This Lent, Iowa IPL asked Molly Taiber to share her thoughts as she goes on a "carbon fast." This page will be updated weekly until the end of Lent.
April 8thWhen I had my first child, my whole mindset changed. Myself as number one was replaced by a 7 lb. creature whose survival lay in my hands and body. His comfort and safety were the focus of actions and thoughts. I often imagine what he will do in his life, in the context of today’s world and in the context of a vastly different future than today. What will his world be like in twenty years, in fifty years? I believe that extreme weather, disease, economic and social turmoil, water scarcity, aquatic destruction, will happen if we do nothing. I believe this response is unconscionable. I believe we have the human capacity and the obligation to change course to serve God’s mission.
This bleak picture spurs urgency for me to change my lifestyle habits knowing what is happening to our planet at a devastating pace. When our children are grown, the world they inherit is going to be filled with consequences from our actions. They will have less, and that is exactly opposite of what I want for them, since they’re supposed to have more, a better life than we. But the choices we make and conveniences we live with all create major problems that they will be living with and having to deal with. In many sectors most of what is happening is not sustainable. Change needs to happen on every level and as consumers we should take responsibility by educating ourselves on everything we buy because it is through our purchases or consumption, we are voting. The market works on supply and demand. If we keep buying unsustainable, it will run out.
What God created is amazing in its beauty. I have seen it in many parts of the world from the mountains to the oceans and it is in those vistas I have no doubt there is a God. I want to bring my children to see it and to be filled with awe at His creation. With knowledge of our actions and consequences, we can begin to change through voluntary behavior modification. As believers in God and people of faith we have a moral responsibility to care for creation and for all people of this world. This moral responsibility is to be good stewards of the earth and care for what God as given us, in respect to Him, other nations, our children and those to come.
March 26thIt may be impossible to stop all unwanted mail and catalogs, but it is a noble cause. Catalogs arrive in our mailbox to serve our insatiable desire for all things material, most of which we can probably live without. But surely we can do something to curtail the daily arrival of waste. My latest lenton commitment is an honest and reasonable effort to eliminate subscribed (directly or indirectly) product catalogs. I am letting my magazine subscriptions die off and have opted out of most catalogs. I went to the Catalog Choice website to stop unwanted catalogs. While recycling is now second nature, we should make reduction equally, if not more important.
Even though it’s nice to get mail and some glossy magazine or catalog, it’s done at the expense of millions of trees cut down for our viewing pleasure. I don’t need the ever thicker Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn for Kids, Pottery Barn for Pets and every other special interest list my name has fallen on. Nor do I need The Company Store for their down comforters, because really, how many covers do you need? Who doesn’t know how to find them?
Catalog Choice requires a log in and then offers a massive list of companies where you can proactively opt off their mailing lists. The downside to this is the enormity of the list and the time to sort through it all. I turned the recycling bin into a knowledge bin. I sorted through it and made my list of unnecessary catalog titles. I suggest you go through this process each time you realize you fill the newspaper/catalog bin faster than any other. It’s free, rewarding, and will make the world more sustainable. On a related subject, to remove your name from the vast credit card application lists, I recommend www.optoutprescreen.com.
We have ended our newspaper subscription to both The Courier and New York Times, for different reasons. We accumulated so much paper from the Courier I was going to the recycling station much too often. Admittedly, I miss it, but it is something I can do without, especially as it seems to be in places when I actually have time to read it – the doctor’s office, grandparents, library, etc. The Times is a different matter. Nick and I love getting that paper but it is only possible to read it if you have children above the age of 13 or none at all. We have a 3 year old and 1 ½ year old. Maybe this will be our first Kindle newspaper subscription – buy at a lower price, end all paper/ink/distribution waste, and pop a glance whenever it’s convenient. At the time being, thank goodness for National Public Radio where I can use keep up with world events and not completely neglect the children.
March 18th
I’ve got two things on my mind, bags and meat.
Some stores are getting it. This past weekend on our way out of Chicago, my family stopped at Ikea for some shopping, day care, and ice cream cones, where upon checking out, bags were not supplied by the store but expected to be brought by the consumer. In addition to having recognized the costs for supplying these disposable totes, hopefully this represents some environmental consciousness on their part. The next time you visit a store featuring high density polyethylene bags (stronger plastic bags) at the checkout, consider this, what if they charged or did not supply bags at all? How much would that save the store? How would it help our shared environment? I’m an environmentalist, but I recognize this may be a minority position. I truly feel the only way to change behavior is to employ economic incentives – be it savings or costs to reflect the negative impacts of our consumer choices. At the same time, I applaud all companies that bring the environment into consciousness.
The past week I endeavored to become mostly vegetarian. Living in pork country, it is not easy to go from all to nothing in terms of eating meat, so I walked in the gray area. Most meals were vegetarian choices which I hope includes fish. I had two occasions of chicken in the pasta and pepperoni on the pizza but other meals included salmon, beans, or veggie burgers. Cutting the meat means more veggies fill the plate. I had to be very conscious about this too. For example, the extended family was at the Rainforest Café (but don’t be confused, I wouldn’t call this café truly Rainforest friendly) and while my husband and I were discussing choices for ourselves and the boys, the eye wandered to the burger but I reminded Nicholas we were almost vegetarians so we best be ordering the meatless, “natural” burger. However, after all of this follow through for less meat, Monday night Nick walked us to Zippy’s for a fix (but at least it was local meat, kosher, and good).
The real danger to our bodies and the planet is the vast consumption of meat. 18% of the world’s greenhouse gases comes from the production of livestock. Ever seen the movie “King Corn”? Well, if you’re an Iowan, you should; and if you’re a red meat eater, you should. It walks us through the life of a corn kernel in the context of land use, fertilizers, corn use, antibiotics, and hormone use. The knowledge and awareness derived from this film makes rice and beans look really good. I bought a lot of these items at the grocery store yesterday, telling Nick this is our main meal being in an economic depression, which is more palatable to him than my “tree-hugging” ideology. While we share many of the same views, he relates to engineering and economics more than the feel good.
This week I am focusing on paper consumption and ways to reduce it. There is a site online where one can go to an alphabetized list of catalogs and click off the ones no more wished to be received. I’ve also received as a gift, a Kendal so I will see how useful this is. Stay tuned, electronically.
March 12thThis week I'm coming to you from East Lansing, Michigan where in-laws and little cousins grow ever older and wiser. This is our spring break which will be seven days of overnights in three places: Chicago, East Lansing and again Chicago. Now, with all this travel you must be thinking of the spewing miles accumulating in carbon emissions that a rental car can spit out. In efforts to stay on my Lenten path I explored alternative means of transportation and found the Amtrak train to be a viable alternative. With Nicholas journeying to work in Detroit on his own in the car, I and the children arranged the train (Blue Water Express) from Union Station in downtown Chicago to East Lansing, Michigan. The price ($33 for all) and trip duration (4.5 hours) were better than driving. With two little ones, it was a lot of snacks, books and energy to keep things even keeled. But it was such an adventure and much more fun than driving, the kids and I had a great time.
Last week I wanted to reduce the phantom loads that occurs in the home and that took more effort in simply remembering to do it. I was very accurate with turning off the appliances when not in use, in particular the toaster, coffee maker and the mini-stereo. The power strip in the office didn't receive the same disciplined treatment, where an entire day passed with the power on and nothing in use by anyone in the house. So there's a bit of waste I need to work out for the future. As Americans, we strive for maximum productivity and I think we should also strive for maximum efficiency. It makes green sense, and to all who may question the green movement, it can make significant economic sense - perhaps the greatest enticement that everyone can appreciate no matter their ideology.
This week I want to focus on what I consume in food and drink, which have an enormous impact on the earth. Purchasing drinks in plastic bottles are wasteful and take a massive amount of energy to make and recycle compared to tap water. In the United States (and all developed countries for that matter), tap water is closely monitored for taste and safety. We have the best water in the world! Why would we want it shipped in from some foreign state or country?? It's just water!! To that end, I religiously carry a stainless steel canteen. When it's empty, I seek out the tap. Again, it makes environmental and economic sense!! I recently purchased a Sigg aluminum bottle for both kids to keep them hydrated too. I needn't mention Bisphenol (BPA), a chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics which leach as hormones, a phenomenon that deserves more study. Knowing this made me change to glass baby bottles.
Meat consumption is something I want to reduce in our family. We've moved to purchasing hormone free meat produced locally and I buy organic chicken that is expensive and thus only makes it to our dinner table once a week. Agriculture interests have had a very adverse impact on the environment , so by moving to a diet without red meat I can reduce my impact by consuming foods that require little processing, packaging, transportation, and create less greenhouse gas. This is going to be a big change but perhaps the most meaningful.
March 2nd
My reflections for my first week of my Lenton carbon fast. I’m feeling pretty good right now, first goal met. While hardly a marathon, I walked my children to and from school every day. At 5 blocks, admittedly it wasn’t the toughest thing to do, but sometimes it is the little efforts in life that we so easily ignore. Maybe it’s because they are little efforts. Maybe it’s a gear thing, a state-of-mind thing, maybe it just that I’m happy to be outside in any element. So even beyond the school walks, we made double stroller trips to the library, a neighbor’s house for dinner, and to the fitness center.
Through it all, I became extra mindful of when and how often I get into the car. Considering the season and it’s oh so low temperatures, my all-in driving time exceeds that of warmer times. I recall from last summer going all week without moving the car once. Walking or biking with a kid carriage got me everywhere I needed to be from Hy-Vee to Lookout Park to church. Not these days. I drove to the grocery store on Sunday and then to church. I and the children also made a long distance journey to Ames to see Nana and Grandpa. In my defense, I drove a fuel sipping speed of 60 miles on 65 mile an hour highways. Driving had more of a purpose – not to get from A to B in as few minutes as possible, but rather to enjoy the music selections, my children’s slumber, and the reduction of RPMs. Even my son’s comment, “are we driving backwards”, made for a chuckle and unexplainable pride on the busy I-35 stretch.
For this week I am inspired by our Cedar Falls Utilities newsletter which has an article titled, “Are Phantoms Haunting your Home?” In case you missed it, it covers phantom loads which consume energy even when our electronic devices are turned “off”. It could be that indicator light, a digital time reading, or just that thingy that stays warm on many power cords. We’ve purchased outlet plug ins that have an on/off switch for drawing power. I’ve been surprisingly disciplined in pushing them off after each use. Thus, no red light or clock to remind me of wasted energy and money. I will also turn off the power strip to the computer, the printer, the modem, the wireless device, etc. With this effort, I will also minimize television in favor of books. This can lower my watts usage and perhaps rebuild brain cells. Maybe my marriage will experience more of a connection to each other rather than the squawk box. As said in my opening, it’s the little things, little efforts, new mindfulness that can create little positive impacts that in summation, reduce carbon and have unintended positive impacts.
February 25th
For this season of Lent, I was asked to give up carbon rather than the usual vices of junk food, alcohol or chocolate. Personally, I’ll take a carbon fast over a chocolate fast any day. However, six weeks is a long time and by the middle of that, I could be eating my words. In truth though, I love the idea of a carbon fast for Lent. The connection between the carbon fast and Christian Lenten tradition is one of human lifestyle and its impact on the earth, God’s creation. By being gentle in our ways we are showing respect for God’s great gift.
Part of our Christian duty is to help those who are less fortunate. A change in our lifestyles of excessive consumerism can directly affect those in other parts of the world who are vulnerable. The current economic crisis was driven in part by humankind’s unsustainable pattern of consumption, much of which required leverage and risk taking. Consumption most often requires energy. The majority of energy is produced by fossil fuels. Fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases raise the temperature of the earth. Temperature rise causes environmental pattern shifts which will likely negatively impact God’s most vulnerable people. Behavior modification is the order of the day to thwart environmental change and human disaster. By decreasing our energy usage or by choosing green energy alternatives, we avert harmful environment and human impacts
Doing things differently by lessening our carbon emissions is by no means convenient. Making such changes to one’s lifestyle may cause our usual routines to take longer or require more effort than we’re used to. But this is where God comes into play. The connection between our human practices and lifestyles has a tremendous impact on the earth, which is God’s creation. Our call as Christians is to do the respectful thing for our fellow humans and animals that fill this earth, making such sacrifices in order to preserve our people now and in future generations.
Each week, I will pick actions that will reduce carbon emissions and write about the impact at my level, a human level. I want to change my behavior and reduce my energy consumption. This first week of Lent I have chosen to make a pledge to walk my kids to and from school (admittedly, I can take snow and rain, but severe cold will be all mine to face – but I will seek a solution). On this day, I walked the kids to school in full garments and need I say we survived the five block walk. So I’m confident, even in February, we can do it. We’re Iowans after all.
I see a clear connection between our stewardship and care for the earth to caring for God’s creation which is His people, the world, the waterways, the land and everything in it. Please join me in similar mindfulness, as we approach Lent in this time to look inward and to God.