Pass the (genetically engineered) stuffing!
By Mary MinetteELCA Director for Environmental Advocacy and Education
You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.The pastures of the wilderness overflow,the hills gird themselves with joy,the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,the valleys deck themselves with grain,they shout and sing together with joy.- Psalm 65:11-13
Did you know that 68 percent of all corn and 91 percent of all soybeans planted in the United States in 2009 were varieties that have been genetically modified to survive the application of certain commercial herbicides (mostly Monsanto's Roundup) so that farmers can more easily control weeds?
And that 63 percent of corn planted in the U.S. in 2009 contained a gene from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, that produces a protein toxic to certain types of insects, so farmers can use fewer pesticides?
Given those numbers, it is likely that the cornbread that you use to make stuffing this Thanksgiving or the grain that your turkey ate on its way to your table contain genetically engineered (GE) crops.
What does this mean for you, and for the food supply of our country and the rest of the world?
The companies that have developed these seeds argue that they allow farmers to greatly increase their yield per acre and will be needed as the earth's population grows larger. Farmers say that they are able to apply fewer chemicals to their fields, helping the environment and saving them money, time and fuel. Proponents argue that in the future GE crops will help to manage agricultural risk from drought, pests and disease to make the world's food supply more secure, and that genetic modification holds the promise of developing more nutritious crops. And because farmers do not have to till their fields to remove weeds each year the carbon in the soil stays put rather than being released into the atmosphere, helping to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
However, not everyone is thrilled by increasing acreage planted in genetically modified seed. Some worry that GE crops may not be safe for humans and animals to eat. Thus far, studies of the most common genetically modified food crops have failed to show that they pose any such health risk; however, the massive growth in their use has taken place over a relatively short time period and the long term impacts are not yet known.
Others argue that pollen from genetically modified crops can easily become commingled with pollen from conventional crops. Pollen drift has already led to disputes between organic farmers and their neighbors growing GE crops. Pollen drift from GE crops tolerant of herbicides could potentially lead to "super weeds" resistant to commonly used herbicides and "super bugs" resistant to Bt. If this occurs, farmers will have to return to using more toxic herbicides and pesticides at the expense of the environment.
Some say that the promise that genetically modified crops will help to feed the world ignores structural problems with the world's food supply. They argue that overall supply is not the problem; other factors including unequal distribution of food and international trade policies that favor wealthy countries over poor countries are the root causes of global hunger.
Still others argue that the increasing use of GE crops in agriculture is assisting in the consolidation of our food system and the decline of small farms, as the influence of large agricultural corporations grows through the use of their genetically modified seed and related products.
These are all things to ponder this Thanksgiving, as we enjoy the fruits of the harvest and remember in our prayers those around the world who continue to live with chronic hunger.
Learn More and Speak Out
The ELCA has a social policy resolution on genetically modified organisms and is developing a social statement on genetics. A draft of the social statement will be available in mid-March 2010 and the ELCA Task Force on Genetics will be asking for your input and comments in hearings around the country from March through November of next year. Keep an eye on the ELCA’s website (www.elca.org/socialstatements) for the draft social statement and opportunities to comment!
A Prayer for the Journey
O Lord, maker of all things, you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living creature. We praise you for crowning the fields with your blessings and enabling us once more to gather in the fruits of the earth. Teach us to use your gifts carefully, that our land may continue to yield its increase, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.- Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 62 (Augsburg Fortress 2006)
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Stop Moutainton Removal on Coal River Mountain
ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10TH SPEAK OUT FOR THE MOUNTAINS!
Join in a faith day of action against mountaintop removal coal mining
"Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice."- Micah 6:1
Mountaintop removal coal mining is a practice used primarily in the Appalachian Mountains, where the tops of mountains are removed to expose seams of coal; earth and rock from the mountaintop is then dumped in neighboring valleys. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 1,000 miles of streams in the Appalachian region have been buried by fill from mountaintop mines and at least 800 square miles of mountaintops have been lost forever. Mountaintop removal mining provides jobs in one of our country's poorest regions, but at the expense of the land, water, culture and community of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn more about mountaintop removal here.
Several years ago, at the urging of several synods in the Appalachian region, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a social policy resolution that expressed great concern about the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and advocated for an end to it.
In the years since that resolution passed, numerous efforts have been made to slow or halt the practice of mountaintop removal mining. The ELCA has continued to urge both an end to the practice and the development of alternative energy sources that may become a source of jobs and economic growth in the Appalachian region and beyond.
We need your help now to stop one of the most destructive of these mines from destroying yet another mountain!
Blasting recently began on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, and the West Virginia DEP has confirmed that coal is being moved off the mountain. This was devastating news to advocates in nearby communities who have rallied around an alternate plan to build a wind farm on Coal River Mountain, the highest peak ever slated for mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and one of the last intact peaks in the Coal River Valley. The proposed wind farm has the potential to provide electricity for over 70,000 homes, as well as to create good, permanent jobs for the community. When fully operational, the mountaintop removal mine will stripmine over 6,000 acres of Coal River Mountain -- close to 10 square miles that will be forever changed and no longer useable for wind power.
God entrusted stewardship of the land and water to our care (Genesis 2:15). As part of our call to be stewards of creation, we have a duty to use the land responsibly, to manage it so that it serves the good of all, and to protect it for future generations and for all life. Send a message to the Environmental Protection Agency asking them to intervene and end the Coal River Mountain mining project.
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Stop MTR on Coal River Mountain
Dear Lisa Jackson,
As a person of faith, I believe that we are called to be stewards of the Earth and to manage our land, water and other resources for the benefit of all of his creation and for future generations. I am greatly troubled by the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains -- this practice favors short term economic gain over the protection of these ancient mountains and the unique culture and communities that depend upon them.
Recently, mining operations have begun on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. This mountaintop removal mine has been opposed by many in the surrounding communities, who favor building a wind farm on the mountain as a way to protect it for current and future generations, provide energy for more than 70,000 homes, and create good, permanent jobs for residents of the surrounding area. This project would epitomize the clean energy future that President Obama spoken of so often; the mountaintop removal m ine that will prevent it from becoming a reality is a symbol of the dirty energy status quo.
I thank you for all that you have done so far in your term as administrator to slow the growth of mountaintop removal mines, and urge you to intervene in any way possible to prevent the mountaintop mine on Coal River Mountain from further damaging the mountain. I also urge you to lend your support to local community members fighting to establish a wind project on the mountain as a sustainable alternative to the mountaintop mine.
We are called by God to till and tend God's garden; mountaintop removal mining flies in the face of God's call to stewardship. I urge you to continue to do all that you can to ensure a cleaner, and less destructive, energy future for our nation.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Join in a faith day of action against mountaintop removal coal mining
"Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice."- Micah 6:1
Mountaintop removal coal mining is a practice used primarily in the Appalachian Mountains, where the tops of mountains are removed to expose seams of coal; earth and rock from the mountaintop is then dumped in neighboring valleys. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 1,000 miles of streams in the Appalachian region have been buried by fill from mountaintop mines and at least 800 square miles of mountaintops have been lost forever. Mountaintop removal mining provides jobs in one of our country's poorest regions, but at the expense of the land, water, culture and community of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn more about mountaintop removal here.
Several years ago, at the urging of several synods in the Appalachian region, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a social policy resolution that expressed great concern about the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and advocated for an end to it.
In the years since that resolution passed, numerous efforts have been made to slow or halt the practice of mountaintop removal mining. The ELCA has continued to urge both an end to the practice and the development of alternative energy sources that may become a source of jobs and economic growth in the Appalachian region and beyond.
We need your help now to stop one of the most destructive of these mines from destroying yet another mountain!
Blasting recently began on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, and the West Virginia DEP has confirmed that coal is being moved off the mountain. This was devastating news to advocates in nearby communities who have rallied around an alternate plan to build a wind farm on Coal River Mountain, the highest peak ever slated for mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and one of the last intact peaks in the Coal River Valley. The proposed wind farm has the potential to provide electricity for over 70,000 homes, as well as to create good, permanent jobs for the community. When fully operational, the mountaintop removal mine will stripmine over 6,000 acres of Coal River Mountain -- close to 10 square miles that will be forever changed and no longer useable for wind power.
God entrusted stewardship of the land and water to our care (Genesis 2:15). As part of our call to be stewards of creation, we have a duty to use the land responsibly, to manage it so that it serves the good of all, and to protect it for future generations and for all life. Send a message to the Environmental Protection Agency asking them to intervene and end the Coal River Mountain mining project.
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Stop MTR on Coal River Mountain
Dear Lisa Jackson,
As a person of faith, I believe that we are called to be stewards of the Earth and to manage our land, water and other resources for the benefit of all of his creation and for future generations. I am greatly troubled by the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains -- this practice favors short term economic gain over the protection of these ancient mountains and the unique culture and communities that depend upon them.
Recently, mining operations have begun on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. This mountaintop removal mine has been opposed by many in the surrounding communities, who favor building a wind farm on the mountain as a way to protect it for current and future generations, provide energy for more than 70,000 homes, and create good, permanent jobs for residents of the surrounding area. This project would epitomize the clean energy future that President Obama spoken of so often; the mountaintop removal m ine that will prevent it from becoming a reality is a symbol of the dirty energy status quo.
I thank you for all that you have done so far in your term as administrator to slow the growth of mountaintop removal mines, and urge you to intervene in any way possible to prevent the mountaintop mine on Coal River Mountain from further damaging the mountain. I also urge you to lend your support to local community members fighting to establish a wind project on the mountain as a sustainable alternative to the mountaintop mine.
We are called by God to till and tend God's garden; mountaintop removal mining flies in the face of God's call to stewardship. I urge you to continue to do all that you can to ensure a cleaner, and less destructive, energy future for our nation.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Monday, October 12, 2009
"The Shack"
"Our earth is like a child who has grown up without parents, having no one to guide and direct her. ...Some have tried to help her, but most have simply tried to use her. Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her, with no consideration other than their immediate needs. And they give little thought to their own children, who will inherit their lack of love. So they use her and abuse her with little consideration, and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fists at God" (The Shack, Wm. Paul Young).
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Make a Phone Call for God's Creation
Call your Senators and ask them to support strong climate legislation this year. The U.S. Senate was supposed to take up climate and energy legislation this fall, but now they are saying they won't address climate change this year, if they even do it at all. This delay is unacceptable--climate change is a matter of great urgency for the future of God's creation and for people living in poverty around the globe who are already facing the impacts of a warming planet. Call: 1 888 784-0527
They need to hear from as many people as possible to ensure they address climate change now and not later. Give your Senators a call this week and tell them to pass climate legislation this year.
As people of faith, we are called to use our voices to speak out for justice for God's people and God's Creation. Call your Senators and tell them God's whole earth is good.
Call Today.
Here's How:
1. Dial the toll-free number 1-888-784-0527. Click here to if you do not know your Senator.
2. Once connected to the Capitol Switchboard, ask for one of your Senator's Offices.
3. Then, when you are connected, leave a message with the person who answers the phone.
Here's an example:"Hi. My name is ___________ and I am a constituent. As a person of faith, I believe that the Senate must address climate change this year. It is time for us to be good stewards of God's Earth and seek justice for all of God's people."
4. Repeat the steps with your 2nd Senator's office. Thank you for helping to ensure a strong climate bill.
They need to hear from as many people as possible to ensure they address climate change now and not later. Give your Senators a call this week and tell them to pass climate legislation this year.
As people of faith, we are called to use our voices to speak out for justice for God's people and God's Creation. Call your Senators and tell them God's whole earth is good.
Call Today.
Here's How:
1. Dial the toll-free number 1-888-784-0527. Click here to if you do not know your Senator.
2. Once connected to the Capitol Switchboard, ask for one of your Senator's Offices.
3. Then, when you are connected, leave a message with the person who answers the phone.
Here's an example:"Hi. My name is ___________ and I am a constituent. As a person of faith, I believe that the Senate must address climate change this year. It is time for us to be good stewards of God's Earth and seek justice for all of God's people."
4. Repeat the steps with your 2nd Senator's office. Thank you for helping to ensure a strong climate bill.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Starbucks Pilots Coffee Cup Recycling Program
Approximately 3 billion Starbucks coffee cups are sent to the landfill each year, but a new recycling program in New York may help to curb that statistic.
Through a partnership with Green Global USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR), seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan began participating in a pilot program last week. Paper coffee cups will be collected and combined with old corrugated cardboard (OCC) for recycling.
Starbucks has a goal to create a comprehensive recycling solution that will make the cups easier to recycle by 2012. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com
Until now, the thin polyethylene plastic coating that prevents liquid leakages has made it difficult for most commercial services to process the cups. For this reason, disposable coffee cups are only accepted for recycling in some communities in the U.S.
However, preliminary trials done at Western Michigan University’s Coating and Recycling Pilot Plant on samples of the cups found they are recyclable and re-pulpable.
Global Green USA reports that every year, 58 billion paper cups are used in the U.S. at restaurants, events and homes. If all paper cups in the U.S. were recycled, 645,000 tons of waste would be diverted from landfills each year.
According to Annie White, director of CoRR, “The lessons learned from the cup recycling pilot can be applied to the recycling of hamburger, pizza and French fry containers, and all sorts of other paper food packaging.”
Cups will be collected in special paper liner bins along with OCC and delivered to Pratt Industries to be recycled. “Within 72 hours after being discarded, the cups collected in this demonstration program will be component in linerboard used to form New York’s take-out pizza boxes,” White said.
The results of the pilot program will be available in November.
Through a partnership with Green Global USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR), seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan began participating in a pilot program last week. Paper coffee cups will be collected and combined with old corrugated cardboard (OCC) for recycling.
Starbucks has a goal to create a comprehensive recycling solution that will make the cups easier to recycle by 2012. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com
Until now, the thin polyethylene plastic coating that prevents liquid leakages has made it difficult for most commercial services to process the cups. For this reason, disposable coffee cups are only accepted for recycling in some communities in the U.S.
However, preliminary trials done at Western Michigan University’s Coating and Recycling Pilot Plant on samples of the cups found they are recyclable and re-pulpable.
Global Green USA reports that every year, 58 billion paper cups are used in the U.S. at restaurants, events and homes. If all paper cups in the U.S. were recycled, 645,000 tons of waste would be diverted from landfills each year.
According to Annie White, director of CoRR, “The lessons learned from the cup recycling pilot can be applied to the recycling of hamburger, pizza and French fry containers, and all sorts of other paper food packaging.”
Cups will be collected in special paper liner bins along with OCC and delivered to Pratt Industries to be recycled. “Within 72 hours after being discarded, the cups collected in this demonstration program will be component in linerboard used to form New York’s take-out pizza boxes,” White said.
The results of the pilot program will be available in November.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
DUSTY MAGAZINES? October Magazine Drive at Our Savior's
Fall is here! I have always loved fall. Not just because of the gorgeous fall colors, warm sun and crisp air, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils... but also because it feels like a time of new beginnings. Yes, fall means the end of summer, but it is also the beginning of a new season, a new school year, and new opportunities to get inspired about caring for God's amazing creation.
This Sunday was Rally Sunday at Our Savior's - the first day of the new Sunday School year. To help teach our children about the importance of caring for creation, each Sunday School class will build its own recycling box to be used for recycling paper used during class on Sunday mornings.
To decorate their recycling boxes, the students will cut out pictures and words that portray or describe something of God's creation from magazines. Here is where you come in: we need magazines!
Our Savior's is holding a magazine drive during the month of October for materials to use in the Sunday School Recycling Box Project. When the students are finished decorating, the left-over magazines will be taken to the recycling center. So bring your magazines to church during October; collection boxes will be placed in the back of the Sanctuary. You were going to recycle you magazines anyway, right? Let us reuse them first and then we'll recycle them for you!
Take this opportunity to care for creation by recycling your used magazines, but so much more importantly, by helping us teach our children the importance of our Christian role as Earthkeepers.
This Sunday was Rally Sunday at Our Savior's - the first day of the new Sunday School year. To help teach our children about the importance of caring for creation, each Sunday School class will build its own recycling box to be used for recycling paper used during class on Sunday mornings.
To decorate their recycling boxes, the students will cut out pictures and words that portray or describe something of God's creation from magazines. Here is where you come in: we need magazines!
Our Savior's is holding a magazine drive during the month of October for materials to use in the Sunday School Recycling Box Project. When the students are finished decorating, the left-over magazines will be taken to the recycling center. So bring your magazines to church during October; collection boxes will be placed in the back of the Sanctuary. You were going to recycle you magazines anyway, right? Let us reuse them first and then we'll recycle them for you!
Take this opportunity to care for creation by recycling your used magazines, but so much more importantly, by helping us teach our children the importance of our Christian role as Earthkeepers.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Backyard composters
Tired of seeing your vegetable scraps and more heading into the garbage? Compost them with an Earth Machine™ backyard composter. There have been over 1,000 composters sold in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Homeowners can use the Earth Machine™ to compost leaves and grass from their yards, as well as fruit and vegetable scraps, crushed egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, and more to create rich humus for lawns and gardens. This soil amendment can be used in place of chemical fertilizers, topsoil and mulch. The Earth Machine™ is very user-friendly, controls moisture, heat and ventilation, can be secured to the ground, and turns kitchen and yard waste into a rich soil in as little as six to eight weeks. It stands about three feet tall and is about two feet wide with an 80-gallon capacity.
The Earth Machine™ can be purchased for $36.75 by calling (701) 241-1449.
Source: cityoffargo.com
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fill the Bins!
Collection bins for used ink cartridges and old cell phones have been placed at the back on the Sanctuary next to the clothing collection bins. There is also a box for recycling batteries in the church office. If you have any of these items sitting around your house, bring them along to church and drop them in a bin. Our Savior’s even gets money back for every ink cartridge we send in!
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
When It Rains
During dry months, 40 percent of the average household's water consumption goes to outdoor watering.
What Can You Do?
Rather than needlessly draining that water out of the faucet, gather rainfall in a rain barrel connected to the gutter system—and use it to keep the lawn and garden green. Just an inch of rainfall on a 1,000-square-foot roof will accumulate over 600 gallons of fresh water. When picking out a barrel, here are a couple things to look for:
Choose a model topped with a mesh screen that will keep debris out of the barrel and a lid that prevents mosquitoes from using the water as a breeding ground when it's not raining.
Look for a barrel equipped with a side spigot where a hose can be attached and watering cans can be easily filled
Also, most rain barrels can hold up to sixty gallons of water, so make sure it's parked on a strong and steady surface.
During dry months, 40 percent of the average household's water consumption goes to outdoor watering.
What Can You Do?
Rather than needlessly draining that water out of the faucet, gather rainfall in a rain barrel connected to the gutter system—and use it to keep the lawn and garden green. Just an inch of rainfall on a 1,000-square-foot roof will accumulate over 600 gallons of fresh water. When picking out a barrel, here are a couple things to look for:
Choose a model topped with a mesh screen that will keep debris out of the barrel and a lid that prevents mosquitoes from using the water as a breeding ground when it's not raining.
Look for a barrel equipped with a side spigot where a hose can be attached and watering cans can be easily filled
Also, most rain barrels can hold up to sixty gallons of water, so make sure it's parked on a strong and steady surface.
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Trim Those Packaging Pounds
Packaging makes up a third of all garbage tossed in the U.S.
What Can You Do?
Here are a few ways to cut down on waste:
· Cut back on single-serving foods and beverages. Instead, buy items in bulk and portion them out into reusable containers.
· Tone down the take-out. Cooking just one more dinner and packing just one more lunch a week will have a big impact on unnecessary waste and will save you money.
· Buy household items, like detergent and cleaning supplies, in concentrated forms so that you get more product per package.
· Whenever possible, look for packaging made from recycled materials, and always check the plastic code to make sure the package is recyclable.
Packaging makes up a third of all garbage tossed in the U.S.
What Can You Do?
Here are a few ways to cut down on waste:
· Cut back on single-serving foods and beverages. Instead, buy items in bulk and portion them out into reusable containers.
· Tone down the take-out. Cooking just one more dinner and packing just one more lunch a week will have a big impact on unnecessary waste and will save you money.
· Buy household items, like detergent and cleaning supplies, in concentrated forms so that you get more product per package.
· Whenever possible, look for packaging made from recycled materials, and always check the plastic code to make sure the package is recyclable.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
GREEN LIGHT go and take action
Fight Global Warming: Eat OrganicConventional farming depletes soil carbon, preventing the soil from absorbing carbon dioxide.
What Can You Do?
Buy organic! A bit like the carbon offsets of agriculture, organic farming not only consumes 37 percent less energy than conventional farming, but in one year, an acre of organic crop soil will pull up to 7,000 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere, according to the Rodale Institute. That's more than half of the average vehicle's total emissions over the course of a year. So while the premiums we often pay for organic food can feel extravagant, the benefits are priceless.
Every effort helps— if buying organic seems like a big step, try doing it just once a month.
Monday, June 29, 2009
GREEN LIGHT go and take action
Recycle to support Our Savior’sDid you know Our Savior’s is registered at Minnkota? That means that residents and businesses can donate their aluminum cans and paper to benefit our church! Just tell a Minnkota employee to put it on the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Moorhead account!
Local Minnkota Recycling Centers:
1 1321 1st Avenue North
Moorhead, MN 56560
Tel: (701) 293-8428
Open:
Tuesday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
2 2901 4th Avenue North
Fargo, ND 58102
Tel: (701) 293-8428
Open:
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
3 3510 South University Dr.
Fargo, ND 58103
Tel: (701) 293-8428
Open:
Thursday-Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Paper recycling note: the only kind of paper Minnkota does not accept is neon-colored paper. They do accept copy paper, light-colored paper, cardstock, regular envelopes and window envelopes!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
DIY Furniture Polish
U.S poison control centers received 214,091 reports of exposures to cleaning products in 2006. More than half involved children under five.
What Can You Do?
Most conventional furniture polishes contain hazardous ingredients, such as the flammable respiratory irritants isobutene and butane and the skin and eye irritant d-Limonene. Fortunately you can save money, and your family's health, with a homemade wood polish.
Most conventional furniture polishes contain hazardous ingredients, such as the flammable respiratory irritants isobutene and butane and the skin and eye irritant d-Limonene. Fortunately you can save money, and your family's health, with a homemade wood polish.
Here's a recipe:
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
A few drops jojoba or olive oil
3 to 5 drops fragrant essential oil (optional)
When considering the right fragrance, choose an antiseptic essential oil. Sweet eucalyptus will give a clean summer scent. And if you want to give your cleaner an unlimited shelf life, opt for vinegar (lemon can turn rancid).
When considering the right fragrance, choose an antiseptic essential oil. Sweet eucalyptus will give a clean summer scent. And if you want to give your cleaner an unlimited shelf life, opt for vinegar (lemon can turn rancid).
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Local Success Story
The task of "going green" can be daunting, but even the smallest of efforts are a success. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, take heart and read this success story about our very own city of Fargo, ND:
Fargo city leaders are continually looking for ways to add environmentally friendly features to the city's buildings and operations.
Features currently in place
The city's new landfill transfer station and baling facility will greatly reduce the amount of litter being scattered by the wind at the landfill. The new facility allows garbage to be unloaded indoors and baled prior to its placement in the landfill. The building design utilizes renewable energy resources available at the landfill, including methane gas, solar energy and wind energy. The methane gas is placed in a generator to produce electricity for sale to a local power cooperative. Exhaust and engine heat from the generator are used to help heat the transfer station; solar panels and a wind turbine supply electricity to the station. Avoided cost and new sales of electricity are projected to generate more than $370,000 annually on a $1 million investment.
See the energy being produced today at the landfill.
Renewable energy features of the Metro Area Transit (MAT) Garage include a recycling system for water used to wash buses and a high-performance glaze on the outside of the building that will save on heating and cooling costs. The building’s roof is designed to accommodate solar panels; these might be added to the garage to generate energy if they become more economical in the future.
The MAT bus fleet operates on a biodiesel mixture all year long. Biodiesel is made from soybean and other vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled cooking grease or oil. Biodiesel releases less carbon dioxide and particulate matter than traditional diesel fuel. Biodiesel can also save money for MAT; in April 2008, it cost 20 cents less per gallon than regular diesel fuel. There are many environmental and economic benefits for riders of Metro Area Transit.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day each year, the city requires residents to limit lawn watering to every other day. This reduces water use by about 2.5 million gallon each summer and reduces the amount of money and energy needed for water and wastewater treatment.
Fargo has received national recognition for its efforts to protect the environment. The Earth Day Network ranked Fargo as the number one urban environment in its evaluation of 72 cities across the country. The evaluation was based on seven factors, including air quality, toxics and waste, and drinking and surface water.
Fargo city leaders are continually looking for ways to add environmentally friendly features to the city's buildings and operations.
Features currently in place
The city's new landfill transfer station and baling facility will greatly reduce the amount of litter being scattered by the wind at the landfill. The new facility allows garbage to be unloaded indoors and baled prior to its placement in the landfill. The building design utilizes renewable energy resources available at the landfill, including methane gas, solar energy and wind energy. The methane gas is placed in a generator to produce electricity for sale to a local power cooperative. Exhaust and engine heat from the generator are used to help heat the transfer station; solar panels and a wind turbine supply electricity to the station. Avoided cost and new sales of electricity are projected to generate more than $370,000 annually on a $1 million investment.See the energy being produced today at the landfill.
Renewable energy features of the Metro Area Transit (MAT) Garage include a recycling system for water used to wash buses and a high-performance glaze on the outside of the building that will save on heating and cooling costs. The building’s roof is designed to accommodate solar panels; these might be added to the garage to generate energy if they become more economical in the future.
The MAT bus fleet operates on a biodiesel mixture all year long. Biodiesel is made from soybean and other vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled cooking grease or oil. Biodiesel releases less carbon dioxide and particulate matter than traditional diesel fuel. Biodiesel can also save money for MAT; in April 2008, it cost 20 cents less per gallon than regular diesel fuel. There are many environmental and economic benefits for riders of Metro Area Transit. The city’s Information Technology Department is doing its part to use energy-efficient equipment throughout the city with the help of the federal government’s Energy Star program. Energy Star staff evaluate products based on their energy efficiency and life span, as well as on the amount of environmentally sensitive materials used to make them. Of all the computer equipment purchased by the city, almost half the monitors and desktops meet Energy Star requirements. The city also has a no-landfill policy for its computer equipment. The city donates used equipment in good condition to local nonprofit organizations.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day each year, the city requires residents to limit lawn watering to every other day. This reduces water use by about 2.5 million gallon each summer and reduces the amount of money and energy needed for water and wastewater treatment.
Fargo now uses LED traffic lights. These bulbs last longer and require less electricity than the type used previously, saving the city an estimated $40,000 per year.
Do you have a success story you would like to share? Contact the Creation Care Committee; we would love to know how you have been making care for creation a part of your life!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Compost!
Rich compost can work wonders in the garden. It enriches the soil and helps get your plants the nutrients they need. Did you know you can get this beautiful soil for free? If you're a Moorhead resident, head on over to the compost site and get a free load of fresh compost for your garden. Here is a list of the local compost sites for your reference.
Rich compost can work wonders in the garden. It enriches the soil and helps get your plants the nutrients they need. Did you know you can get this beautiful soil for free? If you're a Moorhead resident, head on over to the compost site and get a free load of fresh compost for your garden. Here is a list of the local compost sites for your reference.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Transportation Tolls Cars and light trucks consume the lion’s share of petroleum used for transportation in the U.S. Modest changes in efficiency and driving habits could add up to significant fuel savings.
Millions of barrels of petroleum used per day in 2006:
Cars = 4.9
Light trucks = 4.0
Medium & heavy trucks = 2.5
Airplanes = 1.2
Ships & boats = 0.7
Passenger & freight rail = 0.3
Light trucks = 4.0
Medium & heavy trucks = 2.5
Airplanes = 1.2
Ships & boats = 0.7
Passenger & freight rail = 0.3
If we drive our cars 20 fewer miles each week, we could reduce their CO2 emissions by 107 million tons each year, a 9 percent decrease.
If we improved our cars’ gas mileage by 5 miles a gallon, we could cut their CO2 emissions by 239 million tons each year, a 20 percent decrease.
Source:"Saving Energy; It Starts At Home" by Peter Miller, National Geographic, March 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Our Savior's Earth Week 2009
Earth Week at our Savior's will be celebrated during the Sunday, June 28 worship service at 9:30 a.m. and at the Wednesday, July 1 worship service at 6:30.
Our Savior’s challenges you think about your environmental responsibility and walk, bike or carpool to church for worship during Earth Week.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Life Offering - by Howard E. Butt
"Starting in the 1930's, Duke Ellington led the most sought-after band in the world. From New York to New Delhi, he played unparalleled jazz. In the Smithsonian, a piece of paper in the Duke's handwriting says, 'The greatest thing one man can do for another is to pray for him.' A friend quoted Duke as saying, 'My music is how I pray.'
So, our work is our prayer. Are you willing to offer up what you do every day as a prayer to God? That's a humbling thought.
Take seriously what you do every day. Make it an expression of your faith - and pray for each other - as part of the high calling of our daily work.
Romans 12:1, The Message: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."
Friday, May 29, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Rechargeable Batteries
Hundreds of products – everything from laptops, PDAs, hair dryers, and cordless tools – are powered by rechargeable batteries. Batteries are usually either nickel-cadmium (nicad), lithium ion, or nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH). All should be recycled to reclaim valuable compounds and to keep toxins out of the environment. To learn more, visit ThinkGreenFromHome.com.
There are several places in the Fargo/Moorhead area where batteries can be recycled: Batteries Plus (2119 13th Ave. S. Fargo), Interstate All Battery Center (2627 University Dr. S. Fargo or 4430 17th Ave. Fargo), or City of Fargo HHW Program (606 43 ½ St. N. Fargo – Fargo residents only).
Hundreds of products – everything from laptops, PDAs, hair dryers, and cordless tools – are powered by rechargeable batteries. Batteries are usually either nickel-cadmium (nicad), lithium ion, or nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH). All should be recycled to reclaim valuable compounds and to keep toxins out of the environment. To learn more, visit ThinkGreenFromHome.com.
There are several places in the Fargo/Moorhead area where batteries can be recycled: Batteries Plus (2119 13th Ave. S. Fargo), Interstate All Battery Center (2627 University Dr. S. Fargo or 4430 17th Ave. Fargo), or City of Fargo HHW Program (606 43 ½ St. N. Fargo – Fargo residents only).
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
ACTION ALERT- Living Earth: Reconciliation
Keeping Our Promise
by Mary Minette
ELCA Director of Environmental Education and Advocacy
“[T]he LORD said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, and winter, day and night,shall not cease.”
God makes this promise to Noah in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster the earth had ever experienced. I encountered this passage from Genesis in two very different places recently.
The first time was during a trip to Nicaragua to learn how people living in poor communities, mostly small farmers, were experiencing changes in their climate.
These farmers and their families may know little about the politics surrounding the issue of climate change here in the United States, but they do understand that rainfall patterns, which used to allow them to plant and harvest two crops each year during the rainy season, have become far less predictable.
Where they once could grow enough to feed and support their families, they now experience droughts and flooding, hunger and hardship. They see that God’s promise of enduring “seedtime and harvest” has somehow been disrupted, but the strong faith of these farmers that God promises a better life for them and their children endures.
The second time I heard this passage was in a Congressional hearing room, far from the dusty roads of rural Nicaragua. The hearing was about the need to provide help to people living in poverty, like those farmers in Nicaragua, who are already struggling with the impacts of a changing climate. The panel included scientists, policy experts, an ELCA bishop, and a couple of witnesses who were characterized by one member of the committee as “expert skeptics” on climate change. In other words, the room hosted a microcosm of the political debate that is ongoing in our country between people who deny that climate change is real or human-caused, and the climate scientists and policy experts who understand that climate change is real and argue that we must define how to approach the future of our country and our planet. The ELCA has listened to both sides of the climate change debate, and as a church we stand with the majority of climate scientists: God’s creation is in peril because humanity’s use of carbon-based energy sources like oil and coal is causing the earth to grow warmer and changing the climate around the world.
One of the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee quoted the above passage from Genesis during the hearing. He stated that because God has promised never again to destroy the earth, he believes that nothing humanity can invent or do can destroy creation.
The passage is clear: the earth shall endure, and the seasons, and day and night. God promises not to destroy that cycle. But what about us—where do we fit in? Does God’s promise mean that we have no responsibilities?God pledges that the earth will endure, but earlier on, he also tells us that we are to be stewards of all creation, charged with caring for the earth and our fellow creatures. This would seem to imply that we have some promises to keep as well.Are we keeping our promise, not only to God but to all of creation—to polar bears in the Arctic, to farmers in Nicaragua, to communities on small islands in the Pacific who are watching their land disappear under rising seas? The mounting evidence presented by climate scientists indicates that we are not.
Take Action
Currently the House Energy and Commerce committee is considering a bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454), that would require reductions in U.S. emissions of the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. Find out more about the bill here, and consider making a call or sending a letter to your member of Congress about the bill.
A Prayer for the Journey
Creator God, you have never failed in your promise to us: day follows night; winter’s cold yields to the new growth of spring; seeds are planted, sprout and produce food. Grant us the vision and strength to honor our promises to you, to change our ways, to choose a new path, and to tend and keep your garden, the earth. AMEN
by Mary Minette
ELCA Director of Environmental Education and Advocacy
“[T]he LORD said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, and winter, day and night,shall not cease.”
-Genesis 8:21-22
God makes this promise to Noah in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster the earth had ever experienced. I encountered this passage from Genesis in two very different places recently.
The first time was during a trip to Nicaragua to learn how people living in poor communities, mostly small farmers, were experiencing changes in their climate.
These farmers and their families may know little about the politics surrounding the issue of climate change here in the United States, but they do understand that rainfall patterns, which used to allow them to plant and harvest two crops each year during the rainy season, have become far less predictable.
Where they once could grow enough to feed and support their families, they now experience droughts and flooding, hunger and hardship. They see that God’s promise of enduring “seedtime and harvest” has somehow been disrupted, but the strong faith of these farmers that God promises a better life for them and their children endures.
The second time I heard this passage was in a Congressional hearing room, far from the dusty roads of rural Nicaragua. The hearing was about the need to provide help to people living in poverty, like those farmers in Nicaragua, who are already struggling with the impacts of a changing climate. The panel included scientists, policy experts, an ELCA bishop, and a couple of witnesses who were characterized by one member of the committee as “expert skeptics” on climate change. In other words, the room hosted a microcosm of the political debate that is ongoing in our country between people who deny that climate change is real or human-caused, and the climate scientists and policy experts who understand that climate change is real and argue that we must define how to approach the future of our country and our planet. The ELCA has listened to both sides of the climate change debate, and as a church we stand with the majority of climate scientists: God’s creation is in peril because humanity’s use of carbon-based energy sources like oil and coal is causing the earth to grow warmer and changing the climate around the world.
One of the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee quoted the above passage from Genesis during the hearing. He stated that because God has promised never again to destroy the earth, he believes that nothing humanity can invent or do can destroy creation.
The passage is clear: the earth shall endure, and the seasons, and day and night. God promises not to destroy that cycle. But what about us—where do we fit in? Does God’s promise mean that we have no responsibilities?God pledges that the earth will endure, but earlier on, he also tells us that we are to be stewards of all creation, charged with caring for the earth and our fellow creatures. This would seem to imply that we have some promises to keep as well.Are we keeping our promise, not only to God but to all of creation—to polar bears in the Arctic, to farmers in Nicaragua, to communities on small islands in the Pacific who are watching their land disappear under rising seas? The mounting evidence presented by climate scientists indicates that we are not.
Take Action
Currently the House Energy and Commerce committee is considering a bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454), that would require reductions in U.S. emissions of the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. Find out more about the bill here, and consider making a call or sending a letter to your member of Congress about the bill.
A Prayer for the Journey
Creator God, you have never failed in your promise to us: day follows night; winter’s cold yields to the new growth of spring; seeds are planted, sprout and produce food. Grant us the vision and strength to honor our promises to you, to change our ways, to choose a new path, and to tend and keep your garden, the earth. AMEN
Sunday, May 24, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Think Global – Buy Local
Decide to purchase your produce locally rather than at the grocery store and you will not only be practicing good Earthkeeping but you will also be supporting our local farmers and local economy. The Fargo/Moorhead area has two local food markets:
Fargo Community Farmers Market
The Fargo Community Farmers Market opens for the season Tuesday, June 2. It is located in the Dike East parking lot at 400 south Fourth Street in Fargo. Hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The market offers a variety of vegetables, melons, cut flowers, honey, jams and is open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, June through October.
FM Farmers Market
The FM Farmers Market in West Fargo is open May though December and is located at 349 East Main Avenue in West Fargo. This market offers an even wider variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, jellies, flowers, trees, shrubs, and other garden plants and supplies.
For more information on specific products available at each market, visit http://www.localfoods.umn.edu/.
Decide to purchase your produce locally rather than at the grocery store and you will not only be practicing good Earthkeeping but you will also be supporting our local farmers and local economy. The Fargo/Moorhead area has two local food markets:
Fargo Community Farmers Market
The Fargo Community Farmers Market opens for the season Tuesday, June 2. It is located in the Dike East parking lot at 400 south Fourth Street in Fargo. Hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The market offers a variety of vegetables, melons, cut flowers, honey, jams and is open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, June through October.
FM Farmers Market
The FM Farmers Market in West Fargo is open May though December and is located at 349 East Main Avenue in West Fargo. This market offers an even wider variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, jellies, flowers, trees, shrubs, and other garden plants and supplies.
For more information on specific products available at each market, visit http://www.localfoods.umn.edu/.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
ACTION ALERT: Climate Action in D.C. – Time to make your voices heard!
This week members of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee will consider a bill to address the most pressing issue facing God’s creation - our changing climate and the emissions that are causing our planet to grow warmer. This bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454), is sponsored by Committee chairman Henry Waxman of California and Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts (a sample call script is provided at the end of this article).This is a critical moment, and we are working hard to ensure that the Committee’s bill is strong and protects people living in poverty in the U.S. and around the world, but we need your help and your voice! This is a moment of opportunity and great urgency - please take a few minutes to call Representative Peterson and urge the congressperson to support strong climate change legislation!
Climate change’s impact already falls, and will continue to fall, most heavily on the people around the world who are least able to mitigate the impacts - people living in poverty in the U.S. and in developing countries. As a leading industrialized nation that has disproportionately contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, it is incumbent upon us to rectify this injustice through national legislation to reduce global warming.Please tell Representative Peterson to support strong climate change legislation that:
- Follows the recommendations of the scientific community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Currently this means legislation must ensure that we do not increase the Earth’s temperature by more than two degrees Celsius by reducing emissions by between 20 and 40 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050.
- Protects those living in or near poverty in the U.S. from the impacts of climate change and climate legislation. Legislation must ensure that low income Americans do not bear the disproportionate burden of increases in energy costs, must ensure that any increased costs do not push more people into poverty, and must provide for those whose jobs are impacted by climate legislation.
- Provides adaptation assistance for those living in poverty abroad. Those living in the most vulnerable developing nations around the world bear little responsibility for global warming and are already feeling the burden of climate change, with little ability to adapt. Through adaptation assistance, the U.S. can prevent the worst impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities around the world while helping them continue to lift people out of poverty. Climate change is a moral issue that elected officials are beginning to address on a national and international level. It is important that they hear the voice of the faith community as they make decisions that will affect the well being of God’s people and God’s Creation.
To call Representative Peterson:
Dial 888-784-0527 (toll-free, thanks to National Council of Churches) to reach the Capitol Switchboard. Ask the operator to connect you to Representative Peterson's office.
Sample Script for call:
"My name is [your name] and I am calling from [your town], Minnesota. I hope that Representative Peterson will support the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454) and work to strengthen it. As a constituent and a person of faith, I am concerned that people living in poverty around the world will suffer first and most if we do not aggressively reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. I also urge you to support efforts to protect those living in or near poverty in the U.S. from the impacts of rising energy costs and to provide assistance to those living in poverty around the globe as they adapt to a changing climate."
Thank you for your advocacy work!
ELCA Washington Office
Monday, May 18, 2009
ACTION ALERT: Your Voice Needed as Legislative Session Ends Monday
The decisions being made in St. Paul in the next few days will have a very real and lasting effect on the most vulnerable among us.
LCPPM Intern Pastor Janel Kuester opened the Minnesota Senate Session on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 with these words, “God of guidance, help us all realize that the situation of our beautiful State is one that we cannot forge through without your assistance. Calm our minds, open our ears, follow our hearts as we all continue to reconcile together”. Full text of prayer.
The session ends at midnight on Monday, May 18. As our six Minnesota ELCA bishops said in a March letter addressed to our elected leaders, “The measure of our moral fiber as a people is how we treat those who need help the most. We ask that you enlist all of us in this effort. Churches and community agencies have increased efforts to serve those in need, but only government has the reach and power to affect us all. Invite us to invest in this state, tighten our belts, and contribute our time and resources. We’re not afraid of tax increases if it means poor people who are sick can get health care, families who lose their homes find shelter, and children are cared for.” Full text of bishop's letter.
Your voice, your powerful voice, is needed!
Now is the time for people of faith to pray for our elected officials and to advocate for our brothers and sisters in need. Contact your legislators and the Governor and encourage them to support revenue-raising in order to make a balanced solution possible. Tell them that revenue-raising must be a significant part of the solution to resolve the state’s budget deficit and to make the tax system fairer.
To find out how to contact your decisions makers, click here.
And the latest developments...
Late Thursday night, Governor Pawlenty signed the Health & Human Services bill. While this is the action that we advocated for, he regretfully used his line item veto power to strike the entire $381 million appropriation for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). While we recognize that times are tough and cuts must be made, this veto undermines some of our core values of the common good, human dignity and compassion for the poor.
GAMC provides basic health coverage for the poorest single adults in our state. Nearly 30,000 men and women, most of whom make about $200 per month in income, lose all health coverage with the Governor's decision. $200 equals $7.15 per day. Imagine living on $7.15 per day, and then being asked to carry an enormous burden in solving the state budget deficit.
When the most vulnerable adults lose their health care safety net, they will wait until a treatable symptom becomes a serious illness or disease, and then local emergency rooms (and tax payers) will foot the bill. Most importantly, some people most likely will die because they will no longer have access to basic health care. This is not rhetoric or empty of real consequence. The decisions being made in St. Paul in the next few days will have a very real and lasting effect on the most vulnerable among us.
Governor Pawlenty has indicated that he will not call a special session. If the budget is not balanced by the beginning of the new fiscal year (July 1st), the Governor will have the authority to reduce spending and cancel programs altogether at his discretion.
LCPPM Intern Pastor Janel Kuester opened the Minnesota Senate Session on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 with these words, “God of guidance, help us all realize that the situation of our beautiful State is one that we cannot forge through without your assistance. Calm our minds, open our ears, follow our hearts as we all continue to reconcile together”. Full text of prayer.
The session ends at midnight on Monday, May 18. As our six Minnesota ELCA bishops said in a March letter addressed to our elected leaders, “The measure of our moral fiber as a people is how we treat those who need help the most. We ask that you enlist all of us in this effort. Churches and community agencies have increased efforts to serve those in need, but only government has the reach and power to affect us all. Invite us to invest in this state, tighten our belts, and contribute our time and resources. We’re not afraid of tax increases if it means poor people who are sick can get health care, families who lose their homes find shelter, and children are cared for.” Full text of bishop's letter.
Your voice, your powerful voice, is needed!
Now is the time for people of faith to pray for our elected officials and to advocate for our brothers and sisters in need. Contact your legislators and the Governor and encourage them to support revenue-raising in order to make a balanced solution possible. Tell them that revenue-raising must be a significant part of the solution to resolve the state’s budget deficit and to make the tax system fairer.
To find out how to contact your decisions makers, click here.
And the latest developments...
Late Thursday night, Governor Pawlenty signed the Health & Human Services bill. While this is the action that we advocated for, he regretfully used his line item veto power to strike the entire $381 million appropriation for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). While we recognize that times are tough and cuts must be made, this veto undermines some of our core values of the common good, human dignity and compassion for the poor.
GAMC provides basic health coverage for the poorest single adults in our state. Nearly 30,000 men and women, most of whom make about $200 per month in income, lose all health coverage with the Governor's decision. $200 equals $7.15 per day. Imagine living on $7.15 per day, and then being asked to carry an enormous burden in solving the state budget deficit.
When the most vulnerable adults lose their health care safety net, they will wait until a treatable symptom becomes a serious illness or disease, and then local emergency rooms (and tax payers) will foot the bill. Most importantly, some people most likely will die because they will no longer have access to basic health care. This is not rhetoric or empty of real consequence. The decisions being made in St. Paul in the next few days will have a very real and lasting effect on the most vulnerable among us.
Governor Pawlenty has indicated that he will not call a special session. If the budget is not balanced by the beginning of the new fiscal year (July 1st), the Governor will have the authority to reduce spending and cancel programs altogether at his discretion.
Plan Ahead for the Planet
"If you are thinking one year ahead, sew a seed. If you are thinking 10 years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking 100 years ahead, educate the people."- Chinese poet, 500 BC
Sunday, May 17, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
Incandescent and LED Light Bulbs
One of the simplest ways to conserve electricity is to choose energy-efficient lighting options. Incandescent bulbs are inefficient because the light they produce is simply a by-product of the heat they generate. A 60-watt incandescent bulb generates the same amount of light as a 15-watt fluorescent. Another lighting option is the light-emitting diode lamp (LED), which uses a series of tiny electronic light bulbs that, when placed next to each other, emit as much or much more light than a similar-size standard light bulb. The LED does not burn out all at once, and it uses only a fraction of the electricity of an incandescent.
Incandescent light bulbs will be phased out of the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under an energy law approved by Congress.To learn more, visit http://www.thinkgreen.com/
One of the simplest ways to conserve electricity is to choose energy-efficient lighting options. Incandescent bulbs are inefficient because the light they produce is simply a by-product of the heat they generate. A 60-watt incandescent bulb generates the same amount of light as a 15-watt fluorescent. Another lighting option is the light-emitting diode lamp (LED), which uses a series of tiny electronic light bulbs that, when placed next to each other, emit as much or much more light than a similar-size standard light bulb. The LED does not burn out all at once, and it uses only a fraction of the electricity of an incandescent.
Incandescent light bulbs will be phased out of the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under an energy law approved by Congress.To learn more, visit http://www.thinkgreen.com/
Sunday, May 10, 2009
GREEN LIGHT go and take action
Cut down on your household waste by buying items like detergent and cleaning supplies in concentrated forms so you get more product per package.
For more ideas on how to cut waste visit www.thegreenguide.com and click on Fast Facts.
For more ideas on how to cut waste visit www.thegreenguide.com and click on Fast Facts.
Friday, May 1, 2009
May Day
We all know that being "green" is important to our vocation as Christians. It's true, though, that the responsibility and wealth of information available can sometimes be overwhelming.
But being green can be fun too! This morning, when the staff of Our Savior's Lutheran Church arrived at work they discovered a pile of May Day Baskets outside their doors!
Not only did these baskets contain healthy snacks, they were also earth-friendly:
The recyclable paper bags were purchased from a thrift store .
The tags and filigree are made from left-over event programs. 
Be creative! Find fun ways to incorporate earthkeeping in your life!
Thanks to our friend who delivered the May Day Baskets! What a great way to start the day!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
GREEN LIGHT: go and take action
“Buildings, not cars, produce the most CO2 in the U.S. The average new house is 45 % bigger than it was 30 years ago.” According to National Geographic Magazine, a 2007 survey of Americans showed that “...60% said they didn’t have enough savings to pay for energy-related renovations. If given an extra $10,000 to work with, only 24% said they would invest in efficiency. What did the rest want? Granite countertops.”
Source:"Saving Energy; It Starts At Home" by Peter Miller, National Geographic, March 2009
To find more information about how to green your living space, visit www.oslcgreen.blogspot.com.
Source:"Saving Energy; It Starts At Home" by Peter Miller, National Geographic, March 2009
To find more information about how to green your living space, visit www.oslcgreen.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Spring Cleaning? Consider turning your “trash” into a tax-deduction
The cities of Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead will hold their Spring Cleanup week June 1-5, 2009. Before placing your items on the curb, consider donating them to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
Habitat ReStore helps area homeowners get quality construction materials at bargain prices. Donations also benefit the environment since the items are put to good use instead of ending up in a landfill. Donations are good for the community because they allow Habitat ReStore to provide cost effective solutions to remodeling. In addition, by donating accepted building materials you can receive a tax deduction.
Habitat ReStore gladly accepts the following items in good condition: cabinets, plumbing, electrical, windows, hardware, lumber, doors and door accessories, roofing, carpet, tools, flooring, millwork/trim, furnaces and air conditioners, large appliances, paint (full gallons less than two years old), kitchen and bath fixtures, and bricks.
For a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable items, or to arrange a pickup, please visit http://www.lakeagassizhabitat.org/restore/ or contact Habitat ReStore at 218-284-5253. Drop-offs are also accepted during store hours. We are grateful for donations from community members like you. Before you drop your items at the curb, remember ReStore!
Habitat ReStore helps area homeowners get quality construction materials at bargain prices. Donations also benefit the environment since the items are put to good use instead of ending up in a landfill. Donations are good for the community because they allow Habitat ReStore to provide cost effective solutions to remodeling. In addition, by donating accepted building materials you can receive a tax deduction.
Habitat ReStore gladly accepts the following items in good condition: cabinets, plumbing, electrical, windows, hardware, lumber, doors and door accessories, roofing, carpet, tools, flooring, millwork/trim, furnaces and air conditioners, large appliances, paint (full gallons less than two years old), kitchen and bath fixtures, and bricks.
For a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable items, or to arrange a pickup, please visit http://www.lakeagassizhabitat.org/restore/ or contact Habitat ReStore at 218-284-5253. Drop-offs are also accepted during store hours. We are grateful for donations from community members like you. Before you drop your items at the curb, remember ReStore!
Blessing seed, soil and animals on Rogation Sunday
In rural York County, Pa., Pastor Tom Shelley leads a Rogation Sunday worship service, on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, with the blessing of seed, soil and animals.
Traditionally Rogation Days were agricultural celebrations, where priests blessed land at the beginning of the planting season. Rogation Days were celebrated during the 50 days of Easter on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day. The word, rogation, has its roots in the Latin word which means to “ask” or “petition” and comes from the ancient introit for the Sunday preceding the Ascension. In some places, the celebrations of Rogation Days were quite elaborate and included processions from the church to and around fields while asking for God’s blessing.
Churches that have maintained the practice of celebrating Rogation Days no longer mark these days specifically before Ascension. Instead, Rogation Days are celebrated at times and places that meet local needs. With more emphasis placed on the need for the stewardship of creation, the themes of thanksgiving for the land and petitions for a fruitful earth may be referenced at any time of the year.
In the practice of Zion (Shaffers) United Lutheran Church in York, Pa., the blessing of the animals is part of the service. The congregation processes out of the church building and is met by children and parents who have assembled a host of young farm animals and household pets. These have included hedgehogs, chameleons, turtles, young rabbits and the obligatory cats and dogs. A tree farmer once brought a bucket of seedling evergreens.
Reprinted from Seeds for the Parish
Traditionally Rogation Days were agricultural celebrations, where priests blessed land at the beginning of the planting season. Rogation Days were celebrated during the 50 days of Easter on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day. The word, rogation, has its roots in the Latin word which means to “ask” or “petition” and comes from the ancient introit for the Sunday preceding the Ascension. In some places, the celebrations of Rogation Days were quite elaborate and included processions from the church to and around fields while asking for God’s blessing.
Churches that have maintained the practice of celebrating Rogation Days no longer mark these days specifically before Ascension. Instead, Rogation Days are celebrated at times and places that meet local needs. With more emphasis placed on the need for the stewardship of creation, the themes of thanksgiving for the land and petitions for a fruitful earth may be referenced at any time of the year.
In the practice of Zion (Shaffers) United Lutheran Church in York, Pa., the blessing of the animals is part of the service. The congregation processes out of the church building and is met by children and parents who have assembled a host of young farm animals and household pets. These have included hedgehogs, chameleons, turtles, young rabbits and the obligatory cats and dogs. A tree farmer once brought a bucket of seedling evergreens.
Reprinted from Seeds for the Parish
We will celebrate Earth Sunday at Our Savior’s on Sunday, June 28, 2009.
Watch bulletins and the Creation Care Committee blog for more details!
It pays to think green
For Ginger Vanderveer, it all started with a light bulb.
“Some years back, we had a fundraiser selling energy-saving kits at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Oak Park, Ill.),” Ginger remembers.
This was the first project for the congregation’s newly formed Green Team and, as a member, Ginger was happy to do her part. She had no idea how purchasing a kit would change her life.
Ginger began using the bulbs at home and says, “I was hooked on the immediate savings from the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the kit.” So was Good Shepherd.
“We stated adding bulbs in high-use areas at church and pre-programmed our thermostats. The savings in the first year (2001) were over $1,000.”
That was how Ginger discovered that caring for the environment makes good business sense.
Excited by how effective and affordable the CFL bulbs were, Ginger shipped a boxful to her sister, who was maintaining Northside Valley, the family’s estate on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Northside was Ginger’s childhood home. Her sister rented the seven villas on the property to local business people.
“[Those bulbs were] our first eco-friendly endeavor at Northside,” says Ginger, but it wasn’t their last. By November 2007, she had transformed the estate into an eco-friendly resort with the help of her brother Philip.
The villas, built over 40 years ago by Ginger’s father, are tucked under the shade of luxuriant native trees. They benefit from the cooling Caribbean trade winds thanks to generously sized windows and high ceilings.
Guests compost, recycle, conserve water and help out with local beach cleanups, all while enjoying St. Croix’s tranquil beauty and Ginger’s green hospitality.
When she’s back in the States, Ginger remains an active and enthusiastic member of the Good Shepherd Green Team.
The Team’s verdant prairie garden in front of the church, lush with native plants and frequented by butterflies and hummingbirds in the summer, has become an Oak Park landmark.
Ginger believes that garden is the Team’s greatest success. She also feels that it’s “a symbol for all that we need to treasure in the environment” and a sign of God’s presence in the community.
“The generosity of the garden is like God’s love: always growing, always providing.”
“It’s also an energy saver in ways that are not so obvious to the naked eye. The roots of the plants go as deep as five feet, thereby sinking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the earth. This helps keep our building cooler. The roots also filter and absorb water when it rains, saving energy for the water reclamation utility...”
Members are excited about saving money in challenging economic times and freeing up funds for other vital programs at Good Shepherd.
Ultimately, going green isn’t just about the money for Ginger. An eco-friendly philosophy is also a remarkable tool for evangelism and a way to make God’s love more tangible and concrete for visitors.
“[Newcomers] are intrigued by our devotion [to the prairie garden],” she says. “Many walk in to see what type of congregation would be so bold as to love a prairie garden.
“When nonmembers see how much love we give to the environment without expecting anything in return, they realize we can give that same love to them. They become eager to be a part of that community.” Good Shepherd is eager to welcome them.
-Marianne Griebler
Associate Director for Marketing-
Member Communications and Storytelling
ELCA Communications Services
“Some years back, we had a fundraiser selling energy-saving kits at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Oak Park, Ill.),” Ginger remembers.
This was the first project for the congregation’s newly formed Green Team and, as a member, Ginger was happy to do her part. She had no idea how purchasing a kit would change her life.
Ginger began using the bulbs at home and says, “I was hooked on the immediate savings from the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the kit.” So was Good Shepherd.
“We stated adding bulbs in high-use areas at church and pre-programmed our thermostats. The savings in the first year (2001) were over $1,000.”
That was how Ginger discovered that caring for the environment makes good business sense.
Excited by how effective and affordable the CFL bulbs were, Ginger shipped a boxful to her sister, who was maintaining Northside Valley, the family’s estate on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Northside was Ginger’s childhood home. Her sister rented the seven villas on the property to local business people.
“[Those bulbs were] our first eco-friendly endeavor at Northside,” says Ginger, but it wasn’t their last. By November 2007, she had transformed the estate into an eco-friendly resort with the help of her brother Philip.
The villas, built over 40 years ago by Ginger’s father, are tucked under the shade of luxuriant native trees. They benefit from the cooling Caribbean trade winds thanks to generously sized windows and high ceilings.
Guests compost, recycle, conserve water and help out with local beach cleanups, all while enjoying St. Croix’s tranquil beauty and Ginger’s green hospitality.
When she’s back in the States, Ginger remains an active and enthusiastic member of the Good Shepherd Green Team.
The Team’s verdant prairie garden in front of the church, lush with native plants and frequented by butterflies and hummingbirds in the summer, has become an Oak Park landmark.
Ginger believes that garden is the Team’s greatest success. She also feels that it’s “a symbol for all that we need to treasure in the environment” and a sign of God’s presence in the community.
“The generosity of the garden is like God’s love: always growing, always providing.”
“It’s also an energy saver in ways that are not so obvious to the naked eye. The roots of the plants go as deep as five feet, thereby sinking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the earth. This helps keep our building cooler. The roots also filter and absorb water when it rains, saving energy for the water reclamation utility...”
Members are excited about saving money in challenging economic times and freeing up funds for other vital programs at Good Shepherd.
Ultimately, going green isn’t just about the money for Ginger. An eco-friendly philosophy is also a remarkable tool for evangelism and a way to make God’s love more tangible and concrete for visitors.
“[Newcomers] are intrigued by our devotion [to the prairie garden],” she says. “Many walk in to see what type of congregation would be so bold as to love a prairie garden.
“When nonmembers see how much love we give to the environment without expecting anything in return, they realize we can give that same love to them. They become eager to be a part of that community.” Good Shepherd is eager to welcome them.
-Marianne Griebler
Associate Director for Marketing-
Member Communications and Storytelling
ELCA Communications Services
Reprinted from Seeds for the Parish
Friday, April 24, 2009
GREEN LIGHT go and take action
The ePV
Are you interested in helping the church protect God’s creation? Sign up for the ePV—the environmentally-friendly, electronic version of the church newsletter. Email oslc@oursaviorsmoorhead or stop by the Welcome Center in the East Narthex of the church and ask to be added to the email list!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
GREEN LIGHT go and take action
The Powered House
Electricity is the biggest source of power for U.S. homes - and for every kilowatt-hour used, 2.2 are "lost" as that energy is generated and sent over transmission lines. So, even small changes in our habits can scale up to big reductions in carbon emissions.
Energy Used per Home (2006, in millions of BTU*)
Electricity is the biggest source of power for U.S. homes - and for every kilowatt-hour used, 2.2 are "lost" as that energy is generated and sent over transmission lines. So, even small changes in our habits can scale up to big reductions in carbon emissions.
Energy Used per Home (2006, in millions of BTU*)
- Electrical Loss = 89.3
- Electricity used in the home = 41.0
- Natural Gas = 40.0
- Petroleum = 11.1
- Renewable = 3.6
If we converted half of all lightbulbs to compact flourescents, we would reduce CO2 from lighting by 42.4 million tons a year, or 36%.
If we turned off home computers when not in use, we would cut their CO2 impact by 8.3 million tons a year, or 50%.
CO2 amounts measured in metric tons
*The British Thermal Unit (BTU) is used to measure the energy content of fuels and the power of heating and cooling systems. One kilowatt-hour of electricity is equivalent to 3,412 BTU.
Source:"Saving Energy; It Starts At Home" by Peter Miller, National Geographic, March 2009
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