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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Panelists
representing “green” organizations speak at a “Climate Change 101”
program at St. Thomas Aquinas, West Lafayette. They are, from left,
Diane Damico, Rae Schnapp, Christina Carbajo, Michael Rebbec and Don
Scheiber. (Photo by Kevin Cullen) |
By Kevin Cullen
The
Catholic Moment
WEST LAFAYETTE — Pope Benedict XVI is speaking out about global warming … the Vatican is “going green” … and U.S. Catholics are being urged to do more to protect God’s fragile gift of life on earth.
A panel of experts provided ideas on how to recycle, cut energy costs and reduce pollution at the third of three “Climate Change 101” presentations, held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center on the Purdue University campus April 16.
When people cultivate a deep gratitude for God’s creation, they can change wasteful habits without resentment, said Lynn Johal, coordinator of the parish Social Concerns Committee and the program moderator.
“Stop waiting for somebody else to fit it for us. Start doing something now,” she told the crowd of approximately 40.
Pope John Paul II in 1990 wrote that “we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past” and called for “a new ecological awareness” resulting in “concrete programs and initiatives.”
Pope Benedict is the first pope to harness solar power to provide energy for the Vatican. This year, the deteriorating concrete roof of the 6,000-seat Paul VI Auditorium will be replaced with photovoltaic cells. They will convert sunlight into electricity needed to heat, cool and light the hall. Surplus power will flow into the Vatican power grid.
Vatican City, a city-state, also has entered into a reforestation program in Hungary to offset its carbon emissions. It plans to be the world’s first carbon-neutral sovereign state.
The session at St. Thomas Aquinas was devoted to simple actions that homeowners can take to reduce their “carbon footprint.” Speakers said that the key is to view earth as a “sacramental reality” and not simply a warehouse, filled with things to be consumed.
Part of the solution involves a “shift in attitudes,” Johal said. Rather than turn up the furnace, she tells her children to “put on a sweatshirt.”
“For me, it’s not just an intellectual choice, but an emotional and spiritual component,” she said. “I come from Canada … I hope my three kids can canoe down rivers as I did when I was younger.”
Other suggestions: winterize the house; unplug unused appliances; turn the thermostat up a few degrees in summer, and down in winter; keep car tires properly inflated and remove unnecessary weight from the trunk; replace incandescent bulbs with modern compact fluorescents; support “green” businesses; recycle; ride a bike or walk whenever possible.
If 10 percent of all car trips were shifted to mass transit, the atmosphere would be spared 75 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, one study found.
The typical American home wastes 20 percent of the energy it consumes, according to Jeff Barrie, creator of “Kilowatt Ours,” a film shown at the session. New dishwashers, water heaters, refrigerators, furnaces, air conditioners and TV sets are far more efficient than old ones. Ceiling insulation is cheap and cost-effective. Installing a new thermostat can save $150 a year in energy costs. Solar hot water heaters also should be considered.
An estimated 80 percent of U.S. waste is recyclable, but the recycle rate is only 28 percent. The energy used to produce one aluminum can could run a TV set for three hours.
Don Scheiber, spokesman for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said that Americans must see themselves as part of a world community, with shared responsibility.
“… We have to get involved,” Scheiber said. “This is not going to change by asking our legislators; we have to demand it.”
Graduate student Christina Carbajo was recycling chair for Purdue Boiler Green Initiative. The organization is working to have a “vegetative roof” installed on a campus building.
It sponsored “Alternative Transportation Week” last year. Students and staff were encouraged to walk, bike or take the bus, “anything but ride in your car to school,” Carbajo said.
Purdue students throw away more than 62 million pounds of trash yearly, including 25 million pounds of paper, most of it recyclable; 5 million pounds of plastic, and nearly 7 million pounds of metal
Purdue Boiler Green bought 20 recycle bins for Stewart Center, a large office-conference building on campus. It is pushing the athletics department to offer recycling at sports events. Tailgate events also will be outfitted with recycle containers.
After a football game, “in two hours we collected two tons of plastic,” Carbajo said. “Everything comes in plastic cups.”
Rae Schnapp is involved in a “Green Sanctuary” project with a Unitarian Universalist church. Conservation is being promoted at the church and among the congregation.
She called it “a community of faith and a community of action.”
Diane Damico’s citizen-based “We Go Greener” commission is asking the West Lafayette City Council to make it a regular city board.
She and others are soliciting support for a “pay as you throw” system to encourage recycling. Under it, those who produce lots of trash would pay more for disposing of it.
Such systems have proven effective in other cities, she said, but “there will be some fight from people who have property where people might dump.”