Remember, in caring for the earth and our neighbors, we are not taking on an additional burden. This is an essential part of our vocation as human beings, and it is in serving our Creator, loving our neighbors, and keeping the creation that we find true fulfillment.
<;p>What You Can Do to Help the Environment
- Turn off lights and appliances when you leave the room.
- Buy recycled products.
- Replace incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs.
- Do not leave water running when showering, shaving, brushing your teeth, washing dishes or your car.
- Use reusable containers for sandwiches and leftovers instead of plastic wrap, baggies, and foil.
- Start a compost pile in your yard, or take yard clippings and debris to a yard debris recycler.
- Reduce use of disposable products, or, if you must buy disposable, buy paper or glass products instead of plastic.
- Refuse plastic bags when shopping.
- Buy locally produced items when possible.
- Bike or walk for short trips.
- Participate in clean-air and clean-water programs.
- Suggest and help organize an environmental awareness day at your parish.
- Air-dry laundry whenever possible.
- Start a community garden.
- Write letters to the editor expressing your concern about environmental and social justice issues.
- Adopt a highway or waterway.
- Encourage lawmakers and elected officials to act with prudence and put the long-term care for Creation, the poor, and the common good ahead of short-term special interests.
- Encourage the United States to play a strong international role in researching and preserving biodiversity worldwide.
- Encourage your community and region to support mass transit and other alternatives to single-passenger gasoline-powered cars for commuting.
- Buy organic produce to support sustainable agriculture in the United States.
- Ask candidates for public office what they are prepared to do to pursue environmental justice.
- Advocate on behalf of the poor in legislation and public policy debates.
- Support and work with national organizations that help local communities address toxic pollution and hazardous waste problems.
- Learn about what your Faith Tradition has said about environmental stewardship.
- Educate yourself and others about how the choices we make as consumers affect both the environment and the poor.
- Think about all of the steps that go into a product before you buy it: Resource Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal.
- In addition to the economic cost of a good or service, consider also its social and environmental costs when purchasing.
- To live more simply, define for yourself what are necessary needs and what are excess wants.
- Reflect on your consumption habits and consider ways to reduce the amount of resources you consume.
- Help others to understand the connections between:
- Care for Creation
- Care for the Poor
- Dignity of the Human Person
- The Common Good
- Distributive Justice
- Promotion of Peace
- Global Solidarity
- Integral/authentic Human Development
- Pray
- for the rich: that we would all see Creation as a gift for all to be cared for with stewardship rather than as a commodity to be consumed by a few;
- for the poor: that special concern be showed for them, that their dignity be upheld, and that are able to pursue authentic human development;
- for elected officials and those in positions of power: that they employ prudence and put care for Creation, the poor, and the Common Good ahead of short-term special interests.
Excerpted from Renewing the Face of the Earth: A Resource for Parishes and Take ACTION! Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Care for God’s Creation and Poor People (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops).
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