Religion and the environment

Are humans an equal part of a greater organism which they should therefore respect, serve and nourish? Or is the very purpose of that organism to serve and nourish the human race?

[...]

"Christianity [...] Not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends."

[...Islam:] "Man should not abuse, misuse, or distort the natural resources as each generation is entitled to benefit from them but is not entitled to "own" them in an absolute sense."

[...] "In the Buddhist mythological Eden, the earth flourishes naturally, but greedy desire leads to division and ownership of the land that in turn promotes violent conflict, destruction, and chaos. In short, in the Buddhist myth of first origins, human agency destroys the natural order of things."

Needles to elaborate on, religion influences both peace, war and the environment. It appears this CNN article ranks Christianity as the least environmentally friendly religion while Buddhism and Hinduism ranks highest.

War. Pollution. Religion.

Contra

For years, concern about global ecology has been perceived in Israel as a luxury that the country cannot afford while it is in the midst of an existential security struggle. Some people noted, and rightly, that preventing a single war in [the Middle East] would contribute a great deal more to the environment and our health than all the environmental campaigns of all the green organizations put together. [...] Jews and Muslims alike, have become entrenched in petrified doctrines and archaic views of "holiness," especially the sanctity of land, that have nothing in common with the needs and lives of human beings under changing political and ecological conditions.

Source: Greener than the pope - Haaretz

the U.S. military is the world’s largest consumer of oil and the world’s largest polluter. America is also addicted to war for oil [...] The 101st Airborne Division really did name a Base Exxon and a Base Shell somewhere in the deserts of Iraq! [...] “men lead us to war for enough oil to continue to go to war for oil.”

Source: Dissident Voice : Oil Wars: Fueling Both U.S. Empire & Ecocide

Pro

The IUCN-World Conservation Union [Wikipedia] recently named Israel the nation with the highest percentage of preserved land in the Mediterranean region. [...] a major portion of the Israeli open space which was included in the organization's survey is also used in military training exercises. [...] Military activity in these areas impacts nature, but most of the damage is minimal due to a unique agreement between the IDF and the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA). [...] the general trend, in which animal and plant species in the region are becoming extinct, has not been halted.

Source: Water Cooperation in the Middle East