Eco-Justice - The Unfinished Journey    [6-10-04]

Edited by William E. Gibson, 2004. Published by State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

The above reflection in this remarkable book best introduces William Gibson, its editor. It portrays his joy and the importance he attaches to laboring in a community of gifted, dedicated folk patiently pursuing the common goal of eco-justice. He calls upon their unique talents and perspectives to craft this book. It is a compilation of essays and speeches by 23 individuals, Gibson among them. These contributions are meaningfully grouped into three parts entitled:

(I) The Eco-Justice Perspective: Crisis, Meaning, and Motivation
(II) Eco-Justice Issues
(III) The Journey Continues.

Eco-Justice Issues is the largest, composed of 16 of the 25 chapters (individual presentations) in the book.

Integration is achieved through frequent editor's notes by Gibson, most notably a defining introduction and a final chapter whose unspectacular title Concluding Considerations, Continuing Journey belies the eloquent and memorable text of these concluding 26 pages. They would be praiseworthy alone; however, without the rich background of the preceding 24 chapters their riches would be diminished.

Gibson does us a considerable favor by providing an early chapter entitled Eco-Justice: What is it? Unfortunately the expression "Eco-Justice," now at least a third of a century old, is still widely misunderstood among Christians. Gibson was involved in the early activity that defined it. I will whet your appetite with his brief explanation regarding the core concept, upon which he subsequently expands.

Eco-Justice does not mean merely another aspect of justice, so that now we have to speak of social justice AND eco-justice. The term eco-justice retains the ancient claim upon human moral agents to build and nurture responsible, equitable, compassionate relationships among humans in the social order. And it incorporates the realization that has come like a revelation to our own time, that human societies cannot flourish unless natural systems flourish too. It affirms, moreover, that the non-human realm is not merely instrumental to human well-being but intrinsically value-laden in its own right.

In 1972, having completed his doctoral studies at Union Theological Seminary, Gibson undertook a campus ministry at Cornell University. Through a life-altering confluence of events that increasingly focused his concern on the carelessness with which humans were abusing this planet and "doing so in ways that would rebound harshly and perhaps fatally upon themselves," he began leadership of what became the Eco-Justice Project and Network (EJPN). From 1974 to 1992, EJPN put on a remarkable series of local/regional/national conferences, colloquia, and forums. From these events and ongoing interactions with the dedicated people who conducted them, Gibson drew the greater portion of this book.

This results in a rich spectrum of chapter titles. A random sampling includes:

Technology: Opportunity and Peril; Duties to Animals, Plants, Species, and Ecosystems: Challenges for Christians; Let My People Farm; Sustainability and Community; Of Place, Creation, and Relations; Prodigality and Frugality: Core Conflict of the Times; Toxic Pollution and Race; Good Work, the Big Chill, and the Sadness of Dinks. (If you have an antelope's obsessive curiosity, you may buy the book just to learn what "Dinks" are.)

In these swiftly-changing times one might question the merit of reading speeches and essays conceived, in the majority of cases, so many years ago (Part III was authored recently). However, to back off for that reason would be a serious mistake, for two excellent reasons. (1) The contributors have skillfully identified fundamental cultural flaws and have offered wise alternative paradigms which are, in spite of their urgency, relatively timeless; and (2) The time interval between then and the present is sufficient to validate the authors' prescience as to where the prevailing sociological/economic/ecological paradigm is taking us.

This book is not for those seeking warm fuzzies, nor will it appeal to those hoping for an effortless "Five Easy Steps To Eco-Justice" palliative. It will appeal strongly to those who do not shrink from passages such as this:

The course is rocky, with enormous obstacles. They include not only the short-sighted self-interest of the powerful but also the deep, pervasive assumptions of our culture about progress and growth, the good life, and the relationship of humankind with nature.

They will find renewed resolve, as I have, in a concluding pronouncement by Gibson:

I live with hope because I find meaning and joy, excitement and adventure, companionship and community, and many small and large satisfactions by participating in God's project, the eco-justice journey.