Article April 17, 2000 Issue

Earth Day every day

Eyeing the environment through the lens of the Ten Commandments

By Judith Haugan Ryan

I had been hired to work on creating a major traveling exhibition about the environment. My expertise was in education and developing museum exhibitions, not in the sciences or ecology. A nationally recognized environmentalist joined us as a consultant, and although we were relying heavily on her expertise, I was also doing some research on my own.

Some of what I learned alerted me to the need for more committed action of my own to benefit the environment. Yes, I was aware of the familiar call to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but I can't say I was truly contributing to any solutions. It wasn't until I started working on the exhibit, getting a deeper picture of the issues and the environmental abuse, that I felt I needed to become more active.

Searching for a solution, I was surprised to see the practicality of the Ten Commandments' instructions (see Ex., chap. 20). Considering the Commandments as laws for living can guide all actions, even in relation to the environment.

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