Patuxent, Maryland, Friends Meeting
Minute on Ecological Sustainability
(approved June 6, 1999)
Patuxent Friends believe that ecological sustainability should be added to our existing Quaker testimonies—for the following reasons:
- The concept of ecological sustainability has a spiritual depth. It includes a resolve to live in harmony with biological and physical systems. It also includes a sense of connectedness and the utter dependence of human society within the intricate web of life. It recognizes our responsibility to future generations to care for the Earth and our home and the home of all that dwell herein.
- We are deeply concerned by resource depletion and environmental pollution caused by rapid growth in population, technology, and industry. We are told that, at the present growth rate of 90 million humans a year, the Earth’s natural resources cannot be sustained or renewed.
- A testimony of ecological sustainability dovetails with traditional Quaker testimonies such as peace, simplicity, equality, community, and integrity. Each relates to the others.
As Patuxent Friends, we hereby rededicate ourselves to the above principles. Let us, to the extent of our abilities, respond to disproportionate distribution of Earth’s resources, minimize the effects of cultures of affluence and over-consumption, support voluntary family planning, strive for ecologically and economically regenerative communities with a creative simplicity, and be at peace in this sacred place—our Earth.