Ok, I scanned through the document and most of it is stating the problems. So if I want to be a good catholic and just do what the pope tells me then what are my action items that I should implement? I didn’t see a list or examples of what to do. Maybe someone who has read it more thoroughly can point me in the right direction.
I found a lot of things:
Use less AC – we’ve turned our from 79 to 82, just at the point of feeling slight discomfort, for the sake of the kingdom of God.
55…People may well have a growing ecological sensitivity but it has not succeeded in changing their harmful habits of consumption which, rather than decreasing, appear to be growing all the more. A simple example is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning…
Reduce, reuse, recycle, becoming energy/resource efficient/conservative:
22…We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of nonrenewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet…
169…Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility,…
180…on the national and local levels, much still needs to be done, such as promoting ways of conserving energy. This would include favouring forms of industrial production with maximum energy efficiency and diminished use of raw materials, removing from the market products which are less energy efficient or more polluting, improving transport systems, and encouraging the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy consumption and levels of pollution. [caulking windows, increasing a home’s insulation, etc come to mind here.]]
211…avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices. All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.
222…Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies avoiding the dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures.
223. Such sobriety, when lived freely and consciously, is liberating. It is not a lesser life or one lived with less intensity. On the contrary, it is a way of living life to the full. In reality, those who enjoy more and live better each moment are those who have given up dipping here and there, always on the look-out for what they do not have. They experience what it means to appreciate each person and each thing, learning familiarity with the simplest things and how to enjoy them. So they are able to shed unsatisfied needs, reducing their obsessiveness and weariness. Even living on little, they can live a lot, above all when they cultivate other pleasures and find satisfaction in fraternal encounters, in service, in developing their gifts, in music and art, in contact with nature, in prayer. Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can offer.
Go on renewable energy (when feasible, of course):
26…There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy…
164…developing renewable and less polluting forms of energy…
Of course, these are general guidelines – it is up to us to figure out which things out of the 1000s of possible measures we can do to reduce, reuse, recycle, become energy & resource conservative & efficient, and go on renewable energy when feasible and affordable.
And to pressure businesses to provide these better alternatives and become themselves better stewards of creation in their operations and gov reps to help bring about this more healthy and environmentally sound world. Make sure one’s school and church are on the right track.
