Spec 1

Recycle/protect the environment/stop pollution/raise awareness about environmental issues, etc.

2021

Reduce / recycle / reuse / raise awareness about the abuse of the world’s natural resources / walk or cycle or use public transport instead of petrol or diesel cars / select products that have little plastic packaging / turn off lights that are not being used / reuse bags for shopping / live sustainably / replant trees to prevent deforestation / use renewable energy / write to MPs / use the media / educate people, etc.

2021

Some religious believers accept the Big Bang theory which is currently the leading scientific explanation for how the universe began / it suggests that the universe started with an incredibly small, hot, dense something – a singularity, which expanded over approximately 13.8 billion years or so to become the cosmos which we know today / as the universe cooled the material which had been flung in all directions became stars and galaxies and planets, etc.

Christianity
Genesis 1 states that God designed and created the universe and it was good / God spoke the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) / Genesis 1.1 – 2.3 says that God created the universe and everything in it in six days and rested on the seventh day and made it holy / some Christians believe that this is literally true but others say that the story is designed to show that the universe wasn’t an accident but was created by God / others accept the Big Bang theory as the way God created everything, etc.

Judaism
Genesis 1 tells how God, by speaking, created everything that exists, including humans on the sixth day / “When God began to create heaven and earth – the earth being un-formed and void” Genesis 1:1 / the Torah says that God created the universe and everything in it in six days and rested on the seventh day and made it holy / many Jews say that the Torah suggests that God designed everything and so do not accept that it was an accident / some Jews believe that the Big Bang was caused by God / others say that Judaism asks the question ‘Why did the universe come into being not how, etc.

2022

Human survival depends on looking after the environment / if it is abused it cannot easily be replaced or repaired / the way the environment is treated will affect future generations so people should reduce, reuse and recycle / non-renewable resources cannot be replaced / human actions have a real impact on nature and the climate / if it isn’t protected the world will turn into a desert or become burning hot, etc.

Christianity
God created humans to look after the world (Genesis – Adam and Eve looked after the Garden of Eden) / people have not been given the right to abuse, spoil, waste or destroy what God has made / ideas of stewardship and trusteeship – Genesis 2: 15, Psalm 8: 6 / important to live sustainably / God will hold people accountable on Judgement Day / humans are only tenants of God’s world (Leviticus 25 : 23), etc.

Judaism
God created humans to look after the environment (Genesis – Adam and Eve looked after the Garden of Eden) / ideas of stewardship and trusteeship / the bal tashchit (do not waste) precept supports looking after the environment / Leviticus – love thy neighbour / ‘All that I created for you …. do not corrupt or desolate my world …’ (Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7: 13) / God will hold people accountable on Judgement Day / tikkun olam (healing the world) / the Messiah will come when the
world is healed, etc. 

Spec 2

Pollution damages the world that God created/abuse of stewardship/will produce bad karma/not a loving or compassionate act because it affects people and other living creatures, etc.

2019

Encourage governments to keep to their internationally agreed targets to reduce pollution / write to MPs / use the media / educate people / reduce gas emissions which cause acid rain / use renewable, clean energies / campaign for more safeguards to prevent massive oil spills / reduce the use of toxic chemicals / campaign for the control of pesticides / personally avoid littering / set a good example by clearing up litter / reduce / recycle / reuse / reduce reliance on plastic / use public transport / walk /cycle / electric vehicles / plant trees / support charities like A Rocha, Operation Noah.