An End to Ruin

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN

“A third of the natural world has been destroyed by human activity in the past 25 years.”

SO REPORTS the World Wide Fund for Nature. This startling statistic was unveiled at the release of a Living Planet Index, a new statistical analysis of the world’s environment.

Conservationists reported a 10-percent decline in forested areas of the planet. But this figure masks greater losses in both tropical rain forest and dry forest areas, to say nothing of the loss of forest species, which probably exceeds 10 percent, notes The Independent newspaper of London. The marine environment has suffered a 30-percent loss, evident in the decline of such species as the bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the leatherback turtle in Asian waters. Worst of all is the 50-percent drop in the Freshwater Ecosystems Index, blamed mainly on increasing agricultural and industrial pollution together with much greater water consumption.

“The conservation of natural ecosystems is not a luxury which only the rich can afford,” comments Sir Ghillian Prance, director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, London, England, “but is essential to ensure the maintenance of the vital ecological functions of our planet upon which we all depend for our survival.” Each inhabitant of this planet is involved. So how can a lasting global solution be achieved?

Interestingly, the last book of the Bible, Revelation, refers to those who ruin the earth. It foretells a time when such ones will themselves be brought to ruin. (Revelation 11:18) Will there be survivors? Yes, because this will come about through the intervention of “Jehovah God, the Almighty,” who has the only solution to this earth’s environmental problems and the power to carry it out. (Revelation 11:17) Revelation 21:3 describes a time when God “will reside with [mankind], and they will be his peoples.”

How can you become one of ‘his people’ and have the prospect of seeing the present-day decline of earth’s environment reversed? Please contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area by writing to one of the addresses on page 5. Or talk with them the next time they visit your home. They will gladly help you learn more about what you can do right now to be ready when God shortly intervenes.