John Klotz’ Approaching Book on the Shroud

As most of you know, John Klotz is a regular participant in this blog. He has in these last few weeks been working to finish up his book on the Shroud of Turin. A theme, an "Apocalypse of Selfishness," is intrinsically a part of the book. With that in mind, he has turned to his blog, Quantum Christ, to republish something he wrote in 1972.  Here is the beginning:

^{The following piece was written by me in 1972 as a part of my studies for my Master’s Degree in International law.of International Law degree at New York University. In concerns the prospect of prosecuting ocean polluters as for international crimes just as we prosecute pirates. The first section: The Death of the Ocean the Mother of life seems particularly relevant to environmental crisis we face today that now threatens the humanity with an "Apocalypse of Selfishness."}

Reprinted from The International Lawyer, Vol.6, No. 4, October 1972 Page 706 
Copyright 1972 American Bar Association

Are Ocean Polluters Subject to Universal Jurisdiction: Canada Breaks the Ice

By John C. Klotz*

A.      The Death of the Ocean – Mother of Life

      Until now, human development has proceeded on the assumption  that the earth and its resources were created for the use and  exploitation by mankind, and were so plentiful that little  thought need be given to their ultimate exhaustion.(Nte. 1) In terms  of ecology, man’s economic theories have advanced little beyond  those of the Stone Age: "slash and burn" agricultural communities  who roam the world’s tropical forests, slashing and burning trees  to create small plots for cultivation, and when the soil is soon  exhausted, moving on to another part of the forest to slash and  burn again.

      Similarly, modern man has exploited the resources of the  earth with such reckless abandon, that the human race is now  faced with an ecological crisis of unbelievable complexity. We  now know that the earth’s resources are limited, with the points  of exhaustion of many of the most basic resources near at hand,  and that exploitation and industrialization are exacting such a  fearful toll that life, as we now know it, may be doomed to  extinction.(Nte. 2)

      Perhaps the most obvious of the world’s endangered  ecological systems is the ocean.(Nte. 3) Ocean waters cover  four-fifths of the earth’s surface. Its interaction with the  atmosphere determines weather and climate and each influences in  many ways the composition of the other.(Nte. 4) Over 70 percent of the  atmosphere’s oxygen was created by ocean organisms.(Nte. 5) The ocean  is  an integral part of the world’s food supply and an important  communications link between the continents. Thus, the destruction  or alteration of the ocean’s ecosystems would threaten the  earth’s supply of oxygen, lead to the possibility of seriously  altered climates and threaten destruction of an important source  of the world’s present and future food supply.(Nte. 6)