The numbers are astounding.
- In a typical lifetime, each American will contribute 64 tons of waste to a landfill, 13 tons will be plastic.
- As a nation, 60 million plastic bottles are thrown away everyday, that’s 694 bottles every second.
- Our nation also throws away 11 million tons of glass bottles every year, equivalent to 440 Titanics or 30 Empire State Buildings
- 100 million aluminum and steel cans are disposed of every day in American enough to build a roof over New York City – accumulating to 36 billion cans tossed out every year.
These figures were all part of a special documentary called The Human Footprint from National Geographic that recently aired this past Sunday evening for the first time and portions can still be watched here.
It reminds me of a reoccurring dream. Like Scrooge in The Christmas Carol, I am transported to a ledge surrounding a large pit. “Look!” says my host. I first resist, fearing what is below until curiosity spurred by another command forces my attention to an immense pile of rotting and rusty junk. The remnants of hollowed-out old cars, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and computers can be seen amongst the rancid heaps of trash.
I anticipate what will be said next before it is actually spoken. It is too painfully obvious. “These are the possessions that have passed through your care,” begins my host. “In part this is the influence of you life upon the planet. This is the trail you have left behind.”
I have a hard time understanding why the stewardship of the earth has not been a stronger moral concern for the spiritual community. Somehow the debate on “climate change” and the trappings of affluence have clouded an issue of explicit and clear responsibility. After all, if the stakes are the survival of the planet, shouldn’t prudence and wisdom encourage us at the very least, to err on the side of caution?
Therefore, I support “America’s Climate Security Act” (S. 2191) a bi-partisan global warming bill co-sponsored by Senators John Warner and Joe Lieberman. It will be considered for approval early this summer.
Yes, adding my signature of support is more ink on a page or at least some tiny binary string out there, somewhere in cyberspace. But it helps me remember the tracks I leave behind will matter. Practicing conservation, re-cycling, cultivating a simplicity and freedom toward greater generosity, deepening a sacred appreciation for things currently in our care and working together for sensible environmental protections are all spiritual practices. We pray the good that can be gained will out-weight the byproducts of what is left behind.
The result will surely influence that hopeful declaration, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
