Climate Change: Does Ecological Gardening Matter Right Now?

In case you missed it, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published a report stating that “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land” and that “Rapid action to cut greenhouse gas emissions could limit some impacts, but others are now locked in.” Yes, I know that’s not as interesting as a political sex scandal or Kim Kardashian’s bathroom décor but this should be plastered all over the news 24/7 because we are in a major crisis right now even if we don’t know it yet. Download the IPCC report here.

The past few months (years?) have brought several spells of chaotic weather. We’ve had raging wildfires and extreme drought in the Western part of the U.S and flooding everywhere else. China had massive flooding caused by a storm that dumped 25 inches (2 feet!) of rain in 24 hours. The average rainfall in that area is 25 inches in a year! The recent European floods have also wreaked havoc causing the death of 200 people in Germany and Belgium and huge losses of homes and businesses. This is our new normal and it’s not okay. We can’t go on living like this is what is supposed to happen. The report states that pledges to reduce CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels have been insufficient. Imagine having a leak in your basement and not doing anything about it for decades because you don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Maybe some people around you are even saying that it’s normal to have moisture in the basement. And then the IPCC says, “hey, your basement is almost completely flooded, you need to do something about this right now.” Maybe you can’t reverse all the damage to the floors and walls but you can try to drain the water and make repairs or you could just continue to ignore it and let the whole house flood…

I recently heard someone ask if permaculture and ecological gardening (native plants, chemical-free gardening) is just a waste of time at this point. I don’t believe it is. Environmentally conscious gardening improves our surroundings by improving air quality, lowering temperatures and absorbing water (versus water pooling on concrete or running off into storm drains). It also creates habitat for other creatures and helps them live on. None of that is a waste of time. In the grand scheme of things, it may not be the ultimate solution to our problems; for that, we need to get off the fossil fuels and find alternatives for meat and dairy production, two industries which are huge polluters across the world, but on a community level there are several things we can do:

– We can change our ideas about what makes a beautiful landscape. We simply can’t afford to keep tearing out native plant species (and all the animals that depend on them) in favor of non-native grass lawns and plants. The landscaping equipment required to maintain these grass gardens are huge polluters as well, particularly gas leaf blowers. Running a gas leaf blower for 30 minutes is the equivalent of driving a Ford F150 Raptor truck 3900 miles! If you create a landscape full of mostly native plants that require little to no water after the first year, no fertilizer, no pesticide, no herbicide, and no mower or leaf blowers, you will be doing A LOT for your local ecosystem and community.

– We can stop the rampant pesticide and herbicide use (abuse, really). Here in Long Island, NY there is a constant issue with algae bloom in the water which is caused by leaking cesspools and septic tanks but it’s also caused by fertilizer, which contains high levels of nitrogen. Each time we spray chemicals on permeable ground, those chemicals work their way down through the soil and into the water table or they are washed off of lawns and concrete during rainstorms and they end up in the storm drains and enter the water system there. Using herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers is not a personal choice; we are directly impacting our communities and the myriad of beneficial insects, like bees and butterflies, and even microscopic soil organisms that are vital to soil health and are harmed when they come into contact with these poisons.

– We can learn to grow our own food and help grow community gardens and food forests in our communities.

– We can do our best to reuse and recycle. There are many “freecycle” type groups online where people give all kinds of things away in order to keep them out of the landfill.

– We can demand that manufacturers create real, actionable solutions like biodegradable packaging or that they pay for the recycling of their products.

What we should not do is sit back and wait for some government panel to solve climate change. Clearly, this method has not been effective; it takes more than legislation and political battles! We all have to make changes in our lives and communities in order to create the conditions for improving climate change. Ecological gardening is a good first step that can have a big impact in our communities and it’s not a waste of time even if we are in the midst of a major climate crisis. And hey, even if our actions are not enough and we humans do go extinct some day, at least the other 8.7 million species of bacteria, plants and animals will survive in the lush environments we have created for them so it will still be worth it to have tried.