Environmental Concerns Committee

Car Idling, Part 1

It’s wintertime, and that means it can get pretty cold outside. When it’s cold and we’re in our cars, we seek to stay warm. We do this by running the engine. But when you idle your engine for more than 10 seconds, there are 5 major negative effects associated with it. First, it uses up valuable resources, Second, it puts unnecessary wear and tear on your engine, Third, it costs you money. Fourth, it hurts air quality and that’s detrimental to people with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, especially children. Fifth, well, I’ll get to that one next time. Stay warm this winter, but please try to limit your engine idling. Maybe keeping blankets in the car can help keep you and your family warm. Remember: you do make a difference, please make if a positive one. Thanks.

                        Environmental Ernie

Car Idling, Part 2

Idling your car engine has 5 major drawbacks, I’ve already looked at the first 4. The fifth? It hurts the environment. Idling your car for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more emissions (that contribute to climate change) than stopping and restarting your engine. Every gallon of gas burned produces more than 20 pounds of greenhouse gases. A car engine can use as much as half of a gallon of fuel per hour while idling. Annually, approxi-  mately 60 Billion pounds of carbon pollution are added to the air from idling cars. WOW! The carbon, as well as methane, produced by idling trap heat from the sun, leading to global temperature increases. It’s important to stay warm, but please try to limit your engine idling, for both the sake of the environment and our children’s future.

Remember: you do make a difference, please make if a positive one. Thanks.

                        Environmental Ernie

“And the winner is….”

It’s Academy Awards night. This got me thinking about the movie Titanic. I’ve never seen the movie, but I am familiar with its story: passengers aboard an “unsinkable” ship, dining, drinking, dancing – totally unaware of the perils lurking around them. The current conditions on earth are not unlike those of the Titanic: we keep on dining, drinking, dancing on an “unsinkable” planet, seemingly unaware of the perils lurking around us. We need to awaken to the dangers we face with the environment. The earth, as big as it is, is NOT “unsinkable.” We need to begin and continue to look for dangers around us, and do all we can to avoid them NOW! Maybe the movie Titanic can actually teach us something, and if it does, well that may just add a little more meaning to the Academy Award it won for best picture in 1997.

Remember: you do make a difference, please make it a positive one. Thanks.

- Environmental Ernie

 “We don’t inherit the environment form our parents, we borrow it from our children.”

Th authorship of the quote may be in doubt, but its message is loud and clear: the environment is a gift that God has bestowed upon the earth for all living creatures, from the beginning until the final day of judgement. It is not exclusively ours, it belongs to those who come after us as well. As Jesus said, “What father would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread?” What generation would give its descendants a polluted and devastated environment when it asks for a clean and fruitful one? We need to “return” this borrowed environment to our children in a better condition than we received it. Remember: you do make a difference, please make if a positive one. Thanks.

                        Environmental Ernie

 Question: What’s the one single, most important thing that you can do to help the environment?

Answer: REDUCE! We’ve all seen the iconic slogan. “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” There’s a reason why REDUCE is listed first. It’s the most important of the 3 when it comes to helping our environment. Yet, it’s also perhaps the most difficult. In this age of mass advertising and marketing strategists, we are compelled to want, to buy, to have, and to get more and more and more. It’s so tempting. But to help the earth, there is one ‘more” more that we need: we need to be more prudent in our purchases and posses- sions. Remember: you do make a difference, please make if a positive one. Thanks.

                        Environmental Ernie

Earth Day – April 22nd

Earth Day 2024 is quickly approaching. This year’s global theme is “Planet vs. Plastics.” We’ll look at the impact plastic is having on our environment in the future. For now, it’s crucial to remember the earth every day, not just once a year. The earth is truly one of the utmost gifts from God to humanity. If you doubt that, try living without it. It’s impossible. And remember, there is no backup for the earth. As Pope Francis said in Laudato Si’, “creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all.” So I hope everyone will make each day “Earth Day,” do all you can to protect and preserve the earth, and thank the good Lord each day for this most precious gift. Thank you for that. Remember: you do make a difference, please make it a positive one. Thanks!

                                                  Environmental Ernie

Earth Day – How it all began

The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. It was the brainchild of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Nelson, a former 2-term governor of Wisconsin, had become concerned about environmental issues. In 1962, Rachael Carson published Silent Spring, a book outlining the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. This began a growing concern among Americans about the possible dangers from things in the environment, such as DDT, leaded gasoline, phosphates in detergents, industrial waste, smog, air and water pollution. In 1969, a massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara and a massive fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, caused by the dumping of industrial waste straight into the river, further alarmed the public.

Nelson wanted to capitalize on the activist movement happening in America, especially on college campuses, against the Vietnam War and for Civil Rights. He proposed a “teach-in” day across college campuses to educate students about the environment. He enlisted the help of graduate student and activist Denis Hayes to not only organize the teach-ins, but to also bring the topic to a wider public. Hayes assembled a team of 85 people to promote events across the nation. Their effort quickly spread to a wide-ranging number of organizations, faith-based groups, schools, and others interested in the environment. They considered several names for the event, but chose Earth Day, which got national media attention.

Earth Day 1970 inspired 20 million Americans (10% of the country’s population) to get out and demonstrate for the planet. They protested against the impact of 150 years of unchecked industrial growth, which had left a growing legacy of harm to the environment and caused serious health issues for many Americans. It was a rare moment in U.S. history, as people from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor, urban and rural dwellers, business and labor leaders, and many others came together for the same cause. It marked the largest secular day of protest in the world.

Why April 22nd?

Earth Day initially was an event focused on college students. April 22 fell nicely between spring break and final exams, thus allowing more college students to participate. In addition, April 22, 1970 was a week day, which meant it didn’t interfere with any religious holidays. On top of this, it was late enough in the spring to anticipate good weather for outdoor activities.

What did the first Earth Day accomplish?

By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of several important pieces of legislation, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Clean Air Act. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed by Congress. Since then, many additional laws and regulations have been implemented that aim directly at protecting and preserving the environment.

In 1990 Earth Day went global. Today it is celebrated in over 190 countries and by over 1 billion people. It remains the largest secular day of protest in the world.

And now you know! Remember: you do make a difference, please make it a positive one. Thanks!

                                             Environmental Ernie

Season of Creation

The Season of Creation (September 1st to October 4th) is celebrated annually by Christians around the world. It is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all His creation. It is a time for prayer, for reflection, for hope, and for action. Those values are embedded in this year’s theme,

“To Hope and Act with Creation.” It is our hope that you will act. Please take time during this season to not only think about the wonders of God’s creation, but to do something positive to help preserve and protect them. And, of course, please remember to pray. The Lord has blessed us greatly through his creation, let us take time to show Him our appreciation. Remember: you do make a difference, please make it a positive one. Thanks!

                                                  Environmental Ernie

Water for life

I have a short story* with a lesson that I learnt from five-year old Lucky.  He came home with sunflower seeds from his school trip.  Initially when he and his dad planted the seeds, they grew but looked like weeds.  His siblings laughed but Lucky was determined and kept watering his plants.  Day by day, slowly by slowly, Lucky’s sunflowers grew as he watered until they blossomed into beautiful sunflowers. The water gave life to plants. The lesson I learnt from Lucky is to keep moving on. Similarly, one can plant seeds (dreams) and water until they grow.  Even when discouraged, positive affirmations can be the water that gives life to dreams.

Environmental conversation tip: harvest rain water and use it for house plants during the rainy season.

Fun fact: the word water appears 47 times in the encyclical letter (Laudato Si) by Pope Francis. This reflects the importance of water as an essential part of life.

*Pat

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Let there be Eco Day every day!

When I was young, I often wondered how it would be like to have Christmas day every day, then my friends and I watched movies which showed how the first days would be fun but later the repetition would be boring and at times annoying. On the bright side, Christmas day is a day to look forward to every year for some of us and to make it meaningful, we reflect on how God is kind and good so Christmas becomes a season of giving. In this regard, if everyday is Christmas day, we become kinder and cheerful.

Yesterday, we celebrated the World Environment Day, or as some may call it, Eco Day. Just like Christmas Day, this day is celebrated annually on June 5th and it encourages environmental awareness and action. The theme for June 5, 2025, is “Ending global plastic pollution”. According to Green Peace (2025), every year, 500 billion plastic bottles are produced worldwide and according to the World Economic Forum (2025), it is projected that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by the year 2050. For some, this data would be alarming, while for others the action to be taken would be overwhelming.

In order to avoid being overwhelmed by the action to be taken to reduce pollution, keep in mind that every small step counts. A big impact would come about when Eco day becomes an everyday action  for each of us taking a small step every day to reduce plastic pollution. Here are some small action steps:

o   Re-imagine alternatives that can be used instead of plastic for example the use of re-usable bags when shopping and recycle plastic waste including plastic chewing gums and plastic water bottles in the correct recycle containers.

o   Reduce the use of single use plastics such as plastic shopping bags and plastic ribbons which can be reused.

o   Reuse  plastic products, considering some plastic items may be a cheaper option. If buying a plastic bottle or a plastic container, reuse it instead of throwing it away. A bottle can be refilled many times and containers can be used to store other food.

o   Replace plastic containers with glass, stainless steel containers or biodegradable containers which would be less harmful to the environment.

With the small action steps we take, we can make our common home, our environment a better place to live in. Every action step counts!