Religion, Environment & Islamic Worldview
By Mass L. Usuf –October 11, 2016
Mass Usuf
The Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, had organized an International Conference on the Humanities (ICH) which was held on the 06th and 07th October at the Faculty of Humanities. This time, the theme of the conference was, “New Direction in the Humanities: Our Engagement with the Environment.” The focus was on Environmental Humanities which according to ICH is an interdisciplinary area of international research and teaching that encompasses multiple shades of learning.
Below is the full text of an abstract that was presented by me for a panel discussion on the topic “Religion and Environment”, at the Conference.
“Remember in 1975, Chairman Scorer of DuPont which made 1/4 of the world’s Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), commented that the ozone depletion theory was “a science fiction tale…a load of rubbish…utter nonsense.” (Chemical Week, 16 July 1975). It was a scary statement. Had it been true, we would not be sitting here! Four decades later our presence today is testimony that the ozone layer is indeed depleting.
What is wrong with the Environment? The simple answer is global warming, loss of bio diversity, climate change, water scarcity, depletion of ozone layer, acid rain, toxic materials, destruction of forests, air pollution.
The Background
The Industrial Revolution of the 1700s changed the way man behaved. The anthropogenic contribution since then have produced a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency carbon dioxide alone comprise 81% of all the greenhouse gases. The discovery and burning of coal and later other fossil fuels triggered the emission of greenhouse gases and the onset of environmental degradation.
