Caring for Creation

I help teach fourth-grade religious education in our parish. One of the topics for the year is taking care of creation. We all have a responsibility to take care of the planet, primarily so it will be here for our children and our children's children, but also because God entrusted it to our care.

Scientists agree that we are experiencing global warming. While we can't stop it, we should do what we can to try to limit it. The difficulty comes when we must balance caring for the planet with our own needs. For example, we know that using our cars is bad - all that exhaust going into the air is not doing any good. Yet, in our modern American world, a car is a necessity. Yes, there are those good souls who use bicycles , but I have yet to figure out how to transport two children on one and do my shopping! The same holds true for heat - whether you use electric, gas, or oil, you are still polluting the planet. Wood is at least a renewable resource, but still a pollutant.

So, what can we do? Until the perfect non-polluting energy source becomes readily available, we need to choose to conserve. Replace your lightbulbs with the energy-saving kind. Turn off lights and TVs that are not being used. Drive your car only when necessary - no joy rides just for the sake of riding around. Keep your thermostat low and put on an extra sweater or blanket on the bed. These are simple easy steps. While in and of themselves, they may not make a tremendous difference, but if everyone made an effort we could make a huge difference in the state of our planet.