The earth is a wondrous marvel and for all its history it is the Bahá’í belief that the attributes of God are revealed within every created thing. Bahá’u’lláh writes, “Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world.” “[E]very time I turn my gaze to Thine earth,” Bahá’u’lláh addresses God, “I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence…” and God’s name, “the Creator.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in the early 20th century encouraged humanity to, “Reflect upon the inner realities of the universe, the secret wisdoms involved, the enigmas, the interrelationships, the rules that govern all. For every part of the universe is connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no imbalance…Considering this wonderful unity of the kingdoms of existence and their embodiment in the highest and noblest creature, why should man be at variance and in conflict with man? Is it fitting and justifiable that he should be at war, when harmony and interdependence characterize the kingdoms of phenomenal life below him? The elements and lower organisms are synchronized in the great plan of life. Shall man, infinitely above them in degree, be antagonistic and a destroyer of that perfection?”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá acknowledged that humanity will be “constantly taking out of nature’s laboratory new and wonderful things.” For the purpose of advancing humanity’s civilization using the treasures of the earth is important. However, Shoghi Effendi emphasized that humanity must change its focus. He wrote, “We need a change of heart, a reframing of all our conceptions and a new orientation of our activities. The inward life of man as well as his outward environment have to be reshaped if human salvation is to be secured. We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions.”
“Consider the world of created beings, how varied and diverse they are in species, yet with one sole origin. All the differences that appear are those of outward form and color. This diversity of type is apparent throughout the whole of nature…Let us look…at the beauty in diversity, the beauty of harmony, and learn a lesson…”‘Abdu’l-Bahá also writes, “it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature…(and by extension-the earth itself) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
see-bahai-faith-statement-on-the-environment