The Power is Yours

Growing up in the 90s, saving the planet was the thing to do. Campaigns around recycling and reducing pollution seemed much stronger than now. Today we talk about climate change, the macro-scale problems we face from decades of ignoring care for the earth. In the 90s, there was the call of the individual: my one recycled bottle, my switching off the light switch, my little actions can add up and save the planet. Granted, it was a way for corporations to pass off the blame/responsibility to individuals who don’t have anywhere as big an impact. But as a kid, it felt nice to watch Fern Gully or Captain Planet and think “we’re working toward fixing things.”

I’ve never understood the resistance to saving the planet (I know, it’s money). We only have one. We need it to live. Why would we willingly contaminate our own home? Why wouldn’t try to keep it as pristine as possible? (I know, money.) We can’t breathe without clean air. We can’t drink without clean water. We can’t eat without clean and fertile earth. Making the earth healthy and sustainable is a prolife cause.

God created the earth and put us in charge. But that doesn’t mean we can do what we want. Rather, it means we have been handed the responsibility of stewardship. The master will return to see how the servants used the talents. God will hold us responsible for how we cared (or didn’t care) for his creation.

St. John Paul II said, “Man is no longer the Creator's ‘steward,’ but an autonomous despot, who is finally beginning to understand that he must stop at the edge of the abyss… At stake, then, is not only a ‘physical’ ecology that is concerned to safeguard the habitat of the various living beings, but also a ‘human’ ecology which makes the existence of creatures more dignified, by protecting the fundamental good of life in all its manifestations and by preparing for future generations an environment more in conformity with the Creator's plan.”

It is not just about saving the planet but saving our souls. What does it say about a people who destroy that which gives them life? What does it say to be so disconnected from our own needs that we let our desires destroy us?

It is an act of justice to work for environmental protections, as the poor feel the effects of pollution and climate change more directly. They are more like to live near toxic waste, drink contaminated water, and have their land tainted or stripped. They are the ones to experience cancer clusters, disfigured children, and destroyed neighborhoods from reckless waste in the environment. Nature is not just a pile of materials for industrial consumption. And it is not a museum that must never be altered. It must be cared for, cultivated, used in its proper manner. We must treat our finite resources as finite. We must treat water and food and shelter as a right. We must treat the earth as a common good that we all share, because it is.

With great power comes great responsibility. The USCCB states, “The diversity of life manifests God's glory. Every creature shares a bit of the divine beauty. Because the divine goodness could not be represented by one creature alone, Aquinas tells us, God ‘produced many and diverse creatures, so that what was wanting to one in representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another . . . hence the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever’ (Summa Theologica, Prima Pars, question 48, ad 2). The wonderful variety of the natural world is, therefore, part of the divine plan and, as such, invites our respect. Accordingly, it is appropriate that we treat other creatures and the natural world not just as means to human fulfillment but also as God's creatures, possessing an independent value, worthy of our respect and care.”

We have been mandated to care for the earth since chapter one. It is one of our most basic responsibilities. I should do what I can, however little. And I should pressure industry, politicians, scientists, economists, and others to work for the common good of caring for the earth and all its inhabitants. Our technology, food, and energy systems should all aim to better people and the planet.

The USCCB says, “A just and sustainable society and world are not an optional ideal, but a moral and practical necessity. Without justice, a sustainable economy will be beyond reach. Without an ecologically responsible world economy, justice will be unachievable.”

I don’t know how much difference I can make. But I have to continue to believe that together, we do make a difference. I have to continue to hope that we are working toward fixing things, that we’re moving in the right direction. We need hope, and we need our home.