Action Suggestions

General

1. Have a consistent time of prayer and bible study so that you are better able to fulfill the Great Commandments to love God and love what God loves. Ask God for spiritual contentment, the cure for overconsumption.
   
   
2. Study and reflect more on what the Bible says about caring for all of God's creation. (See our Scriptures page.) Learn about current environmental problems. Pray for wisdom and guidance on what to do.
   
   
3. Let your voice be heard by governmental officials.
   
   
4. Support our work through your financial contributions and your prayers.
   
   

Oceans Emphasis

1. Eat fish that comes from sustainable fisheries (for suggestions see www.environmentaldefense.org/seafood/bestpicks.cfm)
   
   
2. If you buy meat, ask whether the meat comes from livestock fed with fishmeal. Seek out meats (including chicken) fed on an all-vegetable diet. Consider vegetarian alternatives, which cause less pollution and which require fewer animal and fish inputs.
   
   
3. Poor land use choices and development planning cause water pollution, which harms God's oceans. Support more environmentally friendly land development plans in your community, and seek to live in a place that has not displaced open land. Support actions to stop sprawl.
   
   
4. Agricultural runoff into streams (and subsequently into oceans) is a major source of water pollution. Consider buying local, organic food.
   
   
5. Do not pollute - recycle used oil, and do not litter (plastic bags, broken glass, six pack rings easily end up in oceans, where they suffocate and entangle fish, sea turtles, birds, and other creatures).
   
   
6. Reconsider taking a cruise - cruise ships dump tons of waste directly into the open oceans, where there are no national laws prohibiting this practice.
   
   
7. Plant trees, and encourage tree planting in your community, especially near streams. Nurture and care for the trees.
   
   
8. Pollution from our transportation choices pollutes oceans, destroying fish habitat and coral reefs. It also causes global warming, which disrupts the oceans' hydrogeologic cycle and threatens the existence of oceanic and terrestrial species. Choose the least polluting, most fuel efficient means of personal transportation in order to reduce your transportation pollution. When possible, bike, walk, or use public transportation (for more suggestions see www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org ).
   
   
9. Pray and act for the conservation of the earth's oceans and have faith that God will answer our prayers and honor our faithfulness to His will.
   
   
10. Tell your elected officials that you want government policies that support clean waters and ocean health.
    
    

Health

1. Cut down on air pollution by using public transportation, driving less, using fuel efficient vehicles, making your home more energy efficient, selecting electricity produced by green power if it is available in your area; buying products with EPA's Energy Star label, and practicing the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle.
   
   
2. Choose to use fewer chemicals, in your home, on your lawn. Don't use pesticides if you don't have to - look for alternatives. Use these cleaning ingredients: water, soap, white vinegar, baking soda, borax, and hydrogen peroxide.
   
   
3. Ask your pediatric health care provider to take an environmental health history of your child. Have your child's blood lead level tested, especially if your child spends time in a house built before 1960.
   
   
4. Vary children's diets as much as possible while giving them plenty of fruits and vegetables. Consider buying organic foods if available.
   
   
5. Tell your elected officials that you want government policies to protect children's health.
   
   

God's Endangered Creatures

1. Pray for endangered creatures during your daily family prayer time. This is a simple but important step each family can take. Over 15,000 types of animals and plants are threatened with extinction around the world in 2004 (see "Quick Facts"). Pray for these plants and animals, including the ones in your own neighborhood and yard. Pray that God guides you and your family in your actions to care for other creatures as God intends. You can pray for threatened plants and animals by name by going to the International Conservation Union's Global Species Assessment Photo Gallery at http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/gallery2004.html.

2. Have a family devotion time on endangered creatures. Use any scripture from Evangelical Environmental Network's "Scriptures" link to guide discussions on Jesus as creator and owner, humanity's relationship to the rest of creation, how the rest of creation is harmed by humanity's sin, and God's future kingdom.

3. Speak out on policies that affect endangered species. Visit Spring 2004 Creation Care for a policy update http://www.creationcare.org/magazine/spring04.php.

4. Do not purchase anything made from endangered species or their parts (e.g., ivory, crocodile skin, corals).

5. Practice sufficiency and contentment in all your purchasing decisions. Buy only what you need, seek out products that do not contain hazardous materials, and buy products that minimize packaging. Recycle all materials - including computers - as much as possible so they do not end up polluting lands and waters where humans and other creatures live.

6. Pollute less. Pollution is a leading cause of species extinction. See other tips on this page, "What Would Jesus Drive" website, and "Healthy Families, Healthy Environment" website.

7. Habitat destruction is the key leading cause of species extinction. Each day in the United States, we lose 8.6 square miles to development. This also causes air pollution from driving. As described more fully in the Summer 2003 issue of Creation Care magazine article "Land Conservation…A Christian Perspective", you can:

• Make personal choices that conserve land and do not contribute to sprawl by choosing to live near where you work and in a place that allows use of public transportation, biking, or walking; and choosing to live in redeveloped space or infill as opposed to new subdivisions built on former farmland or open space;

• Be active in local politics and zoning decisions, where critical land use decisions affecting habitat are made;

• Practice sufficiency and contentment in your land use and housing choices by seeking dwellings and lots no larger than what you need;

• Be active in public policies that support land conservation;

• Learn more about your "neighbors downstream," those people who are affected by your land use decisions. For example, pesticides used on your lawn can end up in the water supply of fishermen downstream who depend on clean water for their livelihood; and

• Support your local land conservation organization.

8. See additional Actions Suggestions that will benefit endangered creatures under "Oceans" and "Health" on this web page.