Brookings resident Carl Kline is an ordained clergyman, part-time teacher and occasional blogger.

I’m told there are 22 million women in this country between the ages of 20 and 40 who do not have children. This information came from an interview with J.D. Vance, who apparently would like to see us return to a former time, when more of an emphasis was placed on the family. That family emphasis was common when I was growing up. In those days you could feed and house a family on one income and most women, like my mother, chose to have children; staying at home and being the primary caretaker. A family with four or more children was not uncommon.

I’ve seen that attitude change over the years, as people began to think more than two children was unethical and too many, as populations exploded and living space declined; and, as women joined the work-force in increasing numbers, just to keep a roof over the heads of their family and food on the table. I’m afraid those days of even two children are in transition now, and an economy under Donald Trump and J.D. Vance would not encourage lots of children and one bread-winner.

I recall the young Dakota woman in my Christian Ethics class, who told the other students it was unethical for women of her generation to have children, given the environmental challenges. She shared her thoughts and convictions in a paper that I had to grade an A. Her reasoning was sound and her ethical insights were significant. Of course, she comes from a people with a long tradition of living in harmony with the earth. How often in our usual decision making in this society, do we place the Creation and the Creator first? How often do we consider other life, displaced, as we clear more land and build more infrastructure for human development? How often do we think, in deciding to give birth, what the future world will be like for that child?

In a recent conversation with my grandson, he spoke about a camping trip he took with friends. Although there were times he wasn’t too happy, like eating beans out of a can, the whole experience of being so long in nature was invigorating and renewing.

Our conversation took place shortly after I had finished reading some old correspondence from campers I had counseled. This was a camp in New Hampshire, in the woods and on the water. The campers were all remarking about how it was good to be home, renewed, but missing something essential they had encountered in the natural world at camp. They were already thinking about returning.

For myself, I don’t need anyone to tell me the Black Hills are a sacred place, renewing for the human spirit. The sound of Rapid Creek as it moves over rocks and through its bed; the sound of the wind through the pines; the sudden appearance of deer and other wildlife at home in their environment; all of this soothes the body and soul and enriches the Spirit. The untroubled natural world is still rich with the life of the Creator.

This morning I watched a few videos of the flooding results of Hurricane Helene. It is the strongest hurricane on record to slam into the Big Bend region of Florida. The flooding that occurred in several states has been horrendous, with 59 dead at last count and thousands without water or power.

A few facts: 2023 was the hottest year on earth ever recorded. It followed 10 years that were the warmest 10 years ever recorded. The heat stored in the top 2,000 meters of the ocean in 2023 was the highest ever recorded. (Ocean heat spawns hurricanes.) Sea ice in the Antarctic in 2023 was the lowest on record. Glaciers broke records in retreat, as records were also broken in sea level rise. Already, the summer of 2024 is the hottest ever measured, which will likely make 2024 the hottest year ever.

How long? How long will we continue to ignore the science and endure the destructive results of our ignorance? How long will we continue to turn the natural world into tourist destinations instead of living, renewing space? How long will we continue to think our creativity is superior to that of the Creator?

There is a geologic study taking place at Crawford Lake in Ontario. Examining pollution laden sediment from the late 1950’s, scientists are telling us we have created more environmental harm in seven decades than happened in seven millennia. It seems as if we should be able to recognize that harm, as it stares us in the face; as it burns our homes in fires or buries them in floods.

Perhaps if we determine to spend more time in the natural world; allow it to touch us with its creative power; ignoring the busyness demands of the everyday; we can be renewed by the essence of living in a creation graciously given us by the Creator God, and act accordingly. Or will it take another rise in property insurance to move us?