Happy Earth Day 2013!

I'm on board with the concept of Earth Day.  We should take care of the planet we live on.  Currently, it's the only one we have.  I agree with the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle.  Why I celebrate Earth Day may be different than what you are used to hearing, though.

First, as a christian, I do believe that this world is finite and one day God will choose to destroy it.  Even from a science background, you have to understand that the Earth's chances of getting destroyed are pretty good with events like the expansion of our sun, a collision with a large meteor/comet, political instability with nuclear (or other more powerful) weapons and the list goes on.  I don't support Earth Day from the view point of making the planet last longer.  My philosophy is more based on the Bible.

  "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Gen. 1:28 NKJV

"Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." - Gen. 2:15 NKJV

 I believe that we are here to take care of the Earth for no greater reason than that God created it and everything it contains and then told us to take care of it.  We should not waste or destroy the things that God has created.

"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." - Gen. 1:31 NKJV

(Side note: This is the only time during creation that God says things were "very good".)

Second, I approach the concept of "living green" because it can save you money and give you more freedom leading to all sorts of other benefits.  Take some common examples of green living and think them through.  Solar panels and passive heating and cooling save you money (once paid off) by keeping you from needing electricity produced at a potentially polluting plant.  Healthier foods, building materials in our homes and businesses, and cleaning supplies (just to name a few) will reduce potential illnesses and subsequent health care expenses.

So what do I normally do and what did I do today?  

• Thanks to my wonderful wife, we recycle as much as we can.  Our condo association has recycling bins and all we have to do is make sure the paper, plastic, glass, or metal we are recycling is clean and safe for the workers (no sharp edges).  When we first started we reduced how much we threw away by half if not more.
• We keep the thermostat at a higher level than some might be used to.  We keep it slightly warmer and rely more on the fans to keep the air moving and cooling us.  (In our area, the moving air also reduces the humidity in the house and potential related problems.)  Today, because the temperature was mild outside, I just turned the air conditioner off all together and set a fan in the window to help air circulate.
• Many of the lights we regularly use are florescent and any incandescent ones are on dimmer switches.  Eventually I'd like to upgrade some to LED but I'm not sold on making all of them LED.  I'd also like to set some of our lights on motion sensors so that they turn off when we aren't in the room.

I hate to use the excuse of living in a condo prevents me from doing more but we are limited by size of space, money, and the way our condo is set up.  We will do more when we move and have more options.

With that being said, happy Earth Day!