Climate change. Global heating. The issue is in the news daily and in our minds constantly. Is climate change a moral, spiritual issue? Should Christians be concerned? The answer for most of us is yes, care of our planetary home is fundamental to our Christian responsibility. But many of us experience a sense of helplessness and doom about the future of our beloved blue planet. What can we do, we ask. What can any one person do to make a difference?
There are lots of things we can do and collectively we can make a difference. I propose three tangible things: diet, transportation, and buildings. These are not facile or cheap, but we are already doing the facile and cheap, and the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to rise.
For us all to live on a sustainable planet we must change our eating habits. We have to reduce our consumption of meat, since cattle, lamb, and goat emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The production of animal feed takes many, many acres of farmland, and animals consume considerable amounts of water. Much of our food is trucked or flown long distances, adding to carbon emissions. Choosing local, plant based foods will make a significant difference to the health of our planet, and to the well-being of all of us who live on the earth. On the plus side, plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia. To make things even better, a plant-based diet can be significantly less expensive, and especially if you grow some of your own food, a whole lot tastier!
According to some experts, transportation is our biggest contributor to greenhouse gases. Active transportation, like walking and cycling is healthy both for us and the planet. For longer trips, another option is to carpool and to plan our trips to reduce emissions. Driving at the speed limit will reduce gas usage by up to 20%, making a big difference not only to emissions but to our wallets! Of course, electric vehicles are the way of the very near future. The transition from gas powered to zero emission transportation is happening very rapidly. EV’s are zero emission and becoming equivalently affordable with gas cars, when we account for how inexpensive they are to drive considering the current and rising price of gasoline and diesel. For those of us who must own a car, driving an electric vehicle makes a very significant reduction to one’s carbon footprint.
The third area to make a major difference in our greenhouse gas emissions is with our buildings. Currently most buildings are heated with some form of fossil fuel. For those of us living in apartments, we can adjust the thermostats, and do other simple, low-cost things, like the use of drapes or shades. Homeowners can conserve energy by sealing air leaks and increasing insulation. Water heated by electricity is more ecofriendly. Recently, air source heat pumps that are efficent to -30 degrees C have come on the market. The up-front cost is high, but then there is no gas or oil bill, and no emissions! The first step is to investigate the several sources of grants available from Enbridge, the Government of Canada, and the city of Kingston.
Professional energy audits are a good place to start and are rebated when upgrades are made.
For further information on any of these measures, check out https://www.ontario.anglican.ca/mission/diocese-of-ontario-green-group .
Runaway climate heating is not inevitable, when we all play our part. All of these lifestyle adjustments are beneficial both for our personal and collective health, as well as for our wallets. But an even more compelling reason for considering them is that they are an important part of our Anglican covenantal promise to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. May God bless you in your efforts in behalf of God’s earth.
Ten ways you can help fight climate change from the David Suzuki Foundation:
1. Urge government to take bold, ambitious climate action now
2. Help raise climate ambition by painting your town with climate art
3. Use energy wisely — and save money too!
4. Eat for a climate-stable planet
5. Start a climate conversation
6. Green your commute
7. Consume less, waste less, enjoy life more
8. Invest in renewables and divest from fossil fuels
9. Mobilize for local climate action
10. Get politically active and vote
Stewardship Reflections with the Ven. Wayne Varley