Die Leafblower, Die! -- and Other Thoughts on the Environment

In an effort to educate our fellow bloggers on environmentalism and its impact on Christianity, I'll start here:

If you know me pretty well, you know my abhorrences for leaf blowers. This probably started when I was a poor little freshmen in search of quality nap time, but always interrupted by leaf blowers around campus. In short - they are noisy, smelly, gas-guzzlers and pretty much pointless.

Along those same lines, I think a lot of what we do is pointless towards "saving the planet." Yes, we recycle plastic and paper and coke cans. But is there a better way. Is there a way we don't need everything we get to be in disposable containers? Most of these easy-to-use, disposable containers don't get recycled or crushed, they wind up in our landfills or along the side of the road and do nothing but sit there.

As Christians, I think it is about being conscious of what we do. First and foremost, we are children of God and we are hear to spread the good news and help those in need. Second, we are also charged with being good stewards of the earth. What I think this means is be aware of your global impact.
Simple things:
- do you need all the lights on
- can I get a copy of the paper online
- should I use the "fine china" - aka paper plates - or use regular
- do I do lots of little loads of laundry or a couple of big ones

Then bigger things:
- do we really need another pipeline in Alaska
- do we really need another stupid office park instead of a wildlife preserve
- do people overseas really need to hunt animals to their extinction
- organize city planning better for mass transportation or pedestrian routes

I think when we finally realize our larger global impact, probably tied to the reason God put US in charge, I think we will experience a changing tide in what we are doing to our planet. Till then the radicals get mocked, and we keep buying Sonic drinks in massive Styrofoam cups.

What I plan to do:
- Start with the little things - reduce and reuse!
- Do my bit to replenish the world with a little O2 through landscaping at my house
- Get a puppy and a kitty - for natural fertilizer of course!
- Not drive as much - um, yeah right - it's Texas - but we do walk to church or the store on occasions
- When I can, do my part to clean up or protect the environment and the animals who call it home
- Not use a leaf blower ever!!!!!