans.
   • PFOA is in the blood of people in four continents and in animals all over the world⁵.
3. It accumulates. It takes 4.4 years for humans to rid half of the volume of PFOA in their bodies⁶.
4. Artic animals double the amount of PFOA in their blood every four years⁷.
5. It is a health hazard.
   • PFOA has been linked to testicular, pancreatic, mammary, and liver tumors in male and female mice⁸. EPA considers PFOA an animal carcinogen at low levels.
   • It has been linked to ovarian and breast cancer⁹.
   • It has been linked to birth defects^8,9.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFC’s) are used in many industries for uses such as: keeping clothes wrinkle free, shedding water, repelling grease (from clothes and paper products such as microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, etc.), repelling stains, personal care products such as floss and nail polish, as well as flame retardant clothing. Stainmaster® uses a fluorinated telomere to keep stains off carpet and fabrics. Scotchgard uses a similar compound called PFOS or perfluorooctane sulfonate. As you may recall 3M recently pulled Scotchgard because of concerns over release of PFOS and PFOA into the environment after perfluorinated compounds were found in the blood of Alaskan polar bears.

 

In 2006 DuPont and seven other companies announced an agreement to reduce PFOA in emissions from manufacturing plants and in consumer products by 95% by the year 2010.

 

So, what can you do?

1. Stay away from packaged foods (this includes fast food restaurants). Packaging materials often contain PFC’s to keep the grease off the container. Plus, fast food is just gross. Vegetables people! When did this country stop eating fresh vegetables?
2. Stay away from stain resistant clothing and furniture. This one hits me (man I love my Gore-Tex lined hiking boots!) Generally clothes that say stain-resistant contain PFC’s but not always. Often schools with uniforms will choose wrinkle-free brands. PFC’s get into children dermally. If your school uses wrinkle-free uniforms lobby the school to choose new ones. Some children’s pajamas use PFC’s.  
3. Use personal care products that don’t contain words like, “”fluoro” or ”perfluoro” or “with Teflon.” These contain PFC’s.
4. Be very careful with Teflon® and other non-stick cookware. Do not ever let it get heated above 450°. If Teflon® pans are overheated PFOA is released. Throw away cookware when the non-stick surface has begun to degrade. Otherwise, you will begin to eat small bits in your food.
5. Lobby local, state, and national governments to phase out PFOA as well as chemicals that break down into PFOA.

   

1. Perfluorinated chemicals in relation to other persistent organic pollutants in human blood; Anna Kärrman, Bert van Bavel, Ulf Järnberg, Lennart Hardell and Gunilla Lindström; Chemosphere Volume 64, Issue 9, August 2006, Pages 1582-1591

2. Perfluorinated Chemicals and Fetal Growth: A Study within the Danish National Birth Cohort; Chunyuan Fei, Joseph K. McLaughlin, Robert E. Tarone, and Jørn Olsen; Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 115, Number 11, November 2007

 

 3. Fact Sheet on DuPont Zonyl; Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union

4. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2003. Preliminary risk assessment of the developmental toxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts; April 10, 2003. EPA Docket: OPPT-2003-0012-0002.

5. Perfluorooctanesulfonate and related fluorochemicals in human blood from several countries; Kannan K, Corsolini S, Falandysz J, Fillmann G, Kumar KS, Loganathan BG, Mohd MA, Olivero J, Van Wouwe N, Yang JH, Aldoust KM. 2004. Environ Sci Technol 38(17): 4489-95.

6. Interim report: Determination of serum half-lives of several fluorochemicals; Burris JM, Lundberg JK, Olsen GW, Simpson D, Mandel JH. 2002.. AR226-1086. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

7. Degradation of Fluorotelomer Alcohols: A Likely Atmospheric Source of Perfluorinated Carboxylic Acids; Ellis, D. A.; Martin, J. W.; De Silva, A. O.; Mabury, S. A.; Hurley, M. D.; Sulbaek Andersen, M. P.; Wallington, T. J. 2004.. Environ. Sci. Technol. 38(12): 3316-3321.

8. Evaluating human health risks from exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA): Recommendations to the science advisory board’s PFOA review panel; Kropp, Tim and Jane Houlihan (Environmental Working Group). 2005.

 9. Environmental Working Group (EWG). 2003. PFCs: A chemical family that contaminates the planet. Available online at http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/

A Christian View of Environmentalism

This article is for Christians and Nonchristians alike for comment

 

How is a follower of Christ supposed to view the Environmentalist Movement? Environmentalism is a loaded term. When we hear it spoken of it is usually in the context of a left-wing activist doing something like spray painting all the SUV’s in a parking lot, or it may be a liberal politician making us feel like he is taking all our money to save some rare possum from extinction. One of the most recognizable terms for the Environmentalist Movement, “Tree Hugger” is generally not used in the complimentary sense. 

 

Although all of us love the environment, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking, or maybe just watching National Geographic videos we don’t want to be labeled as an Environmentalist because of connotations we have attached to it. When asked if we care about the environment everyone answers, “Yes.” Right? But, there seems to be a gap between the general moral guideline where we should take care of the world and the actual identification with movements surrounding it.

 

I would like to argue that: Yes, we should care about the environment…moreover as a follower of Christ we should be at the forefront of the fight…even outpacing the nonreligious proponents.  I will not argue that we should jump right in with Greenpeace picketers. In fact, I think the environmental conservation movement could learn a lot from people of faith. We should begin by defining the terms, establishing the science, and pointing to our faith as the true impetus behind our love for the Earth.

1. God Made the Earth- God made a wonderfully complex and intensely beautiful world. He made it for His glory. He made it for us to live in. He made it simply because that is the kind of God He is…creative by default! Go look around today as you walk outside. Whether it is cold or hot, rainy or shiny, mountains or plains, it is truly amazing! Look at the flowers and remember Luke 12:27, “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Verse 28 is even more important, but we will return to that later. Can you imagine when God invented the colors? He was like ummmm….RED! Can you even fathom inventing a new color? All we can do is a pale imitation by combining colors He already made.

I remember a conversation I had with one of my friends last month. He just finished defending his dissertation in electrical engineering. We were discussing how the American government sells wavelength bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to different telecommunications companies. I told him he should just invent a new wavelength, and he would become rich! He didn’t get the joke, and I think he thought I was an idiot. Stop and think about that for a second though. The government will never invent a new wavelength. It is impossible for us…what an amazing God! All we can do is work with what He has already made. If He took such care maybe we should show it honor.

 

2. Taking care of our planet is a Christian responsibility- Genesis 1:28-31 says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” God gave humankind the earth…to subdue it and to rule over it. Is there much doubt that mankind “rules over” the earth? Every person knows the difference between a good ruler and a bad one. The first ruler takes care of what is under his maintenance. The second is selfish and wastes his charge. The good ruler establishes and improves. The bad ruler causes fear and despair.

 

3. Taking care of the environment means taking care of our neighbors, developing nations- There is little doubt today that virtually every compound that isn’t microbial chocolate cake or kinetically very reducible has a global impact. In my area of expertise, Environmental Geochemistry, we find anthropomorphic contaminates…everywhere. There is no surface of the earth left untouched by humanity. We find Scotch Guard in the blood of Alaskan polar bears¹. The bottoms of the oceans have tons of human trash littered across them. Plasticizers or Phthalate Esters, are being studied as EDS’s (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) because they mimic estrogen in guppies and fish causing them to begin to change sex². Sulfide emissions from combustion of fossil fuels in America are released into the atmosphere oxidizing to sulfur dioxide which mixes with water vapor creating H₂SO₄ (Sulfuric Acid). This lowers the pH of rainwater creating the well known, acid rain³. The facts are clear. We are ecologically connected to the rest of the world.

 

As followers of Christ we should point to a strong national environmental policy. We should be the first to demand that we take care of the poor, the weak, and the malnourished peoples of the developing world. James 1:27 says, “The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.” The economic powerhouse that is America exhibits the largest influence over the global environment than any other single country. The Christians of the world should always have the strongest voices in protecting the poorest peoples. Keeping oneself untouched by the world in this case is keeping ourselves from the evils of selfishness and perhaps opening our wallets to take care of the poor.

 

4. Taking care of the environment shows that Christ is real in our lives- When we fight to preserve our level of luxury even when it is not in the best interest of others we look like everyone else. What then is the difference between the believer who cares about others only up to the point where he doesn’t have to give anything up and the nonbeliever who does the same? If we stand up and say we want our government to lead the world in establishing more ecologically sustainable business practices and declare that the reason we demand this is our faith and our love for others we show Christ brilliantly to a lost world. The opposite is happening today. America, whether we like it or not, is viewed by the rest of the world as a Christian nation. This is generally not a good thing. We are also perceived as selfish, power hungry, globally ignorant, and deceitful.

 

This is in contrast to the beginning of the age of environmental concern where America was at the forefront of the movement. Believe it or not it was Europe who, up to the 1980’s was dragging its feet⁴. Indeed America took up the leadership role. This period brought about the National Environmental Act in 1969 and within a few years the EPA and the CEQ were established and the Clean Air and Water Acts were enacted.

 

In 1974, two University of California scientists, Mario Molina and F. S. Rowland began to theorize that the use of CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons) would damage the ozone layer⁴. In 1977 the United States, Canada, and Nordic countries called on UNEP to do a major scientific study on the issue. In 1984 and 1985 NASA conducted a major scientific review. This created a sizeable international case⁴, and in 1987 the Montreal Protocol—one of the most comprehensive and effective International Environmental measures ever undertaken—was enacted. The result was that the ozone layer is now repairing and possibly by as early as 2050 it could be totally recovered⁵. The leadership role of the United States provided the momentum for the movement to succeed.

 

Who of us is not proud of the leadership role that America took in protecting the ozone layer? This was, unfortunately, the end of America being the leader. Now, the United States is more often viewed as the villain than the savior. Today the ozone layer remains probably the only major environmental issue successfully resolved by the international community. The global response to the ozone threat proved that successful measures can be undertaken in a way that does not harm our economies. If Christians in America will begin pressing our elected officials to bring America back to its pre-87 role then the rest of the world will not view “The Christian Nation” as the lone hold off in protecting the environment.

 

5. Faith is the impetus behind action- Do you know how to spot a politician? It is easy, as Jim Wallis points out, they are the ones walking around wetting their thumbs and sticking them in the air to feel the wind. Politicians of our day are very good at reading the wind. We often accuse some of them of having no real opinions of their own. They simply follow the latest gallop poll. That is political life. It is not, however spiritual life.

 

Much has been made recently of the movie, Amazing Grace. In it William Wilberforce is almost driven mad by many unsuccessful attempts at abolishing slavery. As the movie correctly points out, the reason Wilberforce was so staunchly against slavery was his faith in Christ. Wilberforce had become an Evangelical Christian in 1785. He believed it was his God-given mission to abolish slavery. Faith in the absolute truths of Christ, such as equality, can lead men and women of faith to action. As the film shows, Wilberforce eventually won the battle against slavery. Faith in the truths of Christ provide a compass for action.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist preacher. His belief was similar to Wilberforce’s. He saw clearly in scripture that Christ made all men equal before God. We all know the great battle Luther undertook for the Civil Rights Movement in America. Where would we be without Luther’s faith?

 

 “People motivated by spiritual values that give them a real visionfor change are not like those with their fingers up in the air. They already know the direction to head in, and they lead by example. Their commitments, skills, sacrifices, creativity, and, ultimately moral authority are what make all the difference and change the wind”

                                                                                                  Jim Wallis

 

As followers of Christ we can use moral authority to change the world. We should fight for a national policy that protects all of our citizens from harmful contaminates even when business interests suffer. We should fight for a national policy that protects poorer countries from our excesses. People of faith in Christ should do this.

 

6. Satan Destroys but Christ Heals- One of the central truths of Christianity is that Christ is the great physician. In Matthew 9 Jesus is asked why He eats with sinners and tax collectors. He responds with, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” Jesus came to heal the world. First, and foremost, this was to heal sinners, to give them new life and a repaired relationship with the creator of the universe. Jesus accomplished this by His death on the cross. Earlier I skipped Luke 12:28, the verse directly following: Consider the lilies, how they… even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these, so that I could make a point now. It says, “But if God gives such clothing to the grass in the field, which today is living, and tomorrow will be burned in the oven, how much more will he give clothing to you, O men of little faith?”

 

Humanity is the crown of Christ’s creation and the object of His deepest love. Although He loves the beautiful foxes He created in the fields, He will never love them as much as He loves you or me. His love for you would fill the oceans. Showing love and compassion for men, especially men who have not experienced Christ’s love yet, will always take precedence over environmental action. However, I argue they are not separate. They go hand in hand. Christ is the great physician, and we are little physicians. Having a passion for healing the wounds of this world should define our lives.

      

1. Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in the Environment, Giesy, J.P., Kannan, K., Jones, P.D., Hansen, K.J.; MA6 – Perfluorinated Chemicals, SETAC Baltimore 2001 Special Session

2. Role of metabolism in the endocrine-disrupting effects of chemicals in aquatic and terrestrial systems; Martin van den Berg, Thomas Sanderson, Norio Kurihara, and Arata Katayama; Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 75, Nos. 11–12, pp. 1917–1932, 2003. © 2003 IUPAC

3. Acid Rain in Western Europe and Northeastern United States — A Technical Appraisal; Pierson, WR; Chang, TY; Critical Reviews in Environmental Control Vol. 16, No. 2, p 167-192, 1986. 3 tab, 123 ref.

4. Red Sky at Morning; James Speth, Yale University Press, 2004, pp 54

5. Successes in fight to save ozone layer could close holes by 2050; NATURE, VOL 408, December 7^th 2000; © 2000 Macmillan Magazines Ltd