good war: paradise

Waning gibbous moon. Sun slow (clock ahead of sun).

The war on nature

Today, for much of the world, the climate crisis is simply one of many challenges facing humanity. But alert observers know the depth of the harm to nature.

The sixth mass extinction of life on earth is happening now.

A ‘mass extinction’ or ‘extinction event’ can be defined as a rapid and widespread loss of biodiversity. With the International Union for Conservation of Nature predicting that 99.9% of critically endangered species and 67% of endangered species may be lost within the next 100 years (IUCN, 2019), there are strong indicators for the presence of a 6th mass extinction event. (Earth.Org)

Looking at the first graph prompts a question: What changed in the last 500 years? Another graph gives one answer.

Of course it's not just the rise in the human population that's killing other forms of life on earth. It's our way of life, especially consumerism — the acquisition of goods beyond essential needs — driven by individualism (ego), casteism (status), and capitalism (wealth). The average U.S. citizen, for example, . . .

• produces about 4.9 pounds of trash per day.
• generates 100 gallons of wastewater per day.
• leaves a carbon footprint of 17 tons per year (global average is 7 tons per year)

This kind of consumption is rooted in the three toxic energies of human nature, concentrated in harmful systems, as follows. Note: oneness here refers to the interconnectedness of all life.

Toxic energy / harmful system

• delusion / individualism — blindness to oneness due to focus on ego.
• hatred / casteism — dividing oneness through ill will.
• greed / capitalism — serving self-interest over oneness.

With millions of people living lifestyles in systems fueled by toxic energies, it's like waging a war on nature and destroying paradise.

We need a good war on the toxic parts of human nature

In the midst of a mass extinction, what we need now is nothing less than a transformation in our collective way of life: from a war on nature (through consumerism and everything that entails), to a war on the toxic parts of human nature. Wisdom traditions are the traditional providers of four antidotes to toxic energies: wisdom, courage, kindness, and oneness. That's what we need to grow if want to preserve paradise. And that's why I write love god.

I'm not alone in perceiving the need to unite and mobilize religious people. In June, Deepak Bhargava, President of Freedom Together Foundation, wrote . . .

"Churches, synagogues, and mosques are the largest membership organizations in the U.S. Nearly half of Americans count themselves members of a faith community, and recent trends away from religious attendance appear to have leveled off ..." (Freedom Together Foundation)

Not only are faith communities "America’s largest available source of people power," they also manage meaningful resources. "Roughly a quarter of all donations in the U.S., $150 billion per year, goes to faith-based organizations."

Bhargava posits two conclusions in his letter, "The Spiritual Roots of Change."

1. ". . . there can be no transformational social change across this country without two key components: engagement and leadership from diverse communities of faith and tapping into the power of spirit."
2. "What I’ve come to recognize over the years is that this connection to the sacred [oneness] is also the taproot of social change — the fundamental, infinite source of energy, wisdom, and commitment that powers the work of justice."

I agree. How will this cure a mass extinction due to human activity? We did not start this mass extinction overnight. We will not end it overnight. Many seeds of destruction were planted long ago and are still nurtured today. Many more seeds of regeneration need to be planted and nurtured instead. Let me share one story of one such seed . . .

Loka PREP

I subscribe to news from Green The Church, a nonprofit group working "at the intersection of the black faith community and environmental justice." They are lovers of god and lovers of nature. Late last year (December 2025), Green The Church sent a message about Loka PREP, encouraging folks to apply.

Looking into Loka PREP: Preparing Religious Environmental Plans, I saw that it was a new program of the Center of Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Loka PREP integrates science with religious and traditional knowledge and is for "global faith leaders seeking hands-on guidance to create environmental and climate projects that fit their geography, culture, and faith tradition."

Seeing that it was connected to the Center for Healthy Minds, a world-renowned team known for key studies on the neuroscience of wellbeing (including the physical effects of contemplation), I was intrigued. Looking at the Loka PREP webpage, I saw it was supported by Templeton World Charity, a foundation whose focus on science and Religion I admire. So based on those two connections, plus the recommendation from Green The Church, I applied.

Two weeks later, in late December, I was accepted into the program. It consisted of 10 live sessions online, once a week, January-March. It culminated with a week-long conference-retreat at Holy Wisdom monastery in Madison, Wisconsin, March 23-27. The course was free. All expenses for the week-long conference were paid for by Loka PREP and their sponsors. Here was an accessible way to work on preserving paradise.

To highlight just one element, the week-long conference was incredible. Loka PREP convened 35+ global faith leaders — all working on environmental projects — representing multiple religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and more. Participants hailed from Argentina, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, and the US, representing 12 US states and 8 countries in all.

Let us be alert to the war on nature now underway. Let us recognize our true enemies: delusion, hatred, and greed in us and around us. And let us fight a good war to overcome them, the way rooted faith traditions have so often in the past, only this time to protect paradise from the war on nature.