211. Yet this education, aimed at creating an “ecological citizenship”, is at times limited toproviding
information, and fails to instil good habits. The existence of laws and regulations is insufficient in the
long run to curb bad conduct, evenwhen effectivemeans of enforcement are present. If the laws are to
bring about significant, long-lasting effects, themajority of themembers of societymust be adequately
motivated to accept them, and personally transformed to respond. Only by cultivating sound virtues
will people be able tomake a selfless ecological commitment. Apersonwho could afford to spend and
consumemore but regularly uses less heating andwearswarmer clothes, shows the kind of convictions
and attitudes which help to protect the environment. There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation
through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle.
Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and
significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducingwater
consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for
other living beings, usingpublic 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, canbe an act of lovewhich expresses our own dignity.
212. We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society,
often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread.
Furthermore, such actions can restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully
and to feel that life on earth isworthwhile.
213. Ecological education can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in themedia,
in catechesis and elsewhere. Good education plants seeds when we are young, and these continue to
bear fruit throughout life. Here, though, I would stress the great importance of the family, which is
“the place inwhich life – the gift of God – can be properlywelcomed and protected against the many
attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human
growth. In the face of the so-called culture of death, the family is the heart of the culture of life”.
149
In
the familywe first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things,
order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and care for all creatures. In the family we
149
JOHNPAUL II, Encyclical Letter
CentesimusAnnus
(1May1991), 39:AAS 83 (1991), 842.
