In 2007, the USCCB came out with the following,
"We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of God’s creation. Care for the earth is a duty of our faith and a sign of our concern for all people. We should strive to live simply to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We have a moral obligation to protect the planet on which we live—to respect God’s creation and to ensure a safe and hospitable environment for human beings, especially children at their most vulnerable stages of development. As stewards called by God to share the responsibility for the future of the earth, we should work for a world in which people respect and protect all of creation and seek to live simply in harmony with it for the sake of future generations." You can read the complete version HERE.
There are even more references to catechises and scripture references that speak of our duties on this earth, HERE.
I wanted to "defend" recycling particularly through recyclebank. It costs $3.75 per month to be able to recycle. On top of that very small cost, we are able to redeem points for coupons and gift certificates. It's a wonderful incentive, but I would pay the $3.75 even without that incentive. It would cost more to have extra trash carts. It's amazing how much we can recycle, some weeks there is more in our recycle cart than in our trash cart! I think that is AWESOME!! I don't think it could be made any easier..everything just goes into 1 cart..no sorting. It would be nice if the trash companies would include this cost free, but really it's a small price to pay to be a good steward of the earth. There are extremists that have given the "green life" a bad wrap, but virtue lies in the middle, and we are all called to care for God's creation. There are other ways to recycle, I have a friend who brings her recycling to our house, I have a friend who takes her's to her parents house, some people take their recycling to different organizations, and there are many other ways to practice good stewardship. One great way, that I have COMPLETELY neglected is to use cloth diapers, but we have decided that if we are blessed with more children, this is what we will do. Feel free to share your "greenness", in what ways do you bless the earth?
This is such a GREAT post, Debi. So many Catholics (and other Christians) seem to forget that we are called to be good stewards of the earth and our resources. Thanks so much for the reminder!!
ReplyDeleteI used cloth diapers with my first two and enjoyed them. However, this baby does NOT like them. I am changing her 5-8 times a day with disposables and with cloth it was more like 10 - 15! I was spending my WHOLE day changing diapers. She HATES being wet. But if we have more I will try again. Maybe she will potty train early!?!?
ReplyDeleteRoxaline, wow...I don't blame you!! It was purely my laziness that prevented me from using cloth..my mom used them for my brother...I had to change him and the image of swirling his poopy diapers in the toilet haunted me!
ReplyDeleteYes, this is always a good reminder that being a good steward includes using our resources wisely and getting rid of our junk responsibly. That't not a lot of money per month to recycle but how much is this on top of?
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad it is not really cost effective to recycle yet and it probably doesn't cut down on energy use or on 'green house gases (eye roll)' but I am thankful my parents let me share their recycling, even if I don't get any of the points there are other invisible 'rewards' to finding ways to reuse something instead of just adding to the dump.
Erika, the cost is on top of my regular trash bill which runs $93.00 for 3 months including the recycling. I'm happy to share some of my points with you!! I think it's great that you recycle without any benefits, it's what initially drew me to the program and I have been happy with it...although it annoys me to no end that they have increased the points for gift certificates at major retailers. The best deals are the local offers...usually.
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