​There has been a lot of talk of zero-emission vehicles and electric cars recently. The G7 Countries are considering setting a goal that 50% of new vehicle sales will essentially be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. Most of the major car companies have announced a strong push into electric vehicles. Have you ever wondered why it matters? Or similarly, how much carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or total greenhouse gases (GHG) are produced from using your average family car per year? 
 
Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ encyclical (LS#211) tells us that individual actions and knowledge matters, “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real chang­es in lifestyle. Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us” 
 
According to the US EPA, the average US family car generates 4.6 metric tons per year of GHG. With 85 million new passenger vehicles sold globally, those emissions add up here and abroad. The US EPA calculates that the US transportation sector in 2019 accounted for 29% of US GHG. Light duty vehicles(mostly passenger cars) represented 58% of that total, medium and heavy trucks were 24%, and aircraft made up 10%. Overall, it has been estimated that transportation makes up 14% of worldwide GHG emissions and that we need to reduce or sequester 58-75 gigatons of CO2 equivalent from the transportation sector between 2020-2050 to keep climate warming changes to less than 1.5-2 degrees centigrade. Without such actions and changes to the millions of average family cars, GHG emissions will likely have the effect of creating difficult storms, raising ocean levels that harm coastal areas, and ultimately hurting poor people disproportionately more than others.   
 
EVs in 2011 accounted for less than 0.1% of global new car sales. In 2020, EVs represented 4% of passenger car sales, 1% of commercial vehicles and 39% of bus sales. By 2023, one forecaster believes that EVs could be 10% of new global car sales with exponential growth continuing. Therefore, with educationand desire, people are making a difference. If EVs grow to 40-50% of new car sales by 2030, GHG emissions will be greatly reduced. Battery improvements will also help, with future batteries expected to be one-half the weight of today’s batteries and offered at one-half the price by the end of the next 10 years.
 
Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ concludes (LS#211) by saying, “All of these [daily actions, education and changes] reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in hu­man beings. Reusing something instead of im­mediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.”

Spring showers and May flowers have allowed many of us to delight in our lush green lawns and flourishing gardens. We may take rightful pride in our blooming rose bushes and enviable landscape projects, and we enjoy the serenity of mosquito-free yards. Yet, in doing so, have we taken a moment to consider the human and environmental costs of our botanical achievements?  

This week’s Care for Creation looks at the effects of some of our common methods of lawn and garden care and pest control. Unfortunately, too many of us rely on garden products and utilize lawn services which have toxic effects on human, animal, and plant life. Studies show that hazardous lawn chemicals drift or are carried into our homes where they contaminate indoor air and surfaces, and expose children and pregnant women in particular, to high levels of toxicity. Many commonly used lawn chemicals and “weed-and-feed” products that are designed to kill invasive plants and ward off disease, pests and bugs are linked to cancer, birth defects, reproductive effects, liver or kidney damage, neurotoxicity, and disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system.[1] This also is not to mention the toxic effects of these yard chemicals on surrounding wildlife, and the harmful consequences of runoff into our waterways and on aquatic life.

In the introduction to his encyclical, Laudato Si', Pope Francis quotes the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew saying “For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins [15]. For to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God [16] [(Francis 2015, (8)]. He goes on to invoke the example of St. Francis of Assisi as someone who lived in “wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” [Francis 2015, (10)] He urges us to live like St. Francis in our everyday lives, through our everyday actions. Further on, Pope Francis indicts chemical contamination of this sort caused by our lawn care practices: “Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected” (21).[2]

What can we do to respond to Pope Francis’ appeal and to follow St. Francis’ example in practical terms? We can switch to organic and natural lawn and plant treatments. Many commercial products are available in green and biosafe formulas and many lawn companies offer organic services. Further, many weeds can be controlled with vinegar-based home solutions, hand removal, and natural preventative measures. For more information please see, https://www.thespruce.com/green-weed-killers-2152938 and https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/lawn-and-garden.Our yards, plants, water, children, pets and wildlife will thank you for it.


[1] https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/lawns-and-landscapes/overview/hazards-and-alternatives#

[2] https://poisoningourchildren.wordpress.com/tag/laudato-si/

Chef Daniel Humm is coming out of the pandemic changed; he is using his platform and engaging others by taking action to start a conversation about the food supply system and to provide quality meals to those who need them. Recent headlines report that Eleven Madison Park, the three Michelin-Starred NYC restaurant, will re-open featuring a no-meat menu (no meat, fish, or other animal products). I heard this news on radio and TV, and when I noticed the piece in print, I almost skipped it. I’m glad I read it, because buried in the last lines is the important fact that for every meal purchased, the restaurant provides five meals to food-insecure New Yorkers. Even better, this effort is a collaboration among guests, staff, suppliers and the nonprofit, Rethinkfood.org. Chef Humm is responding to the needs of the planet and the needs of his New York community. He is heeding the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”, as Pope Francis recommends in Laudato Si’. Check out Chef Humm’s open letter explaining his pandemic experience, motivation and purpose on elevenmadisonpark.com. This bold action makes me wonder how I might expand my actions in response to Laudato Si’ to include care for others as I try to care for creation. One thought for me is my essential cup of morning coffee. For years, I’ve used a reusable coffee pod for the Keurig     machine to avoid the waste of K-cups. I can combine waste reduction  with  supporting education among low income students by purchasing fair trade coffee through a program where proceeds benefit university scholarships for children of the coffee growers in Haiti. I’m going online to place an order now! This is a small act, but it keeps me thinking about the impact of my decisions in daily life. “Everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.” Laudato Si’ #70.