Activism, Activists, Celebrities, Resilience

Faith in the Future

Why these good folks think caring for the environment is worth our time.

BY Semini Pathberiya on

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I have faith in the future because I believe Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’
– Rob Shirkey, Our Horizon

I have faith in the future because I believe Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’
– Rob Shirkey, Our Horizon

I have faith in the future because more and more people are engaging in climate and energy advocacy. Good organizing used to be about how many people you could get around your kitchen table, today this generation is connected to thousands in seconds and they are not taking no for an answer.
– Tzeporah Berman, activist and adjunct professor at York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies

I have hope for the future because over the past 15 years I’ve seen an increasing number of churches embrace the call to steward the planet. What had seemed like a fringe concern is now part of mainstream faith communities and is supported by a robust theology of creation care. Because caring for creation is increasingly seen as a matter of faith and discipleship Christians are willing to make sacrifices to live more lightly on the planet, but are doing so with joy. One outworking of this change, and one I’m especially encouraged by, is the number of community gardens popping up on church properties across Canada.
– Markku Kostamo, President, A Rocha Canada

I have faith in the future because my sons are smarter on the environment than I was at their age!
– Rick Smith, Executive Director, Broadbent Institute

I have faith in the future because humans adapt – many now make everyday choices, including career choices, with the environment in mind.
– Robert Paehlke, Founding Editor of Alternatives Journal and Professor Emeritus, Trent University

I have faith in the future because I trust natural evolution.
– Rex Weyler, Co-founder, Greenpeace International

Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social conditioning.
– Pope Francis, encyclical on ecology, June 2015 Laudato Si’ (Praise Be)

I have faith in the future because a generational change is upon us, one that opens up new possibilities and new ways of doing things.
– Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

I have faith in the future because I have four grandchildren and it is a moral imperative to have hope for them and all their generation.
– Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians

I have faith in the future because it is difficult to believe that a species uniquely endowed with high intelligence, the capacity to reason from the evidence and the ability to plan ahead would allow itself to be pushed into the abyss by obstinate adherence to wonky ideologies, systemic denial, primitive tribal rivalries and reptilian short-sightedness.
– William Rees, University of British Columbia Professor, Co-vfounder, Ecological Footprint

I have faith in the future because our friends and loved ones will be there – keeping us company and working alongside us.
– Gideon Forman, Climate Change and Transportation Policy Analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation

I have faith in the future because I believe in compassion, and I see many people in the world not only living compassionately but nurturing compassion in others. Compassion will lead us towards the right choices for the planet and all of its inhabitants.
– Joanne McArthur, Documentary photographer, We Animals

I have faith in the future because children are born with such light in their eyes, as if they know way more than the rest of us!
– Bridget Law, Elephant Revival

I have faith in the future because I have FAITH. To me faith has several dimensions. One of them is that my faith puts me and all my fellow humans in our place in the scheme of things. We humans don’t run this world, we just work here as part of a much-larger ever-changing universe. The presence of faith acknowledges the existence of so much more in patterns and interactions intrinsically beyond rational human understanding.
– Ursula M. Franklin, CC, FRSC Professor Emerita, University of Toronto Senior Fellow, Massey College

Let us have faith in our intellect, in ourselves, in our staunch spirit and our ability to progress. Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us replace impatience and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love. Let hope be our guide.
– Jane Goodall, Goodall Institute

Share your thoughts on faith and hope for the future by emailing to david@alternativesjournal.ca and we’ll post them to this list.

Semini is a graduate of the Environment and Resource Studies program at the University of Waterloo and a former A\J editorial intern.