Divorce is bad...for the environment!

Studies in recent years have shed much light and the many ways that divorce is detrimental to the children of divorced families.
Their message is clear: in terms of success in school and relationships, in terms of substance abuse, legal trouble, and pre-marital sex - divorce is bad for children. It also tends to damage the economic security of women and children more than men.

Well, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times a while back, divorce is bad for the environment as well. This makes sense if we think about it. For the same number of family members there are, after a divorce, twice as many microwaves. A light uses the same amount of power whether there are 4 people or two in the room. In fact, divorced households spend 46% more per person on electricity than married households, and 56% more on water. The production of the extra electricity causes increased carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

I suspect that as long as the purpose of marriage is seen as providing romantic happiness, then divorce rates will remain high. We in the church should teach more clearly that God has given the gift of marriage for a whole host of reasons (stewardship of creation, procreation, an arena for learning charity, proper sexual expression, companionship, mutual physical provision, embodying Trinitarian love, etc.), many of which are actually more important than romantic happiness. If what I have seen in Romantic Comedies is indicative of our cultural attitudes, this would be a hugely counter-cultural move.