Thursday 15 October 2009

The Orthodox Academy of Crete institute of theology and ecology

On this blog action day I'm at the Orthodox Academy of Crete where there is an institute of Theology and Ecology. One of the aims of the institute is to:
to establish and develop interreligious ecological dialogue (mainly between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) on the complexity of ecological problems of the Mediterranean and to formulate together and accept an ECOLOGICAL CHARTER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN with basic ethical principles and mutual affirmations for a long range cooperation toward ecological protection of the Mediterranean.

I'm impressed to see that the OAC's commitment to sustainable development of Crete and the wider Mediterranean also goes back quite some time. It is only by people getting involved locally in this long-term way - for our lifetimes and for beyond our lifetimes - that we can begin to have a global impact. With climate change the local really is global.
I shall spend part of today sitting in the Cretan sunshine looking at the sea and reading the book which the academy has produced. It has a fascinating selection of essays from many different contexts on Environmental Theology and Environmental Ethics. The Academy is also promoting a photocompetition to protect beautiful wild plants in Europe. Find out more here.
What are you doing for blog action day?

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