Some ways man is ruining the earth (Revelation 11:18.

[Newtonian]

Another way man is ruining the earth is deforestation. Feel free to browse over 100 articles in our literature on deforestation here:

Search — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

A few examples among these - from over 30 years ago:

Gone in One Second! — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

"Case in Point: Brazil

In 1987 satellite photographs of the Amazon basin showed that deforestation rates in this one area were higher than some estimates had been for deforestation of the whole planet! As people burned the forest to clear it, fires by the thousands lighted the nights. The smoke cloud was the size of India and so dense that some airports had to close. By one estimate, the Amazon basin every year loses an area of rain forest the size of Belgium."

From over 15 years ago:

Rain Forests—Who Will Save Them? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

"Long before the present population explosion, many governments pillaged forests in their quest for power and riches. For instance, the British Empire’s need for timber to build ships led to the destruction of Britain’s own oak stands and then the teak forests of Burma and Thailand. The same empire denuded forests in India to fuel iron foundries. Other forests were cleared for rubber, coffee, and cocoa plantations.

After the second world war, however, chain saws and bulldozers made it possible to clear-cut forests on a new scale. More and more, fragile forests were exploited as a resource.....

Official corruption too has written death warrants for many forests. A logging permit is worth big money. For a bribe, some dishonest officials have been known to give short-term concessions to companies that plunder the timber with no regard for conservation.

The biggest threat to the wildlife in forests, however, is, not logging, but changing woodlands over to agriculture. When the land is fertile, in some cases such a changeover may be justified. But often, corrupt or incompetent officials have needlessly signed away forests that can never be recovered.....

Deforestation and loss of wildlife, then, are not the inevitable result of increasing population. They are often the result of mismanagement, greedy commerce, crime, and corrupt government. That being so, what hope is there for conserving the immense diversity of life that is found in tropical rain forests?"

to be continued

Among countries with an annual per capita GDP of least $4,600, deforestation has ceased to exist.

Source: Returning forests analyzed with the forest identity

The title of this NASA article is “Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds.”

Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds

From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study.

web.archive.org

Both of these things are excellent news.

Congratulations to the environentalists for saving the forests.

And at the same time, shame on the environmentalists for ignoring their own successes.

I don't know why, but the environmental movement hates good news. For some reason, they always feel the need to claim that things are getting worse and worse, even when things are getting better and better.

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Its both. But, of course, you are correct that plants do better with more CO2 in the atmosphere.

Our literature is balanced - even more so our current literature. We don't just report how man is ruining the earth. For example:

Watching the World — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

"Overgrazing, drought, deforestation, and overexploitation of water resources are turning vast areas of China into a dust bowl. Hence, Chinese authorities have begun “the biggest ecological project the world has seen,” says New Scientist. “Under this programme, which has become known as the ‘green great wall,’ trees have been planted on an unprecedented scale to create a barrier that will halt the dust in its tracks.” Grasses and shrubs are also being planted to stabilize dusty soils. Begun in 1978, the project is almost halfway to its goal of covering 86 million acres [35 million ha] of land with trees and drought-tolerant plants."

Notice that we are aware of deforestation and unwise use of water resources, but we also report on positive changes. Simply we report on both things getting worse and things getting better.

 

[Newtonian]

1) How many members of the JW religion?

2) How does that bode viz. the odds of you being one of those who get raptured?

About 8 million - I will research the exact number and get back to you.

We do not believe in the 'rapture' doctrine, though we do believe those whom Jesus chooses to rule with him will receive a resurrection to heaven. Most of us will live forever on the earth, as per:

Psalms 37:29

The righteous will possess the earth,+
And they will live forever on it.+

In contrast, Jehovah God will destroy those destroying the earth (both physically and morally) - see Revelation 11:18. Part of the good news of God's kingdom is stated at Revelation 21:4 - "death will be no more."

8 million....And you're going to be one of 144,000....M'kay.

No he isn't one of the "anointed", not old or crazy enough to meet the requirement.

There is no specific requirement other than being called and then chosen by Jesus Christ to rule with him.

There is an old saying: you can't be all chiefs and no indians! It is as Jesus said: "the meek shall inherit the earth" [not heaven] - Matthew 5:5; Psalms 37:10,11,29.

Btw - how old do you think I am?

Hint: my father was born in 1899.

 

[Newtonian]

You all - we do not just report on deforestation but also reforestation - e.g.:

Watching the World — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

"A Pan-African project, launched by the African Union in 2007, aims to halt the desert’s advance with a green wall. From Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East, 11 countries are planting millions of seedlings of appropriate species, in an effort to create a swath of vegetation 4,750 miles (7,600 km) long and 9 miles (15 km) wide. “We have to plant species which offer no incentive for logging,” says Aliou Guissé, professor of plant ecology at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. It is hoped that the reforested areas will also serve as a nature reserve and provide sustainable resources for local communities."

 

[Newtonian]

More on the Pan-African project producing "The Great Green Wall" here:

The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative as an opportunity to enhance resilience in Sahelian landscapes and livelihoods - Regional Environmental Change

Over the past 50 years, a large number of development initiatives have addressed the diverse social and ecological challenges in the Sahel, often focusing on a single entry point or action, resulting in only a limited degree of success. Within the last decade, the international development...

link.springer.com

Excerpts:



The spatial evolution of the GGW path. The original (light green; adapted from Agence France-Presse) and updated (dark green) approximate paths for the 11 founding countries are illustrated. The updated path was simulated based on the individual GGW National Action Plans of each of the 11 founding GGW countries located at the pan-African Green Wall website (Agence Panafricaine de la Grande Muraille Verte). The GGW has progressively expanded to include 21 countries across the African continent (the additional countries in light gray)."

Of course, this is an example reported in our literature and detailed in the scientific literature on one way man is trying to reverse the ruining of the planet - under the general heading of "reforsestation" and the halting of desertification.

 

[Drop Dead Fred]

Are you suggesting that our past successes are reason to stop working to make the future better - or to keep it from getting worse?

I am saying that our past successes are reasons for us to believe that we will have future successes. Instead of teaching young people that the world is going to end in 12 years, we should teach them that the past predictions of doom did not come true. We should teach young people about science and technology, instead of scaremongering.

I encourage everyone to read the books "The Ultimate Resource 2" by Julian Simon, and "The Skeptical Environentalist" by Bjorn Lomborg.

The first of those can be read for free online at this link:

The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment

The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment, by Julian Simon

www.juliansimon.com

 

[Drop Dead Fred]

You all - we do not just report on deforestation but also reforestation - e.g.:

Watching the World — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

"A Pan-African project, launched by the African Union in 2007, aims to halt the desert’s advance with a green wall. From Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East, 11 countries are planting millions of seedlings of appropriate species, in an effort to create a swath of vegetation 4,750 miles (7,600 km) long and 9 miles (15 km) wide. “We have to plant species which offer no incentive for logging,” says Aliou Guissé, professor of plant ecology at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. It is hoped that the reforested areas will also serve as a nature reserve and provide sustainable resources for local communities."

“We have to plant species which offer no incentive for logging,”

That is a brilliant strategy!