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15 WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
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1. 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 watching one of the many fine summaries available on it. Discuss it with your family and friends. You can download it for free at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html A good Youtube video summary is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvBUswFA5bw .
- Consider joining our Creation Care ministry, or our Creation Clean-Up activities (normally on the 4th Saturday of the month). Write to HolyNameLS@outlook.com to find out our Zoom and meeting schedule.
- Learn about the intersection of faith and the environment. Several good books and films are available, including RENEWAL (a documentary film), The 10 Green Commandments of Laudato Si’ (by Father Josh Kureethadam) and Sacred Acts, by Mallory McDuff (books).
- 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. Why does it matter? Check out this website to learn … 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. These simple steps can significantly reduce most energy-intensive aspects of your home, even 2 degrees on the thermostat helps. 5 degrees helps even more!
- Adjust your driving routine. By combining multiple errands into one trip, you reduce the amount of fossil fuel you use. Go the speed limit, accelerate and decelerate smoothly, and don’t idle your car. Walk, bicycle, carpool or telecommute when possible.
- Try not to waste food. Try to 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 year-round, not just during Lent. Consider eating reduced portions of meat on the other days. Livestock production accounts for 4% of Americans’ greenhouse gas, according to the EPA. Additionally, livestock production often requires the clearing of forests which can otherwise provide C02 and carbon sinks. (Don’t forget to say grace, giving thanks for the animals that nourish us and all of the people it takes to get the meal to our tables!)
- 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" Consider whether you really need to buy something, and whether you can borrow or purchase used. Consider what will happen to items when you are 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.
- 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.
- 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, 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.
- Conserve water. Water processing accounts for approximately 3% of energy use in the United States, according to the EPA. Saving water means saving energy. Post a “please conserve water” sign at sinks and showers, install low-flow spigots, or select the “eco” setting on laundry machines and dishwashers. Try: https://www.watercalculator.org/ .
- Nurture the native plants, insects and birds in our area. Planting native species helps the local eco-system thrive, keeping our air and soils healthier. Try to only use organic pest controls and fertilizers. The UC Master Gardeners can give free advice if you have a questions. http://mg.ucanr.edu/
- Petition policy makers. Start by asking for support for the EICDA, carbon emission reduction legislation endorsed by the US Catholic Bishops: https://tinyurl.com/yajxowy2 Also, consider writing a letter to your newspaper. Writing a letter to the editor has effects beyond your local community. Legislators assign their staffs to read letters to the editor as an important barometer of constituents’ interests.
BONUS: Sign-up for newsletters and ideas at 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.
You can also sign up to receive Redlands Creation Care information through our Flocknote group. https://theholynameofjesus.org/join-flocknote
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