Not green enough: a response to the green pope and the green patriarch based on the dark green thought of Thomas Berry

The teachings of the current Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople are saturated with the green hue of environmental awareness. They have called upon humankind to alter its worldviews and lifestyles to protect the environment. It is our contention that their awareness does not go far enough. It is not green enough. This article argues that the writings of Thomas Berry, Catholic priest, cultural historian, and self-titled ‘geologian’ offer a more appropriate approach, one that is of a darker shade of green that is needed in the face of the current crisis. The essential argument is that human actions will not change until our conceptual framework has been altered and that Berry offers just such a framework for the human future.