Car Lent: when the Church asks you to pollute less
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Lent is strongly felt in German-speaking countries. Many abide by the rule of abstinence, understood not as a punitive act but as a call to free oneself from many habits of one’s daily life. There are those who do not eat meat for 40 days, those who do not eat it on Fridays, those who do not eat sweets, those who give up the 213 minutes of television that Germans watch on average every day, those who – coming to environmental aspects – do not use plastic for everything the period, which is anything but easy, or it is imposed not to produce other waste than organic waste. In Austria the Catholic and Protestant Churches propose fasting from the car. In short, give it up. The ecumenical initiative “Autofasten”literally “car fast”which started on February 22 and will end on April 9, the Easter Sundayprovides that participants avoid using their own car as much as possible and choose to travel by public transport, by bicycle or, if possible, on foot.
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It is an invitation to try a different way of living that is more respectful of the environment and one’s health. In fact, it is the environment commissions of the two Churches that are promoting this project again in 2023, which until the pandemic crisis was launched by the German churches, then, due to costs, it was abandoned. “We invite you to take advantage of the Lent period to walk short distances, to cycle more or to make the necessary journeys by public transport”, he says Markus Gerhartingerspokesperson for the initiative adding: “unfortunately, the car traffic it is still the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and the only sector where CO emissions2 have increased significantly.”
Sure, deciding to “car-fast” is easy enough in green-minded cities like Vienna which boasts a cycle network of around 1,660 km, 56,000 bicycle parking spaces and an efficient public transport network, including 24 night bus lines. A little more difficult to do if you live in rural areas of the Alpine country. But the project, although launched on a national scale, is aimed above all at urban realities. And it is an articulated project that requires the collaboration of numerous partners. In fact, it is not just a question of saying “leave the car at home and move in an eco-sustainable way”, but of an action that involves the participants in various ways to raise awareness that every kilometer not traveled by car is a contribution personnel in the fight against climate change.
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In schools, teachers address the subject by integrating it into the curriculum, and every day they arrive at school without a car, pupils attach a green leaf to a large poster. The goal is to attach as many leaves as possible to the tree by the end of Lent. As a reward, the school receives a voucher for a fruit tree to plant in the school garden. Among those registered on the “car fasting” portal (where you can also calculate your daily savings in CO2 leaving the car at home) are extracted “ecological” awards such as green holidays with the family and annual tickets for all public transport in Austria. And those who register with Autofasten.at receive free insurance that offers legal protection, liability and accident insurance on all private walking, e-scooter, bicycle and public transport routes.
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