February 2020 Creation Corner Column: Plastic Fast for Lent 2020
PLASTICS
We all know about plastics. Produced with fossil fuels, the petro-chemical industry releases global greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that result in climate change.
Plastic is ubiquitous; some call our era the "Plasticine." It enters our bodies through accidental ingestion of nano particles, it is on our household shelves, litters our environment, is found in our waterways (think the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch), and is released into our atmosphere when people incinerate it in their backyard burner barrels.
Plastic is truly a global problem, about which each of us can contribute to it being more of a problem, or less. For solutions, the "5 R's"---refuse, replace, reduce, reuse, recycle) are a start. The end goal is zero waste. Individual commitments, replicated by others million-times over, have a cumulative effect. Don't think your effort is meaningless.
What is the extent of the problem? Consider these figures from various sources:
...56 billion plastic bottles used in 2018
...the world makes 359 million tons of plastic yearly
...it is cheaper to make new plastics than to reuse old ones
...the percentage of plastic waste recycled: 9
...one million plastic water bottles are sold worldwide every minute
...50 percent of plastic produced each year is designed to be used only once
...it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to completely degrade
...by 2050 emissions associated with plastics could account for 15 % of the global annual carbon budget
What are some solutions to reducing the volume of emissions from the use of fossil fuels, beyond our lifestyle habits? We could act to:
...urge bans on single-use plastics, and urge ongoing commitment to the goals of the Paris climate accords, as many levels of government have done globally
...personally invest in socially responsible companies
...urge politicians and candidates for office to commit to measures that would help us reach climate goals
...vote "green"
...purchase "B certified corporation" products and from businesses that are members of the "one percent for the planet" movement
...inquire of your employee pension fund (or of your financial institution, church denomination, etc.) and ask if its investments are fossil-free
...use your stock-holding right to join with others in promoting resolutions for emission reductions
...look into the Plastic Pollution Coalition for ways you may contribute
For people of faith to have an "ecological conversion" we must consider our actions to be life-giving for all, not merely for what is convenient to us. Our purchases and behavior are votes for what we want the world to be.
(note: source material references for information above are available upon request)
SAVE THE PLANET
ACTION CALENDAR FOR LENT
YOU can make a difference
Try it for a day - a week - all of Lent - a lifetime
2/26 - Bring your
own shopping bag to all stores
2/27 - Stop buying
bottled water
2/28 - Say no to
plastic straws
2/29 - Bring your
own thermos/cup for coffee/tea
3/1 - Our First Commandment--- Keep and tend the garden--- Genesis 2:15
3/2 - Rethink your food storage
3/3 - Shop in bulk and refillables--- bring your containers
3/4 - Carry metal utensils in the car
3/5 - Refuse plastic bags at the pharmacy or
anywhere
3/6 - Shop at the Local Farmers' Market---bring
your bags
3/7 - Buy bakery items packaged in paper or
cardboard
3/8 - How can you buy something (air and water) you do not own?--- Chief Seattle
3/9 - Use powdered dish detergent
3/10 - Switch to bar
soap instead of liquid soap
3/11 - Give up
shampoo in plastic bottles
3/12 - Buy toilet
paper not wrapped in plastic
3/13 - Take your
lunch in reusable containers and utensils
3/14 - Refuse
plastic foam (Styrofoam) take-out containers
3/15 - Do not follow
the majority--- Exodus 23:2
3/16 - Wrap your
garbage in newspaper
3/17 - Carry your
own take-out container
3/18 - Pick up that
bottle, plastic bag or paper and recycle it
3/19 - Cover
leftovers with a plate
3/20 - Use
jars/dishes for leftovers
3/21 - Recycle junk
mail, envelopes, newspaper, cardboard
3/22 - The time of
judgment has come beginning with God’s household - 1 Peter 4:17
3/23 - Use a
handkerchief instead of a paper tissue
3/24 - Use cloth
napkins
3/25 - Use paper
tape instead of plastic tape
3/26 - Carry your
own refillable water container
3/27 - Drink water
as your beverage of choice
3/28 - Ask your
friends, group acquaintances to do the same
3/29 - A time comes
when silence is betrayal ---- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
3/30 - Use
compostable materials for your pet’s pooh
3/31 - Use loose tea
and loose coffee
4/1 - Avoid balloon, lantern and glitter release
4/2 - Make a covenant to buy less and use longer
what you already have
4/3 - Use what is leftover---don’t waste it
4/4 - Find one thing you can do, do it and find
another
4/5 - Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly (for
the environment)---Micah 6:8
4/6 - Pray, visualize, hope, meditate, dream
4/7 - Share ‘plastic-free’ with friends
4/8 - Discuss ‘plastic-free’ at all meetings
4/9 - Build a plastic ‘monster’ for your
foyer/entry
4/10 - Tell others
how easy it is to decrease your plastic use
4/11 - Replace your
plastic foam with paper products
4/12 - Alleluia:
Becoming plastic free begins with me
- 2020 Lent Calendar is from the Christian Social Concerns Committee of the United Churches of Lycoming County (UCLC), Williamsport PA. Mr. Ochs is one of six committee members working on this.
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