In his 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis says “we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
Often when we think of environmental issues, we think of saving the whales or a spotted owl, but, in most cases, environmental issues have a human health impact. Air pollution has been directly linked to heart disease and lung disease, including premature death. It is easy for us to separate ourselves from these issues. We often do not see the connection.
I had an epiphany several years ago when at the Cherokee Golf Course with my daughter, who was then a freshman in high school. She was on her school’s golf team and was a pretty good player, but needed some work on her putting game. It was summer and we went to Cherokee because they have a practice putting green. She was often taking four or five putts on every hole, but that morning, she put the ball in from all the way across the green.
She got excited and started dancing around on the green in delight. Then she could not breathe. She was hyperventilating. I tried to get her to slow down her breathing, but could not. I took her to Audubon Hospital emergency room.
When we arrived, the place was packed. I was worried that she would pass out waiting to get help, but a nurse took one look at her and put her on oxygen. As my daughter sat and breathed in the oxygen, she relaxed and was feeling better.
I asked the nurse why they were so busy. She told me, this is an ozone-alert day. You should not be out in this. Ozone pollution comes from burning fossil fuels when the nitrogen oxides interact with aerosols and summer heat.
Auto exhaust plus chemical and power plant emissions plus sunshine are the perfect recipe for ozone, which has a direct negative effect on our lungs. Particularly vulnerable populations are the old and young. If my daughter was severely impacted at Cherokee Golf Course, I can imagine how much worse it could be in parts of Louisville with much higher pollution levels.
As a Catholic, I must ask, is our current way of making energy and things in keeping with our call to love our neighbor? We have all the knowledge we need to make our energy and other things in a way that is healthy for people and the planet. We just need the will to make the change.
I am leading an environmental justice bus tour for the Archdiocesan Creation Care Team on March 20 to explore these issues. Email peraidt1@aol.com if you are interested in attending or register at tinyurl.com/4h5ataz5.
Tim Darst is the associate director of Earth Literacy for the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville and has Master’s degrees in sustainability and environmental management and environmental education.
