Pass the baton

Our race through life begs the question -- like the relay race in which the baton is passed from one runner to the next. "What condition will the environmental baton be when we pass it on to the next generations -- our children and their children?"

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a significant reminder that we apparently have a short term or casual perspective toward our natural world. In this situation not only is the natural world assaulted -- in addition the culture of a region is devastated.

Recently while at church -- the minister focused on the issue of the Gulf oil spill. The congregation sang "This is my Father's World" written in 1901 by Maltbie D. Babcock.

Both the sermon and the song left a significant impression with me. It strengthened feelings and personal convictions. It reinforced a simple but important rule from my father. My job was to always return the tools that father had borrowed from the neighbors. His rule was simple "Return them in better condition than received" and that was my job. The song at church was appropriate to this concept as the first verse indicates:

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas: his hand the wonders wrought.

"This is my Father's World" truly reflects the idea that the world and its beauty is ours to consider with reverence passing it on to future generations so that our economy and the natural systems can be maintained to benefit those that will inherit what we leave.

The heavy responsibility of stewardship is passed on to each generation. The temptationfor short term gain through the mining of our soils and natural resources needs to be put in the context of use of the natural world on a sustainable basis. It is like making a financial investment that pays a dividend in perpetuity. In many cases we are tapping into the principal or asset so that it becomes depleted and after a period of time not only is the income depleted so is the asset.

Can we truly pass the world on to our children, grandchildren and their children in "better condition than we received it? That is our challenge.

The song "It is our Father's World" implies that the resources of the world are owned in common. As the "Father" - society has the responsibility for the harvesting of those resources on a judicious and carefully measured basis. In athletic terms -- are we passing the baton on to the next generation so that we feel a deep sense of pride or will we drop the baton and loose the race?