My sixth-grade science class was required to do a project. Being interested in medicine, I decided to research blood typing. I made an appointment with the head of the medical lab at our local Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario. As I was asking the Lab Director questions about blood types and the procedure for determining blood types, he seemed a little distracted. Finally, he started talking to me about air quality and smog. He became quite animated and was showing me spreadsheets, charts and, graphs and explaining their meaning. Whether this passion was a hobby or an aspect of his job responsibility, I do not remember. He was excited about something he had discovered about the local air quality that day. I had never heard of smog before. I received an education that day in air quality and smog as well as blood typing.

Little did I know at that time that my family would relocate a few years later to the Los Angeles, California, metropolitan area and settle in the city of Burbank. I enrolled at John Muir Junior High for 9th grade. The school was situated in the foothills of Burbank about a 9 block walk from our house on Jolley Drive. The campus boasted a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley. On many mornings I could look across the valley and see a brown hazy smog cloud forming at the far end. Throughout the day, that cloud would expand and eventually cover the whole valley. I remember the smell, the taste, and the sinus headaches I would sometimes experience from breathing in that polluted air.

The term sanctity refers to the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly. Sanctity also denotes something of utmost importance or inviolability. As one who acknowledges and worships God as the creator of the universe, I espouse the sanctity of all healthy life forms. Human life is sacred. The life of our earthly biosphere is also sacred. The Psalmist sings of God who has purposed for mankind to have dominion over the works of His hands. Addressing God, the Psalmist sings, “You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6). We, humans, are responsible for being environmentalists, wise stewards, and competent managers of our biosphere in ways that allow every desirable life form to thrive.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to revisit Burbank on several occasions. During those visits, the air has been clear, with no smog cloud, no smog smell, no taste of polluted air, and no sinus headaches. I’m sure the air is still far from pristine, but the air quality has definitely improved since my school days at John Muir. This improvement is just one fruit of the global environmental movement. To review a timeline of the environmental movement check out this link: https://timelines.issarice.com/wiki/Timeline_of_the_environmentalist_movement

This movement is not without controversy, but it has and is making a positive difference in our biosphere. The present White House administration is leading our nation backward on environmental issues. Pulling out the Paris Climate Agreement and rolling back hard-won environmental gains by previous administrations is unfortunate. Here is a link to a recent article:

The Trump Administration Is
Reversing Nearly 100 Environmental
Rules. Here’s the Full List.

Fortunately, many business leaders have picked up the environmentalist mantle. They are continuing to make changes in their business models and practices to address significant environmental issues such as climate change.