Sex in the Environment

Rosa sent me an article about how environmentalists are encouraging married couples to stay married rather than divorce in order to reduce their carbon footprint.

"We understand that there is a social problem (with divorce), but now we're seeing there is also environmental impact as well on the footprint," AAP quoted him as saying.

Ignoring the fact that this means Rosa must be betting on how long I intend to stay married when the time comes, I found this immensely amusing (please read that with the snobby tone as I intended). The article indicates that, at least for the Australians who concocted this silly argument, protecting the environment has become a more important reason to stay married than, say, the psychological welfare of children, the salvation of your own soul, or even, gasp, personal honor. (Exception for abusive marriages implied.)

What is even more knee-slappingly funny is that the implications of this article suggest that, if living as a couple reduces waste of resources, then perhaps monasticism is the best option of all for the environment.

In a monastic environment, you are going to have a large group of people living within a single dwelling. The simplicity of the lifestyle and vows of poverty means that you are not going to have huge consumption of goods or waste. Best yet, celibacy means that you won't have any of those nasty little human larvae coming around generating an even larger carbon footprint --

BUT WAIT--THERE'S MORE!

Environmental scientists are suggesting that estrogen from birth control pills are mutating aquatic life, often into hermaphrodites (yikes!). Not only does celibate communal living cut down on population (which environmentalists will love), it does so in a completely natural way without emitting pollutants into the environment.

So, whether you are discussing the insolubility of marriage or the communal monastic life, it turns out that the Church has been way ahead of the curve when it comes to environmentally friendly life-styles..

Comments

[Rosa de Lima]

And since my money is on "until the end of their (your) natural lives" I hope this article will help me win.

You should consider sending this to your Engagement Encounter weekend director. This way he doesn't have to use any Church teaching to explain to couples why they should stay married. BTW: I enjoyed reading that post aloud for several people.