Religiously Environmental

The American Academy of Religion conference will be held in Montreal on November 7-10. That it is in Canada is an extreme rarity and I'm registered to attend (I'll blog my sessions). In the course of planning for this conference, I had a discussion with a prof who has given up conference travel for environmental reasons. I've often thought of this over the past few years both from fiscal as well as environmental standpoints. Such conferences are great learning experiences and even greater networking opportunities. But it is a lot of travel and expense for what is usually 3-4 days. As a Christian I need to be concerned with these questions. Sometimes I think Christians get so focused on the future "new heaven and new earth" (Revelation 21) that we neglect this one. Don't get me wrong; the idea of an earth restored into what it should have been in God's original intention is fantastic and I want to live in such a world! But from the very beginning of the Bible there is also the idea that human beings rule the earth only as regents or stewards (Genesis 1). We enjoy its benefits but it is not ours to do as we please. I do believe God will hold us accountable for our poor stewardship. So where does that leave me? I think it is valuable for me as a young scholar to attend this conference, but I need to find ways to reduce my carbon footprint. First, I'm taking the train to Montreal. It is a longer but greener trip. I plan to find other ways to reduce. Anyone know of any good virtual conferences upcoming?