Earth Day 2021: When You Plant A Tree

In April 1973, to mark the third annual Earth Day, my 13-year-old self planted a tree in front of my Pittsburgh middle school, St. Canice. Two teachers, eyeballs rolling and audibly sighing, accompanied me outside. Students watched from their classroom windows. It was over in about 10 minutes. “Ecology” was trendy, along with maxi skirts and long hair for girls as well as boys.

Nearly 50 years later, where are we? Ecology is no longer a fad, it’s a science. Humans are ruining the planet, causing climate change. The sea level is rising, glaciers are melting, species are falling into extinction. We have been irresponsible stewards of creation.

As Earth Day approaches, on 22 April, what can we do? Locked down for the most part and discouraged to mobilize, our scope of action is limited. Could we plant a tree in some way? We could learn, feel, and do. Learn about climate change. Feel the pain of vulnerable people who work in dumps or cannot escape the climate destruction of their homes. Do much more.

As an individual, I’m trying to take bolder steps. I stopped buying clothes after reading a book about the toxic fashion industry, "Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes," by Paris-based author Dana Thomas. “Any more than you need is greed,” is what I remember the conservationist Jane Goodall saying in an appearance at the American Church in Paris in May 2014.

Beyond clothes, I’m trying to refrain from “impulse” purchases. We needed a living-room rug, so I went online to my favorite big box store. But wait a moment, I said to myself, isn’t there a greener choice? I ended up purchasing a 100% wool rug from a company that is working with suppliers (in this case Turkey) to ensure care of workers and climate.

And I joined our neighborhood composting group, where I am both getting to know my neighbors and reducing what goes into the garbage and the incinerator. It adds up! One group of 30 participants means about one ton less garbage a year, according to l’Agence Parisienne du Climat. To find a local group in Paris, search on the Internet for “composter” and your town or arrondissement. Yinzers go here: https://archive.theincline.com/2018/03/09/how-to-compost-in-pittsburgh-a-beginners-guide/

What will you do this year for Earth Day? Why don’t we examine our reflexes and instead flex for the planet? Perhaps think, feel, and do differently. Start here: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/. Pittsburghers can also go here: https://twitter.com/PghEarthDay.

Nearly 50 years later, where is that tree I planted? It stood there for at least 25 years. Today it is gone. The small patch of green where the tree stood was remodeled to become a drive-up accessible entrance to a community center. I’m not upset, however. The building now offers free preschool to children in need and houses the headquarters of the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center.

More than 1 billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Why not join the party? You never know what will happen if you plant a tree.

Covid, the climate, and Christians

Photo: Rose Marie Burke

(Originally published in the ACP Spire, November 2019)

The covid-19 pandemic to date has killed over 1 million people worldwide and caused immeasurable suffering. And it will continue to do so for months to come.

Meanwhile, there is a conversation about silver linings. Personally, now that I work from home, I am overjoyed to have two extra hours a day that previously went to commuting. I’ve grown closer to my spouse ‒ literally. And as you might remember, something truly amazing happened during the lockdowns early this year that lowered the COVID-19 curve. The planet began to breathe. Even in Paris, the smog lifted.

Indeed, air pollution fell so much in 2020 that it also lowered the emissions curve: According to a study by S&P Global, lower economic growth, changes in behavior, and policy combined will bring down energy-sector CO2 emissions by 27.5 gigatons ‒for the next 30 years! That’s so huge it’s hard to imagine, but just 1 gigaton is equivalent to 10,000 fully loaded US aircraft carriers.

And yet.

The world needs more than 10 times that reduction through 2050 just to meet the target set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, according to the study.

And yet.

It shows that society ‒ that we ‒ can do it. This period in history is a great opportunity “to build a new social contract that honors the dignity of every human being,’’ according to the World Economic Forum, which is calling this chance “The Great Reset.” Companies and countries are thinking about how to grow with more grace and less waste. The EU is launching a Green New Deal, to stimulate a rebound in environmentally friendly economic growth.

What can people of faith do? Some are already at work. The UN Environment Programme’s Faith for Earth initiative is a partnership with faith-based organizations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and it recently joined forces with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, a wealth of information on the topic.

The American Church in Paris could join that effort and others to hold a “Climate Sunday” service, where, as organizers say, “we learn to explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and action on climate, to pray, and to commit to action.”

The most effective actions you can take are to live car-free, avoid airplane travel, and eat a plant-based diet, according to a 2017 study that ranked 148 individual actions on climate change according to their impact. You’ve probably heard the phrase “reduce, reuse, and recycle,” but these efforts have a moderate impact. Among low-impact activities are buying organic food and composting, but that won’t stop me!

One person can make a difference. That’s because what we do affects others. When one person makes a green decision, others follow the example. For instance, patrons at a US restaurant who were told that 30% of Americans had started eating less meat were twice as likely to order a meatless lunch, according to a study mentioned in the BBC article “Ten simple ways to act on climate change.”

These steps may not be that simple and the problem is huge, and yet, it’s important to hope. “We might feel overwhelmed by the tragedies around us, but we refuse to give up, remembering the assurance of 1 Corinthians 15:58 that our labor in the Lord is not in vain,” says theologian and environmentalist Ruth Valerio. With great hope and hearts, let’s not waste this precious opportunity during the Great Reset to rebuild a way to live that is in greater harmony with all of God’s creation.

(The photo was taken at Le Croisic, in the aftermath of storm Bella at Christmas 2020.)