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When God Isn't Green
When God Isn't Green: A World-Wide Journey to Places Where Religious Practice and Environmentalism Collide | Jay Wexler
16 posts | 1 read | 2 to read
In this lively, round-the-world trip, law professor and humorist Jay Wexler explores the intersection of religion and the environment. Did you know that * In Hong Kong and Singapore, Taoists burn paper money to appease "hungry ghosts," filling the air with smoke and dangerous toxins? * In Mumbai, Hindus carry twenty-foot-tall plaster of Paris idols of the elephant god Ganesh into the sea and leave them on the ocean floor to symbolize the impermanence of life, further polluting the scarce water resources of western India? * In Taiwan, Buddhists practicing "mercy release" capture millions of small animals and release them into inappropriate habitats, killing many of the animals and destroying ecosystems? * In Central America, palm frond sales to US customers for Palm Sunday celebrations have helped decimate the rain forests of Guatemala and southern Mexico? * In New York, Miami, and other large US cities, Santeria followers sprinkle mercury in their apartments to fend off witches, poisoning those homes for years to come? * In Israel, on Lag B'omer, a holiday commemorating a famous rabbi, Jews make so many bonfires that the smoke can be seen from space, and trips to the emergency room for asthma and other pulmonary conditions spike? Law professor and humorist Jay Wexler travels the globe in order to understand the complexity of these problems and learn how society can best address them. He feasts on whale blubber in northern Alaska, bumps along in the back of a battered jeep in Guatemala, clambers down the crowded beaches of Mumbai, and learns how to pluck a dead eagle in Colorado, all to answer the question "Can religious practice and environmental protection coexist?"
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keithmalek
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Wexler spends the first twenty percent of the book exploring the link between religion and environmental destruction, and the rest of the book traveling to those places where he explores what, if any, practices the governments and religious leaders are doing to try to improve the situation. What I wasn't expecting was that this book was often quite funny. I found myself disagreeing with him though on how much emphasis he puts on religious freedom.

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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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(Continued)...What about the rights of eagles? And what about the rights of Americans--white, black and red; young, old, and yet unborn--who cherish or will cherish the sight of living eagles? What kind of gods really want eagles dead instead of soaring on our spacious skies?

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keithmalek
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To anyone who wants to glorify the bullshit belief system of Native Americans, I offer you this. I can guarantee you that the eagles feel differently.

BestDogDad Yes! 😖 5y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek

My Spanish is muy crappy. I should have taken Spanish in high school, but instead I took Latin, I guess because I thought it was more important to be able to talk with the pope than the 350 million or so people who speak Spanish all over the world.

Megabooks And now the pope speaks Spanish too! 🤣🤣 I won the Latin Award in high school 🤦🏻‍♀️ 5y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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(Continued)...India and Pakistan.

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keithmalek
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(The practioners of Palo, Santeria, and Voodoo. They do this to ward off evil spirits)

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keithmalek
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Maria514626 😱😡😵😭 5y
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keithmalek
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Chinese New Year celebrations, which for some take on a religious meaning (many believe the fireworks ward off evil spirits); the Muslim holiday of Eid, which marks the end of the Ramadan fasting period; the Hindu festival of lights known as Diwali, and many other religious holidays and festivals around the world are celebrated with the abundant lighting of firecrackers and fireworks.

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keithmalek
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"Next thing you know, he'll be ordering us to not light Hannukuh candles," one angry citizen wrote. In fact, Hannukuh candles do contain hazardous substances like toluene, benzene, and formaldehyde, so it wouldn't be entirely shocking if someone did try to ban them.

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keithmalek
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Lag B'Omer is a Jewish holiday that people celebrate all over Israel by lighting enormous bonfires to commemorate the death of a famous rabbi and the end of a plague that was killing another rabbi's students.

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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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