January Earth Care Tip: Break the Paper Habit

from Barbara Hedspeth

 

If a family of four used paper napkins for every meal they would spend $130 a year and add a pile of waste to the landfill. Factor in the number of paper towels that family would use and we’re looking at a significant amount of waste and it’s all made from trees. Somehow we’ve been convinced that the convenience of paper napkins and towels is worth the consumption of hundreds of acres of timber and all the energy necessary for processing that wood into the thin paper we use and toss into the trash, without thinking, multiple times a day.

 

Using cloth napkins and cloth dish towels for cleanup instead of paper towels is a more sustainable and less expensive alternative. The key is to frame the cloth napkin as not always being the pricey matching accessory to the table cloth. Look for cloth napkins made of durable material such as cotton or linen blends that stand up to regular washing along with the towels and sheets. It only takes a few moments to fold them and they’re ready to use again. They don’t all have to match either. I’ve found good deals on this kind of napkin at stores like Garden Ridge and Hobby Lobby. You might even try your hand at making your own. Either way you’re doing our southern forests a great favor.

Nov. 17, 2012 One of the most interesting talks at the Festival of Faiths was about Solar Roadways (http://www.solarroadways.com/).  The basic idea: replace asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with solar panels built to withstand the weight and wear of traffic.  These roads would be well marked with LEDs (better than our present painted lines), heated to melt ice and snow in winter, and used to collect energy to be used by our homes and businesses.  Electric cars could be charged while they drive on the roadway. This renewable energy replaces the need for the current fossil fuels used for the generation of electricity. 

The next meeting of the Earth Care Team will be on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 9:45 am.

Nov. 4, 2012 the Earth Care Team met to discuss how the church will address environmental issues including mountain top removal and climate change.  Last month the Session provided the momentum for renewing these efforts by approving the church's application to PC-USA to become an Earth Care Congregation.

The Earth Care Team agreed on the following plan of action.
1.  The team will be commissioned by Jane at an upcoming worship service.

2.  Communication to the congregation will be in several forms.

a.  Periodic brief notes in the bulletin (weekly, monthly, etc.)

b.  Monthly article for Westminster Ways to be titled Earth Care Tips.  The first article deadline is Nov. 15 for the December issue.  These articles could have both issues of local interest such as Christmas gift suggestions (e.g., donating a motion sensor to turn off church lights when not in use) as well as links to national environmental efforts (e.g., ILoveMountains.org).

c.  Electronic form such as this blog which could be linked to the church website and/or Facebook page.

3.  Worship services.  Every two months we plan to hold a service focused at least in part on environmental issues.  Tentative schedule: 

a.  December, 2012 an Eco justice collective service organized/led by Rebecca Barnes-Davies.

b.  February 10, 2013 is set as a Preach-In for Global Warming.  Trisha Tull, who has received the climate change training by Al Gore's group, will do a Food for Thought presentation and perhaps deliver the sermon.  

c.  April, 2013 a service related to Earth Day.

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Nov. 6, 2012
When the church has been approved as an Earth Care Congregation:

1.  On the church website at the bottom of the front page: place the logo for Earth Care Congregations beside the other logos.; 

2.  Add a page for Earth Care (perhaps under mission?)

3.  Formally announce this fact to the congregation.