EARTH DAY 2022 and beyond:
15 Ways to Care for God’s Creation Every Day...
Stop often to give thanks to God for everything. Include a prayer for Creation in your normal prayers, asking God for His help in caring for it. Consider reading the encyclical, Laudato Si’, or one of the many fine summaries available on it. Discuss it with your family and friends. You can purchase it in paperback or download it for free at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html YouTube video series at: https://youtu.be/hgW8W-s06L8.
Join Commissioned by Christ’s Laudato Si’ Faith Group! We help CBC’s Missionaries pray and learn about Catholic teachings on the environment and find ways to help Care for Creation during their travels. We also host sessions to read through and discuss Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. To learn more, fill out the interest form at https://www.cbc-missions.org/laudato-si-faith-group.
Learn about the intersection of faith and the environment. Several good books and films are available, including RENEWAL (an inter-faith documentary film), The 10 Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (book, by Father Josh Kureethadam) and The Earth Cries Out, (book, by Gary Gardner).
·Go single-use plastic free and reduce packaging everywhere possible. Hint: It’s sometimes easiest to start by making simplified drink choices. Skipping bottled water, premixed juice and soda helps to reduce plastic waste and Green House Gases. A 501c called Eco-Cycle makes a helpful workbook for reducing single-use plastics, it’s available free at: https://tinyurl.com/24w3mdf9 But why does it matter, aren’t plastics recycled? Check out this website to find our https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/plastics-in-the-ocean/.
Be energy efficient. During the summer months, close your curtains to block day-time heat and raise the thermostat. During the winter, open your curtains when the sun’s up, and lower the thermostat. Even 2 degrees on the thermostat helps, and 5 degrees helps even more! The EPA advises no lower than 78 degrees in the summer, and no higher than 68 degrees in winter. https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/greener-living.
Adjust your driving routine. By combining multiple errands into one trip, you’ll reduce the amount of fossil fuel you use, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle. Go the speed limit, accelerate and decelerate smoothly, and don’t idle your car. Walk, bicycle, carpool or telecommute when possible. http://greendrivingamerica.org/.
Don’t waste food. Purchase, cook or order only what you can reasonably eat, since food production requires a lot of energy and water. Also, food thrown out creates a high amount of methane, a Green House Gas, which contributes to global warming. Also, wasted food is food that someone or something else in our world could have eaten. https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/environmental-impact-wasted-food.
Go meatless on Fridays all year-round and try to eat “lower on the food chain” regularly. It can help reduce water, land, energy, chemicals, transportation, refrigeration, and packaging used. It can also help reduce stress on our livestock and its handlers and keep us in solidarity with people with less means. Livestock production accounts for 14% of global greenhouse gases, according to Conservation International. (Don’t forget to give thanks to God for the plants and animals that nourish us, and for everyone who raised or cooked our food!).
Calculate your carbon footprint. Understanding which activities are carbon-intensive allows you to know where you can take action. Reducing carbon reduces Green House Gases. Try https://www.conservation.org/carbon-footprint-calculator#/.
Purchase less "things" What will happen to items when you’re through with them? Will they go in the landfill? Can they be shared or donated to someone else? Consider the 5 “R”s – Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rent and Recycle, in that order if at all possible. Reducing the number of things we buy saves resources for future generations, reduces pollution, and fuel and water usage, decreases what ends up in landfills or as litter, and reduces wildlife impacted by truck, rail and ship transport. (Think about all the trains and planes, and individual delivery trucks we see every day!) When you do purchase, consider second-hand, sustainably made, or recycled items that didn’t have to travel far to get to you.
Find ways to make holidays and celebrations “highly joyful, lowly wasteful”. Skipping plastic decorations, and items like confetti, balloons and fireworks can help protect wildlife by stopping litter and toxins from getting into their habitats and harming them. Using washable plates, cups, flatware, and tablecloths rather than throw-away items helps, too.
Try to stick with natural cleaning agents at your house, such as baking soda, vinegar and plant-based soaps. Many cleaners on the market today contain harmful chemicals like phosphorous, nitrogen, toluene, and ammonia. These don’t break down completely in water treatment facilities, and instead wash into rivers and streams where they harm the eco-systems. EWG cleaning product ratings can be found at https://www.ewg.org/
Re-think water use. Water is a terribly precious resource. Even just processing it accounts for approximately 3% of energy use in the U.S., according to the EPA. Aside from taking actions like shortening showers (hang up a timer), and installing low water use appliances, consider landscaping decisions and diet. Also, repair even small leaks, and consider ways to recycle home water. Check out these websites to learn more: https://www.watercalculator.org/ and https://water.ca.gov/water-basics/conservation-tips .
Nurture the native plants, insects and birds in your area. Planting native species conserves water and helps the local eco-system thrive, keeping our air and soils healthier. Try to only use organic pest controls and fertilizers. Get in touch with the Master Gardeners in your area: https://mastergardener.extension.org/contact-us/find-a-program/, they offer free advice and classes. Ways to improve biodiversity by the way you care for your own yard can be found here: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/faq-2/getting-started .
Petition policy makers. Our elected officials have the power to take action on waste and pollution, which contribute to poverty and harm all of God’s creatures. Write to policymakers to tell them that you want them to Care for Creation. Consider writing a letter to your newspaper. Letters published by news editors have effects beyond your local community because legislators assign their staffs to read letters to the editor as an important barometer of constituents’ interests. For tips, write to programs@catholicclimatecovenant.org.
BONUS: Sign-up for newsletters from the Catholic Climate Covenant. Since 2006, this 501c has been helping US Catholics fight pollution and waste, and Care for Creation: https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/newsletter.