What Can We Change to Help Preserve the Earth for Future Generations?

Vilano Beach on a cloudy day in June. 

As I reflect on the beauty of our beaches back in June, I can see dark clouds in the distance. I think about all the people over the ages who have walked these shores, the First Peoples or Native Americans, European settlers, tourists, and current residents like me. What can we, what can I, do to help preserve the beauty of this garden planet for future generations?

With our commitment to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform in late 2021, our Congregation has joined the universal Catholic Church in trying to further the goals of the platform, which follows the teachings of the papal encyclical, Laudato Si’, written by Pope Francis in 2015. This month I would like to offer a short reflection on one aspect of one of the seven goals: Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles.

One way of moving to a more sustainable lifestyle is to avoid the use of single-use items, for example, single-use plastics. One simple way to do this is to not use plastic bags. Did you know that plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes, but can last for more than 500 years? Plastic bags, which resemble jelly fish in water, are the most commonly found synthetic item in sea turtles’ stomachs. Plastic bags are one of the top five items found during beach and river cleanups. 15+ million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year.

91% of all plastics have not been and will never be recycled. There are microplastic particles in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags per year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to produce. (Source of these figures/research is Beyond Plastics.org)

Egret on Vilano Beach. 

While we cannot control what kind of packaging is used for food in grocery stores or other types of stores or businesses, we can control our own use of single-use plastic. We can reduce our consumption of single-use plastic, especially something simple like using reusable shopping bags when we go to stores. I remember (giving my age away!) when shopping bags were paper, when meat or fish from the butcher was wrapped in paper. Half of all the plastics ever created were produced in the last 15 years.

One way that helps me remember to take fabric shopping bags with me is to keep them somewhere visible in my room, or else keep them in the car I use inside one of the front doors. There is at least one local store that gives you a 5 cents credit off your bill for using them! Bringing your own reusable shopping bags is one small change, one personal choice, towards the adoption of a more sustainable lifestyle.

Sunrise at Vilano Beach.