Earth Day Debacle

As a farmer I celebrate Earth Day every day. I walk my land, sit on it, lie down on it, hug it, love it. Without my land I couldn't have my sheep. The land is a spiritual entity that is to be respected and cared for. Earth Day falls on Good Friday this year, presenting ethical and religious issues to be questioned. The Christian Bible says that God gave the Earth to man - to use it for his purposes, and, sadly, use it up. I remember as a young child, fishing on the dock on Lake Sinclair with my Uncle Fred, during summer vacation. He attached a little frog to the hook, which horrified me. I protested and he quoted the New Testament verse about God giving the earth and all it's resources to humankind. It didn't seem right to me at the time, and still doesn't. I drive by local fields where plastic from wrapped bales is torn and strewn all over the place, and where farmers have dammed up streams so they can conveniently cross over. Fortunately I don't see many chemicals being spread because our area is so poor and manure is the black gold I use myself. That's not the case in other areas where chemicals are spread liberally to discourage weeds, bugs, etc. And then there's the injection of chemicals to find natural gas. I live in fear of the absentee owner of the top of my hill deciding to drill for gas and polluting the springs that I and my sheep drink from. And big companies are owning water sources now? How can fresh water be privatized? Greed is what drives humans to ruin the earth. God just might decide to take it back.