Green Term of the Week - Stewardship

Welcome to Day One of Green Saves Green Month here on A Little Greener Every Day (an on Allison's It's the Little Thinks). When Allison and I first started talking just a few weeks ago about making October a month for blogging about the ways that green can save some money, the economy was tight. Now just a few weeks later, the economy is down right scary. Although no one has officially declared that our economy is in a recession yet, some feel we're going to jump right past recession into a full depression (we Americans, we're such over achievers, aren't we?).

So I think the timing of Green Saves Green month is perfect. I want to kick off the month with our green term of the week - stewardship. Stewardship is the act of being a steward, or a manger of something you are put in charge of. Dictionary.com defines a steward as "a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others."

The two areas that I hear the term stewardship used the most frequently are with the environment and with finances. So I think it's a good way to start off the month.

We are responsible for environmental stewardship. This earth is our responsibility to take care of. It is within our charge. It cannot defend itself against the harm we inflict. It is another's property - God's, our children's, those living in third world country's who suffer the ill effects of our consumerism, and we who can take care of it, must.

The same goes with our money. Things are tight right now. Every week, the price for the basics goes up. Going to the grocery store is always an eye opening experience. Buying gas to get to work (if you can buy it) chews up a much larger percentage of a person's paycheck than it did a year ago. It seems to me that for a long time, we have not been particularly good stewards of our money. Personally, many of us have spent and spent way past the amount of money we actually had. The government has encouraged it and is now dealing with the fall out of that. Those on Wall Street who are supposed to be so financially savvy made dangerous business choices that went against common sense so that they could line their own pockets and their investor's pockets.

It's time for everyone to become responsible with stewardship with both our finances and the earth. Look at what the collective neglect of these two things has resulted in. Over the next month, Allison and I will be bringing you some ways that you will help you do your part to help correct this.

Stay tuned.

Image courtesy of flickr.