The Bosque Boys

On Holiday flying - I think it depends somewhat on how far you are travelling as well as on how many are in the holiday group, as well as whether your holiday consits more of things you do along the way as opposed to your primary destination. I haven't been able to verify this quickly but I recall that even 20 years ago jet airliners were much more efficient in terms of "pound miles'. In the inrterim I suspect that jet airliners have gotten relatively more efficient than passenger cars but this is likely offset by incerase in hubs and connecting flights.

Hello again okie

I have had time to do a little more looking into the Aglican Shrinking the Footprint environmental approach. While I find ther recommendations useful I am concerned by the theological/anthropological contents of their document. They seem to come very close to denying that human beings have any relationship to God thatn any of the rest of his creation:

"The Christian reason for regarding ecology as a matter of justice, then, is that God’s self-sharing love is what animates every object and structure and situation in the world. Responses to the world that are unaware of this are neither truthful nor sustainable. To be aware of this is to enter into relationship, for the self-sharing love of God is not simply something we admire, but something in which we fully participate. We are not consumers of what God has made; we are in communion with it."

photogn, true that Christian environmentalism can, if not careful, neglect the special role of humanity; and, if not careful even write us out of the web of eating and being eaten life. The following is from their leaflet on biodiversity, which I endorse. WHY DOES BIO-DIVERSITY MATTER TO ChristianS?

' The earth is the Lord's and everything in it'

(Ps. 24:1).
Some would argue that the extinction of the dung beetle is insignificant or that extinctions are all part of God's plan. Psalm 8 describes people as "rulers over the works of God's hands". Everything is "under their feet" (v. 6). But in the first and last verses the Psalmist proclaims that the earth is God's. We are accountable to God for how we use other creatures.
John Calvin (d. 1564) wrote in his commentary on Genesis, 'The custody of the garden was given in charge to Adam, to show that we possess the things which God has committed to our hands, on the condition that, being content with the frugal and moderate use of them, we should take care of what shall remain.'
The Earth Summit's Agenda 21 states that "Biological resources feed and clothe us and provide housing, medicines and spiritual nourishment". But according to the Bible all creatures are good in themselves. They are not just for our use. All creation from wild animals and cattle to fruit trees and people praise God by living their natural lives. As Pope John Paul II said, 'Nature should be respected and preserved so that by establishing a healthy proper relationship with it, people can be led to contemplate the mystery of God's greatness and love.'
Thought ......

Country churchyards often contain the last 'unimproved' grassland in an area. Some parishoners want to manage part of the churchyard as a meadow, cutting the grass only late in summer so wildflowers can seed, and to encourage Sunday School children to observe wildlife attracted by the long grass and flowers. Others like the churchyard to look tidy with short grass and think children wandering around graves looking for insects and lichens is disrespectful to the dead.
What do you think? Is a compromise possible?

Hello Okie;

In my opinion Christians individually and collectively have been woefully (intentionally?) blind to the responsibility to heed "keep and dress" and top acknowledge that we are (accountable) stewards of that which is created primarily for God's glory not our whim or convenience.

My concern with the Anglican "shrinking the footprint" is their theology, not their environmentalism. They seem to me to put their environmentalism ahead of their theology, or to have an other than Christian theology (or at least anthropology).
Compromise?
Do you mean how do we synthesize dominion over and stewardship of? I think we have a daily responsibility to intentionally be stewards of creation we have an impact on. Un intended consequences will frequently crop up - I don't have the reference but I have read some critique of renovations to replace less efficient housing materials (wood) with vinyl in windows/doors, and in the replacement of simple technology heating systems with higher tech efficient systems. The critiques propose that in the long term this will be more costly in environmental impact. (This was from British/European setting where wood structures are expected to last centuries rather than decades)

Regarding undisturbed church/cemetery micro ecosystems. I have found them attractive as sites to pursue my hobby of wildflower photography but have been reticent to share this knowledge with fellow hobbyist for fear of overrunning the sites.
I hope that the cemetery south and woods east of our current building site will re-encroach on recent construction and landscaping....