In the early days of the 21^st century, the people of a great nation cried out for cheap, abundant energy to light their nights, warm their homes in the winter and cool their sweaty brows in the summer.  They sought power to charge their ipods, their phones, their Blackberries and Palm Pilots, and to run their laptops and plasma TVs.  They sought the blessed, seven-seated SUV to carry their 2.5 children and occasionally their soccer teams.  They built McMansions for two, and left their lights on at night to drive away the darkness. They warmed or cooled their homes while they were away so they would be comfortable upon their return....

            Great companies arose to meet the desires of the people – to supply cheap and abundant energy.  They found ways to meet the demand that not only supplied the people's insatiable hunger, but which also created great profits for the companies and those who stood at their helm.  They knew they could build huge, pulverized coal burning plants that polluted the environment; and they could build them even if they weren't needed, because people feared any lack of comfort.  They even sought, and were granted, exemptions from pollution standards; the people's hunger was so great.

            The people and the companies that served them were given over to their desires and their greed.  Mountains were leveled and streams diverted or buried.  Fish sickened and died. The skies darkened with poisonous greenhouse gases and toxic mercury particles, the snows fled their ancient homes, the ice packs to the north and south retreated in fear.  Children who once breathed the free air became hostages to asthma, allergies, cancer, heart disease, brain damage and death.  The elderly feared to leave their heated or air conditioned homes because there were code red days and ozone alerts that meant simply breathing outside brought for them the risk of death.

            The day came when the children of the earth feared the outdoors even more than they feared not having enough power to run all their gadgets and toys.  They feared the sun that brought with it deadly cancer.  They feared the breeze that brought with it asthma and emphysema.  They told the great companies, “Enough!  Enough of the great coal burning plants that destroy the air.  Enough of the mining that destroys the mountains, ruins the streams, and pollutes our waters.  We will let go of our greed – and make wise decisions on efficient ways of living.  We will demand that products we buy make more efficient use of power.  We will support searches for alternative fuels and cleaner ways of producing energy – harnessing the wind and rushing waters.”

            And the great companies finally listened to the wisdom of the people.  They saw how the destruction of mountains and the pollution of rivers harmed the earth and her people.  They saw how adding more coal-fired plants caused deadly health issues to the very people they sought to serve.  And they, as fellow human beings on this fragile earth, our island home, used their money in an attempt to heal the world.  But they had waited too long.  And the people's stewardship of the earth came to an end.  Because even God could not keep alive a world that wanted to die.