Last week’s article was pretty grim, surveying the ways polluting industries are working to undermine environmental reforms. But not all environmental news is bad. There are many encouraging signs on the horizon.
Recently the New York Times published an article to help readers “Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change.” It offers a five-step program for getting involved in environmentalism.
A great new website for ideas, encouragement and spiritual growth has been put up by The Sacred Earth Community. This is the virtual outreach of a symposium scheduled for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Marcos, Texas that was canceled because of the pandemic. If you click on the menu in the upper left corner, you’ll find all sorts of resources for your spiritual and environmental growth.
If you are reading this blog, you are probably already committed to a sustainable lifestyle. Maybe you want to take the next step towards a “net-zero lifestyle.” There’s an organization for that. The Buy Nothing Project has at least 3 million participants in 44 countries, with over 5,500 groups led by more than 11,300 volunteers. The website helps you connect to groups that foster exchange and support members. In Columbus there are groups in Blacklick, Clintonville, Lincoln Village, Northwest Columbus and University Village.
Maybe you wish you knew how to convince your relatives and friends to live a sustainable lifestyle. It’s hard to argue with someone who believes that climate change is not that big a deal, or that it’s so hopeless that individual lifestyle change doesn’t matter. In this ten minute TED Talk, climate advocate Angela Francis shares her method for helping even the most skeptical among us see the benefits of a greener economy on their health, wealth and well-being.
Finally, one way to move toward a net-zero life is gardening. During the past year many people planted or expanded their gardens into Climate Victory Gardens. Just as Americans planted Victory Gardens in World Wars I and II to produce food for the war effort, Americans have been creating gardens to feed their families and support food pantries in this time of economic hardship. Green America is encouraging us to garden in ways that are productive, chemical free, and renew the soil.

Thanks for your interest in caring for God’s creation! Elliott

You can find this and all the Creation Care blogs for the church website I have written at a consolidating blog I have created: ststephenscreationcare.blogspot.com