GREEN LIGHT go and take action

Recycle to support Our Savior’s

Did 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!

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.

Here's a recipe:
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).

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 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!

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.

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

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

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.

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."