A Carbon Fast for Lent

Lent is just around the corner. People who follow the spiritual discipline of fasting on something for Lent might consider a carbon fast this year.

A Lenten carbon fast encourages us to reduce our carbon footprints and walk more lightly on God’s earth. When we reduce our own carbon footprints, we give up some small degree of comfort or convenience to benefit the people who generally suffer first and worst from environmental degradation: the poorest people in the world, who often rely on subsistence agriculture or fishing, or who live in places especially vulnerable to pollution and extreme weather events. Along with doing something for others, we benefit from living more simply, opening up space for God in our lives.

A carbon fast can take the form of giving up or taking on one habit that results in using less electricity or other fuel, or of following a calendar that suggests a different activity for each day during Lent.

For those wanting a different activity each day, the Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast  from the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC will send daily e-mail messages with an activity for each day.  Earth Ministry offers an online Lenten calendar with activities for each day.

Here are five examples of single habits to consider changing for the season:

1. Turn down thermostats 2 degrees from usual settings.

2. Turn off lights and screens when no one is in a room.

3. Turn off computers, printers, and their powerstrips at night.

4. If you usually drive to work, school, or to do errands that are within a safe and reasonable walking distance, walk instead of driving.

5. Unplug chargers for phones and other electronic devices when they aren’t in use.

Lenten Alternatives

Spring is coming, and Lent begins tomorrow. Anticipating Lent, I've been paying attention to incoming messages about Lenten disciplines that are intended to help us become more faithful stewards of the environment. These are pre-packaged Lenten disciplines; participants commit to the general idea of carbon reduction or environmental stewardship, and then follow daily suggestions for carrying out that commitment. They are especially useful for folks who want to do something to become better stewards but who don’t know where to begin.

Along with looking at these creative approaches to Lenten fasting, I’ve been thinking about my own Lenten discipline, trying to get a feel for whether one of these programs or some other discipline feels like something that might best deepen my own discipleship during Lent. For this post, I’m offering links to a couple of the growing number of environmentally-related “pre-packaged” Lenten disciplines, then describing another alternative coming from a slightly different direction.

The United Church of Christ has developed an Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast. Participants will receive a daily e-mail message with a suggestion for reducing carbon. A nice feature of this program is the promise that, where possible, a quantitative measure of the carbon reduction from the activity will be provided – an important feature for people who want to get some sense of how much difference such activities can make. Since this program will come as daily e-mails, I haven’t seen an overview of the activities, but it sounds as if it will be very focused on actual carbon reduction. As an alternative to signing up for the e-mails, the Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast has a Facebook page where the daily activities will be posted.

Several other carbon fast programs combine true carbon-fasting activities with activities that develop good stewardship in other areas. Earth Ministries and Washington Interfaith Power & Light offers a carbon fast calendar that suggests a carbon-reducing activity on most days with an occasional activity focused on other areas, such as water conservation. Having this program as a calendar to view on the computer or to print makes it especially attractive for families taking on the discipline together. Children can anticipate the activities for coming days, and parents can think ahead about how to carry out the activity in their particular household.

The Tearfund in the UK has designed a carbon fast that includes activities that address overconsumption and nudge us closer to simpler living. The Tearfund is dedicated to reducing poverty, so their program is very intentional about setting carbon-reduction and the other activities within the context of global justice.

As an alternative to carbon fasts that mirror the traditional fasts of Lent, we might do something that shifts the focus just a bit to the sort of self-renewal that leads to renewal not only to an ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship but also to the sort of deep connection with the non-human world that deepens our relationship with God the Creator and God’s Son through whom, as we confess in the Nicene Creed, all things were made.

It’s fairly simple: Find a way each day to honor God through some action that tends to the connection we have to God through creation, and include a prayer of gratitude for God’s creation as part of that action. Some days this may look similar to the carbon fast activities, being intentional about caring for some aspect of God’s creation while giving thanks for that aspect of creation. Other days it might be something that doesn’t look at all like a fast -- spending some time really looking at the spring flowers that will begin blooming during Lent, going out to see the Sandhill cranes, planning or planting an early spring garden. It may simply be sitting in the sun and listening to the birds.

The point is to find something that works to renew our connection to the earth in a way that we experience as a deepening of our connection to God and to be intentional about thanking God for some specific part of creation. The hope is that the renewal of that connection and our gratitude for creation will bring us closer to God, to a place where care for God’s creation flows naturally from our relationship to God.

Carbon Fast for Lent

Shrove Tuesday is here, the last day before Lent begins. Whatever your usual custom for Lent, a carbon fast may be something to consider as a Lenten discipline.

Observing a carbon fast involves reducing use of energy that adds carbon to the atmosphere. It includes reduction of both our electricity consumption and our carbon footprint for transportation. A carbon fast can be as simple as turning off the lights when no one is using a room, turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees, and running dishwashers and washing machines only when there is a full load of dishes or laundry. Taking the time to replace traditional light bulbs with CFL bulbs will help to cut carbon emissions. An easy habit to establish that will reduce energy consumption is to unplug computers, phone chargers, and office equipment at the end of the day when they are not in use.

Carpooling, using public transportation (for folks who have that alternative), eliminating unnecessary trips or consolidating errands, walking or biking instead of driving are all ways to make a significant difference in our carbon footprints. Simply keeping tires at the proper pressure may make a big difference; turning off the engine instead of letting the car idle when waiting is an easy way to get better mileage.

The spiritual benefits of a carbon fast are as varied as those of more traditional forms of fasting. Being aware of our personal impact on the Earth, God’s creation, and choosing to be more intentional about the effects of our actions is a way to turn away from sin and toward God. Walking or biking instead of driving gets us outdoors where we can enjoy the beauty and variety of creation, gives us some quiet space in the day, and helps us to be better stewards of our own health. Reducing television time, recreational computer time, or video game time are fairly common choices for Lenten fasts because they open up time for us to do other things: spend more time with family and friends, do something to serve others, pray, study, or find new ways of refreshment and recreation. Perhaps most importantly, whatever we can do to lower the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will help the people who stand to suffer the most from climate change, usually the poorest people in the world who depend on environmental stability for daily necessities.

Whatever specific ways we find to reduce our contribution to the carbon levels in the atmosphere, we will be simplifying our lives. When we manage to live more simply, we open up more space for God in our lives.

If you like a daily task to help with a Lenten discipline, there are calendars available with a different carbon-reducing idea each day. One is from Washington Interfaith Power and Light ; another is from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington .