EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Fourteen, Number Three May / June 2005 A Planet On The Brink by Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury Too often in recent decades, the two big "e" words — ecology and economy — have been used as though they represented opposing concerns. Yes, we should be glad to do more about the environment, if only this didn't interfere with economic development and with the liberty of people and nations to create wealth in whatever ways they can. Or, we should be glad to address environmental issues if we could be sure that we had first resolved the challenge of economic injustice within and between societies. So from both left and right there has often been a persistent sense that it isn't proper or possible to tackle both together, let alone to give a different sort of priority to ecological matters. But this separation or opposition has come to look like a massive mistake. It has been said that "the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment." The earth itself is what ultimately controls economic activity because it is the source of the materials upon which economic activity works. The complete text of this April 17, 2005 speech may be viewed at www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/050417.htm Home     Table of Contents