Unit 8- Environmental and Medical Issues Notes

RE- Environmental and Medical Issues

Why Global Warming Occurs:

·         The Greenhouse Effect

·         Natural Climate Change

·         Solar Activity

Solutions to Global Warming:

·         Renewable energy sources eg. Solar power, wind power, etc

·         Cars powered by ethanol, biodiesel, electric batteries, hydrogen, etc.

·         Increased use of public transport

Forms of Pollution:

·         Acid rain: possible solution- stop using fossil fuels

·         Human waste: possible solution- recycling, incinerators, etc.

·         Eutrophication: possible solution- improved sewage treatment, less phosphates in detergents, etc

·         Radioactive pollution: possible solution- reprocessing nuclear waste

The Scarcity of Natural Resources:

·         Renewable sources such a solar, wind, tidal, wave. They are more expensive but better for the environment

·         Non-renewable resources such as oil, coal, etc. They aren’t good for environment sand can cause global warming but are cheaper.

Solution to the Scarcity Natural Resources:

·         Using renewable resources

·         Car manufacturers are looking at using water, sugar cane and electric batteries.

·         Recycling will extend the life of finite resources

·         Scientists are working on using chemicals from plants from plants rather than oil to produce things like plastic

·         Some people believe an alternative lifestyle is necessary

Christian teachings on Stewardship

·         In the creation story, God gave humans the right to rule over animals/creatures/plants

·         The Old Testament teaches that humans have the right to treat animals humanely

·         In the parable of the Talents, Jesus is taught that God expects humans to pass on to the next generation more than they have been given.

·         On the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught that Christians have a right to ensure a fair sharing of the earth’s resources

How beliefs about stewardship affect the Christian attitude to the environment

·         The responsibility to be God’s stewards and to leave the earth a better place than they found it mean that  Christians should try to reduce pollution and preserve resources for future generations

·         Sharing resources= Christians should try to improve the quality of life of the less fortunate by sharing the earth’s resources more fairly and improving standards of living in LEDCs

·         The belief that after death, God will be judge of their behaviour as stewards

·         Belief in stewardship means that every Christians should be judging what they are doing in their life as an individual by the standards of Christian stewardship.

Jewish teachings on Stewardship

·         Never to destroy things of the earth which are useful

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