Breathe Deep - Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

By Mike Darcy, Host of "In the Garden with Mike Darcy", Saturday mornings on KXL Radio

  

Global warming, being ‘green’, organic gardening, buying locally, carbon footprint, sustainability, recycling, greenhouse gas, composting; we have all heard these ‘buzz’ words.  Are these words important? Does it really matter? Can I make a difference? How? Yes, is the answer to these questions; these words are important and yes we can all make a difference. 

 

When I was asked to write this article, I had some general ideas of our (my) carbon footprint but very little specific data. The more I delved into the subject, the more fascinated I became. With the United States accounting for only about 5% of the world’s population, we consume about 26% of the world’s energy. Was I doing my part to reduce this demand and make our planet a better place, probably not enough. I wondered what I could do in my own garden and in my community to reduce my carbon footprint.   

 

One of the culprits we seem to hear most about is carbon dioxide (C02). Carbon dioxide is often referred to as one of the ‘bad’ greenhouse gases yet it occurs naturally in our atmosphere. Our atmosphere contains about 0.033% of C02; we need it in small amounts but it is the larger amounts that seem to be creating problems. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), solid waste, trees, and wood products. However carbon dioxide is also removed from the atmosphere when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological cycle. This is where as gardeners, we enter the picture. 

 

Yes, it seems something as simple as planting a tree can help reduce greenhouse gasses and help make our planet a better place. Not just trees, but planting almost any plant will help. However trees it seems, especially deciduous one with large leaves like maples, seem to do a better job of removing C02 from the atmosphere. Several years ago I was given a bumper sticker J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. that read ‘Trees Are the Answer’. Sometimes people would ask what the question was and it was easy to reply; ‘what takes pollutants out of the air and makes our air better’.

 

Trees do much more than just remove pollutants. Consider the root system and how they can hold the soil together and help prevent erosion. Consider the canopy of deciduous trees and how they can provide shade in summer and thus lower cooling costs (they can keep homes and building up to 20ºF cooler in the summer) and in winter they allow the sun to warm our residences. Consider deciduous trees as homes for urban wildlife, for their esthetically pleasing and calming effect on us, the fruit they can provide, and their ability to reduce storm water runoff. Consider evergreen trees as providing habitat for birds in winter. Consider that trees are an essential part of a balance ecosystem. 

 

We are fortunate to live in an area that places a great value on trees and sometimes it is good to reflect on this. It is easy to think where we live and the trees surrounding us is the norm, but it certainly is not. For example, let’s take a look at the city of Portland’s entire tree canopy. This includes privately owned trees and publicly owned trees on streets, parks, and natural areas. Currently this canopy is about 26% of the city. By contrast, in Seattle the tree canopy covered 40% of the city in 1972, but so many trees have been lost that the canopy now covers only 18% of the city. I commend Portland Parks & Recreation with their goal to increase the Portland canopy by 7%, to 33%. Portland Parks & Recreation department estimates our urban canopy removes about 2 million pounds of pollutants and nearly 53 million pounds of carbon annually from the air we breathe.

 

Most gardeners I know care a great deal about the earth and try their best to garden in a way to benefit our planet. There is something about our connection to the earth and a desire to keep it healthy that seems to spring forth in gardeners. When I visit private gardens, I find many people with compost bins so they can enrich the soil with their own garden debris. There is a growing tendency to use fewer chemicals and those that are used are more environmentally friendly. Organic fertilizers continue to rise in popularity. Once relegated to the back shelves and the total organic section (if there was one) was quite small with a limited selection of products. Now it is very visible with an array of products to choose from. I even see a new awareness of push mowers which of course can provide us with some exercise but also eliminate the pollutants of a gas mower. These might be small steps, but small steps lead to big steps and many small steps can result in a significant improvement.

 

Are we doing everything we can? Are we teaching our children and grandchildren how to be good stewards of the earth? I hope so. I commend Al’s Garden Center for their ‘Al’s Kids Club’. What a wonderful way to get kids started learning about plants and planting and the anticipation of something planted to grow, thrive and come to life. For the past several years, I have volunteered at my daughter’s school in Beaverton and given all the first graders a brief experience in gardening by allowing each student to plant nasturtium seeds in their own small pot. It is amazing how many of these children have never planted a seed. What a joy it is to see their faces when they reach into the potting soil to fill their small pot and then plant a seed. Then they water it and put the pot in a sunny window. Small steps, yes, but these kids are learning something about gardening. This is our next generation and how can they be good stewards of the earth if they have never been involved in it. 

 

It might seem like we as individuals cannot make a difference but this is not the case. Everything we do has an impact. We need to strive to make the impact a positive one. We never know when one positive step by one person will mushroom throughout a neighborhood. I often think of Portland garden author, plant collector, and plantsman, Sean Hogan. Living in NE Portland, he planted the strip in front of his house, between the curb and sidewalk, with shrubs and trees. Soon the next door neighbor asked Sean if he would do something similar at his house. And so on down the street it went.

 

In the premiere issue of Al’s bloom magazine there is a statement made by Al’s owner, Jack Bigej; “This year we are bringing in new sustainable products, talking to other companies with a similar focus, and looking at how sustainability is not just for the environment but also a good business practice”.

 

Perhaps instead of using the terminology ‘carbon footprint’ we should refer to it as an ‘ecological footprint’. That is something we can all relate to.

 

Do something positive for yourself, your family, your neighborhood, your community, and your planet; plant a tree this year. And remember, even in a small space, trees can make great container plants.