I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life – if you and your offspring would live — by loving the Lord your God, heeding his commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the Lord swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh translation)

“Economy” and “ecology” both come from the Greek word oikos, or “house.” Both have to do with the way that “households” operate. In the case of economics, it is the human household, knit together by the exchange of goods, services, and information. In the case of ecology, it is the whole household of life on earth, composed of myriads of interdependent forms of life.

Making sure that these two households work in harmony is the task of “stewardship” — the Greek word for which is oiknonomia. Set within the larger household of creation, humans must order their own household — their economy — so that it works with, not against, the way that the creation is ordered. The aim of such stewardship is often called “sustainability” — meeting the needs of the present, especially the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, without preventing future generations from being able to meet their needs.

To achieve a sustainable society, we must attend to questions of over-consumption and under-consumption, the conservation of renewable and nonrenewable resources, economic development, and the disposal or recycling of waste material. How to give the poorest among us the opportunity to share in the fruits of creation and the benefits of economic productivity while respecting creation’s limits is a critical question of environmental justice. The pursuit of sustainability involves every facet of environmental concern — food and agriculture, urban planning, energy, health, and protection of our land, water, air, and wildlife.