Thoughts on the Effects of Human use on Creation- Integration Day

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It was our last stop of the day, exhausted and hot we all piled out of the vans and gathered underneath the one section of shade. A hot breeze shifted through the air as we looked at the field in front of us. It was not very large, only a few acres, yet it was surprisingly barren. Grass was the main coverage, in one section there were some dry-looking pines, planted in rows. It turns out that we were looking at an old oil pad, it had not been in use for quite some time. In the 1970s, energy companies discovered that northern Michigan was rich in oil, and began to drill throughout the area. Royalties from the oil production provided a decent amount of revenue for the counties of northern Michigan through the mid-80s. Companies obtained permission from the state to clear a site of about 2 acres to build an oil pad to remove and store the oil. After all the oil was removed, the company would pack out without replanting the trees they had cut down. https://www.ausable.org/ausableblog/2023/3/13/seeing-a-forest-on-an-oil-pad 

Although there had been plenty of time for the forest to grow back, all that was left was a patchy field. Immediately possibilities for why this was were suggested. Contamination? Removed topsoil and organic matter? Packed down soil? Soil disruption? We learned from Prof. Hoekman that Au Sable had done a study on these abandoned well pads. Four different tree species, red oak, white oak, red pine, and jack pine, were planted on different oil pads around the area with different soil treatments, disking, fertilizer, or both. Red pines ended up having the highest success rate, and disking led to the highest survival rate. We walked out into the field to see the results, and only red pine and jack pine remained. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rec.13658



Seeing how this field was so far away from returning to its original forest led me to think about the effects of human use on creation. The inherent use of creation is not a bad thing. It is when we start thinking of nature as only providing resources for humans, instead of seeing it as a relationship. Yes, God told us to rule over the earth. But that ruling did not mean use with no return. God rules us with love, why should we not do the same for the rest of creation. We are called by God to both work and take care of the Earth. Looking back at the oil pads, I do not think drilling oil is always bad. Many benefits and good things have come from the money the oil has provided. But it is when we forget and continue the circle of destruction. There is a way that the forest can be regenerated at these oil pads, maybe it takes putting out compost and mulch, or maybe we don’t know how to fix this specific issue yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to restore our relationship with the land. We are in the Anthropocene era, human footprints cover the earth. We need to find a balance of use, protection, conservation, and restoration. We can still harvest creation’s natural resources, but we should also put our own resources into giving back. Do more research into how we can regenerate the forest at these oil sites, work towards more sustainable practices, and think about the future of the creation. Our relationship with nature is broken, but human health and environmental health go hand in hand. Working towards a balanced give and take with nature is one step closer to God’s Kingdom of Heaven.


Sources

https://www.ausable.org/au-sable-blog/2023/3/13/seeing-a-forest-on-an-oil-pad 


https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rec.13658 (Van Dyke Research Paper)

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