Increases in fuel and other energy efficiencies on the part of the American public could eliminate a large part of American dependency upon Middle Eastern oil. Diplomatic and nonviolent political measures, explored through the mediation of the United Nations, have the capacity to bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We find no excuse for war. Scientists provide knowledge about the natural web of existence, showing how the air, the waters, the land and the inhabitants and resources of the earth interrelate. They also warn that the loss of species, the destruction of ecosystems and the pollution of air and water can destroy the environment upon which all parts of the creation, including humans, rely to survive and grow.
Various sources exist for a realization that care for the natural world is a spiritual concern.
Those who consider the Bible as the primary source of their spirituality may find in that test the notion that Jesus chose the living environment as a natural place to seek communion with God and possessed a deep sense of the interrelated holiness of all life. Both Christians and Jews can derive a belief of the sacredness of all creation from the revelation in the book of Genesis that all of the universe, not simply humans, flows from the divine creative energy. An awareness of and sensitivity to the intricate web of creation and its divine composition can also be a sound foundation for a commitment to respect, heal, preserve and restore that web of creation. In our necessary use of the goods of nature, we can act with an attitude of reverence and gratitude for the gifts which sustain our life, limiting our use and directing our management toward the long-term sustainability of ecosystems and consciously choosing some ways to give back to nature in return for it gifts to us. Tying Quakerism to a particular formulation of belief may cause the Religious Society of Friends to lose the essential ingredient of spontaneous response to inward guidance, which is it defining characteristic.