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).

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.”

-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

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/.

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.

Together, let us respond to the challenge of climate change with compassion, lifting up the voices of our neighbors living in or near poverty, and striving to preserve God’s “good” 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

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.

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

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/

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.

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!