Faithful
Environmental Action Steps for St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church
1. Cut
down on St. Marks’ paper use: Choose to get Shalom through email!
St. Mark’s uses over 2 reams (over 1000 pieces) of
paper for the Shalom every month, and if half the congregation agrees to
receive it over email instead of through snail mail, we will save more than
6000 sheets of paper a year! To make the
switch, fill out the paper in your bulletin or email Eileen
(stmarksoffice@mindspring.com).
2. Choose clean energy
Where possible select a power plan that uses at least
50% clean energy. One example is Tucson
Electric Power Company’s GreenWatts program,
available to all TEP users. The benefits in terms of air, water, land, and
thermal pollution are innumerable, and each one of those benefits impacts your
family’s health and the health of our world.
3. Invest in
Energy
Investing in renewable energy
production is the same as investing in a home or office building. Buying energy
from a utility, on the other hand, is like renting - at the end of fifteen
years you don't have anything to show for it - and you are left vulnerable to
the fluctuating costs of energy. One investment option is solar panels which
can produce energy for 40 years or more - far longer than it takes to pay off
the installation costs (currently around 15 years for homeowners and only 7
years for businesses). Wind power, where available, has a far quicker payback
period. One helpful website is www.eere.energy.gov.
4. Recycle
This seems obvious, especially in Tucson where recycling
is a piece of cake. However, we often
forget the benefits. Recycling saves a
huge amount of energy needed to make new products. Recycle 50% of your glass,
aluminum, plastic, cardboard and newspapers. Make an effort to fill your
recycle bin more quickly than your trash can!
5. Compost
Composting all organic waste will help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
(such as methane) associated with landfills, plus the soil is amazing. The Tucson Community Food Bank and the Tucson
Botanical Gardens have extensive resources to help you start composting at your
house. If you have soil deficiencies,
the soil created from compost will fix most of them!
6. Adjust your thermostat
The bad news: about 42 percent of your household
energy costs go toward just two things - heating and cooling. The good news:
you have a lot of room to make a difference and even small changes can make
dramatic improvements in household fuel efficiency. Automatically lower your
monthly energy bill by giving your heat and air conditioning a break while you
are asleep or out.
7. More about your heating and
cooling…
Replacing older heating and cooling systems with new efficient models can cut
your annual energy costs by 20 percent. If one in 10 households serviced
heating and cooling systems annually, cleaned or replaced filters regularly,
used a programmable thermostat and replaced old equipment with ENERGY STAR
models it would prevent the emissions of more than 17 billion pounds of
greenhouse gases.
8. More thermostat tips…
Turn the thermostat down 3 degrees in the winter and up 3 degrees in the
summer. You won’t notice the change, but
the earth will! In the summer a reasonable comfortable level for keeping the
area is 76-80 degrees. For each degree that the thermostat is raised it can
result in 3% savings on cooling. In the winter the comfortable level is 68-72
degrees. You can also save in the winter by setting it down even lower at night
and use extra blankets when sleeping.
9. Another heating thought…
Tune up your heating system. By keeping your furnace clean, lubricated and
properly adjusted, you can save up to 5 percent in heating costs. Clean vents, close unused vents, and change
filters in the vents. Again, just these simple things will save you up to 5
percent in costs. Buy a
programmable thermostat, which can regulate different temperatures at different
times of the day. And if you have one, use it! These thermostats reduce energy
use by 5-30 percent and save you $100-$150 in energy costs each year.
10. Replace a worn-out refrigerator with an Energy Star
model
The US would need 30 less power plants if all Americans used the most efficient
refrigerators. Visit EPA's Energy Star Website to see a list of energy
efficient appliances. If your refrigerator is near a heating vent, or always in
the sun, then change the location, cover up the heating vent near it or cover
the window.
11. More refrigerator tips…
Clean the condenser coil. This one, very simple thing can improve the
efficiency of your refrigerator reducing your annual energy costs by $20. After that, turn on your "energy
saver" switch near the thermostat if you have one.
12. Turn your computer off overnight and put it into a
power save mode
A standard monitor left on overnight uses enough
energy to print 5,300 copies (yes, even with a screensaver). While you’re at it, turn off or unplug all
your devices before bed; even your cell phone charger uses energy with or
without a cell phone plugged into it.
Also, FYI, some of the new, really big HD TVs can use two to three times
the electricity of a regular TV. According to the Natural Resources
Defense Council, these huge TVs use as much as 500 kilowatt hours per year and
could cost you $300-$500 in electricity costs over 10 years.
13. Wash clothes in cold or warm water
Skip the hot water on 2 loads per week. You'll save energy and should have less
wrinkled clothes. Ninety percent of the energy used in operating a washing
machine goes toward heating the water that washes and rinses the clothes. The
clothes will be just as clean, and you'll cut energy use. For a bleach alternative, try hydrogen
peroxide, lemon juice, or white vinegar.
14. Dry your
clothes the natural way
Don't over-dry your clothes, or don’t dry them at all. Arizona’s hot, dry climate is perfect for
“solar clothes dryers.” Using free solar
and wind energy instead of a dryer can prevent the emission of 1,500 pounds of
greenhouse gases every year, while saving a family of four up to $100 a year.
The benefits don't end there. Line-dried clothing lasts longer because it's not
repeatedly banging around in a tumbler, and, for the same reason, there's no
static cling. Fresh air naturally sweetens clothing, towels and sheets -- no
perfume necessary -- and the sunshine gently bleaches and whitens.
15. Turn down
the hot water heater
Either turn the hot water heater down
to 120 degrees, or turn on the "energy conservation" setting. Some
manufacturers set water heater thermostats at 140 degrees when most households
only require them at 120 or 115 degrees. For each 10 degrees reduction in water
temperature, you can save 3-5 percent in energy costs. Install a timer on your water heater to turn
off at night and on just before you wake up in the morning.
16. Insulate and
seal.
Add an extra layer of insulation to
your roof or walls, and use caulking, foam or weather stripping to seal cracks
around windows, light fixtures or electrical outlets. If it's in the budget
upgrade the windows. Old windows allow much more air to enter the house than
new energy efficient insulated windows.
Also, buy insulation at a local store and insulate your hot water heater
and pipes.
17. Cut down on
dishwasher use
When possible, wash a few dishes by hand. Over time,
that will save a few loads in the dishwasher, conserving energy. Don't pre-rinse dishes. Today's detergents
are powerful enough to do the job.
Finally, wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher, and air
dry instead of using the heated dry feature.
And PLEASE use non-toxic cleaning alternatives whenever possible, for
all your cleaning needs.
18. Pack a
“Waste-Free” lunch
Use a re-usable lunchbox, reusable containers, a thermos for your drink, cloth
napkin, and real silverware. Compost all
your organic waste. The best way to
reduce garbage is to not create it!
19. Become a smart water consumer.
Install low-flow showerheads and faucets and you'll use half the water without
decreasing performance. Reuse household water to give your plants a drink.
Please avoid bottled water. Look into water harvesting; a great book about this
is Water Harvesting for Dry Lands by Brad Lancaster, a Tucson native.
20. Use compact fluorescent bulbs
It's a bright idea to replace 3 incandescent bulbs
with fluorescent bulbs that last up to 10 times as long and use 1/4 of the
energy. Although they are a little more
expensive at the outset, 5 ENERGY STAR light bulbs will save your household at
least $150 over their lifetime. Here's
the impact. If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an
energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the
cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent greenhouse gas emissions
equivalent to that from nearly 800,000 cars. It would also save enough energy
to light 2.5 million homes for a year.
Since they release less heat than normal bulbs, they also help your
cooling system work more efficiently!
21. Go organic
Even with our vast reservoir of
scientific knowledge about farming, most American
farmers still spray a billion pounds of pesticides to protect crops each year.
Now here's the kicker: when chemical pesticides are used to kill pests, they can
also kill microorganisms that keep carbon contained in the soil. When the
microorganisms are gone, the carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2. And
when those organisms are gone, the soil is no longer naturally fertile and
chemical fertilizers become a necessity, not a luxury.
22. Other food
tips
Eat locally grown food. If the food
doesn't have to travel far, there's less CO2 from the trucks that ship it. There are a number of great farmer’s markets
in Tucson, and 17th Street Market has a huge selection of local and
organic produce. Also, eat fruits and vegetables in
season. That saves the enormous transportation costs too.
23. Even more
local produce
Plant your own vegetable garden. It's not as hard as you might think. Tucson
Community Food Bank has great resources for this, including gardening classes
and free seeds! If you must water, use
soak hoses instead of sprinklers to more efficiently hydrate your new
friends. Also, consider using manual
lawn tools (like push mowers and rakes) instead of motorized mowers and blowers
for all your landscaping needs.
24. Plant a tree, protect a forest.
Protecting forests is a big step on the road to curbing global warming. Trees
"breathe in" carbon dioxide, but slash-and-burn farming practices,
intensive livestock production, and logging have destroyed 90 percent of the
native forests in the United States. And you can take action in your own
backyard — planting shade trees around your house will absorb CO2, and slash
your summer air-conditioning bills.
25. Eat less
meat
A plant-based diet generally requires less land,
energy, and other resources. It takes 78 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1
calorie of beef protein, 22 calories for 1 of poultry, and only 1 calorie of
fossil fuel for 1 calorie of soybeans.
It also takes 3 to 15 times more water and 3 to 15 times as much grain
to eat meat rather than plants. Our soil and forests also suffer greatly
because of meat consumption.
26. Buy recycled
products
This may sound simple, but it takes less energy to
manufacture a recycled product than a brand new one. Producing new paper,
glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the
energy and pollution, including CO2 that would result if the product came from
virgin materials. So if you and every other consumer buy recycled products,
you'll help create a market, and conserve energy along the way. Because many
manufacturers don't go out of their way to tout their recycled products, you
should know that aluminum and tin cans, glass containers, and pulp cardboard
have a fair amount of recycled content. So buy away!
27. More about
recycled products…
Recycled products can often be considerably cheaper than non-recycled products.
Most recycled paper products are of comparable quality and cost competitive
with virgin paper products. Finally, before you buy, check to see if the
product or its packaging can be recycled. The recyclable logo (three arrows
forming a triangle) is fairly common now.
Recycling a stack of newspapers only 4 feet high will save a good-sized
tree.
28. Set climate
change goals with your family
Aim to reduce your impact on the earth in measurable ways. Choose goals that are realistic, statistical,
specific, and time-bound. Maybe you can
reduce your electricity, gas, or gallons of fuel by 20% next month!
29. Build
friendly
If you are building or remodeling your home, consider
using some of the following earth-friendly materials in the process: straw
bale/adobe, bamboo, natural linoleum, previously used wood, cob, composite
decking, green roofs, and/or sustainably harvested wood. There are many resources at the library and
online about sustainable building; it’s almost trendy even!
30. Be a
minimalist
It may be difficult, but in today's consumer economy, an
easy way to conserve energy is to simply use - and buy -- less. Every time you
buy something, energy has gone into getting that product to you. So the less
you buy, the more you save energy-wise. It's a simple equation. This may, in
fact, be the single biggest way to make a dent in the global warming problem. Again,
we know it sounds obvious, but buying less things - some of which you just
don't need - changes the energy equation across the board, on every single
consumer product. If everyone used less, the impact would be large indeed.
31. More about
being a minimalist…
Buy in bulk. In short, bulk items use
less packaging, which translates into less energy. Always try to avoid disposable products with
lots of packaging. Concentrated juices,
cleaning supplies, etc are one example of packaging-friendly products. Also, you can reuse and recycle many packing
materials. Call the Plastic Loose Fill
Council’s “peanut hotline” at 1-800-828-2214 to find out the nearest place to
recycle your packing peanuts! Reuse
plastic baggies and grocery bags if possible!
32. More about
being a minimalist…
Buy one of something, not 21 of
something. You don't need 21 pairs of shoes if one pair works just as well. Go
through your closet. Donate or recycle what you really don't need, then make a
pledge not to replace everything you just got rid of. Consider buying clothes from consignment or
thrift stores. And while clothes made of
renewable materials are wonderful, buying a whole new wardrobe of those items
is completely unnecessary. Eco-friendly
consumerism is still consumerism!
33. More about
being a minimalist…
When you need new things, take care
to buy quality products that will last longer. Over time, you'll obviously buy
fewer products that way. Be a
conscientious consumer: www.gaiam.com/greenmarketplace and www.buygreen.com can
help. Stores like the Food Conspiracy
Food Co-Op on 4th Avenue, Wild Oats, Trader Joes, and many local
stores are also great. Buy fair
trade! Companies that pay attention to
worker wages also usually have strict environmental standards.
34. More about
being a minimalist…
Be creative in what you use for work,
play and leisure. You don't always have to buy new products for activities.
Re-use in creative ways. Check out the
book Choose to Reuse by Nikki and David Goldbeck
for over 2000 ideas. A few examples: buy
used books instead of new, bring your own shopping bags to the store, and avoid
bottled water!
35. Reduce paper
usage
Do you really want to own that book
forever? If you aren’t sure, go to the
library instead! Share magazines and
catalogs by donating them to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices or by
creating an informal program in which you rotate magazines and catalogs among
your neighbors. Also, you can save trees
by freeing yourself from junk mail in three basic steps! See www.newdream.org/junkmail.
36. Drive a hybrid or fuel efficient car
Save the environment and money by driving a car that gets at least 32 MPG. The
sad truth is that a gas guzzler emits as much CO2 as some homes! That's the bad
news. The good news is that anything you can do to improve the fuel efficiency
of your car will have an impact. On average, a passenger car emits 11,400
pounds of CO2 each year while a home emits 9,000 pounds of CO2 per person each
year in the United States. Horribly
inefficient SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks now make up more than half of the
cars on American roads. Even improving fuel economy from 20 miles-per-gallon to
25 miles-per-gallon would prevent 10 tons of CO2 from being released over a
vehicle's lifetime.
37. Drive 15 miles less each week..
BIKE!
Shrink your gas costs and your waistline by walking, biking and taking public
transportation. Drive less. Every year, Americans as a whole drive more miles
than they did the year before. Stop this trend. Telecommuting and public
transportation are great options. Leaving your car at home two days a week will
reduce your CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. Even piling multiple errands
into one trip helps and if you can walk instead of drive, even better. Tucson is one of the best biking cities in
the country; there’s no excuse not to try it!
38. Avoid idling and drive smooth
Give your engine and the climate a break by turning off your car when you
aren't moving... except in traffic or at a stop light of course. Try to cut out
10 minutes of daily idling. Also, avoid unnecessary acceleration and
braking. Plan your routes to avoid
sitting in traffic.
39. Other fuel efficiency tips
Keep your
tires filled. Your ride will be
smoother and you'll save up to 5% on your fuel tab. Run your AC less. Replace
your air filter. Get your car tuned up. Drive under 60 mph. Remove excess
weight from your car, and don’t pack things on top.
40. Bio-diesel is neat!
The use of biodiesel fuel (a
clean-burning, biodegradable, nontoxic, renewable resource) in a conventional
diesel engine results in huge reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide, and particulate matter compared to emissions from diesel fuel. Also,
the exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates (major components of acid
rain) from biodiesel are essentially eliminated compared to diesel. That means less smog, better ozone, and big
impacts on global warming. Many places
in Tucson sell it, and it’s cost-effective too!
41. Have
car-free days
Encourage family, friends, and colleagues to commit to taking alternative modes
of transportation for their daily commute at least once a month. This can
include options such as car-pooling, cycling, taking public transit or walking
where possible. Visit Go Green (www.gogreen.com/choices) to help reduce vehicle
trips to the workplace and around town.
42. Efficient
lighting
At work and at home, install lighting controls to turn
lights on only when needed and to provide the required amount of light. Sensors
and computer-based dimming controls can provide significant savings in energy
costs, up to 80 percent. LED and fluorescent lights are much more efficient
than incandescent bulbs.
43. Travel less
for work
Reduce your workplace's environmental impacts from air travel by using
video-conferences for meetings. Your family will thank you for staying home!
44. Recycle at
work and schools
Create a recycling program and decrease paper use.
Since Tucson’s recycling is great, this shouldn’t be difficult. Encourage the people around you to recycle
and make sure recycle bins are as convenient and plentiful as trash cans, and
that they have lists of recyclable materials posted on them.
www.tucsonrecycles.org has those lists for you.
45. Make your
workplace more environmentally friendly
Visit Cool Companies (http://www.cool-companies.org) or Power Smart for
businesses (http://www.bchydro.com/business) to find out how your company can
cut pollution and save money with clean, efficient energy technology. One idea includes buying energy-saving models
of office appliances and equipment. You
can also take advantage of digitally viewing, sharing, and saving files and
save some trees along the way.
46. About air
travel…
Although aviation is a relatively small industry, it has a disproportionately
large impact on the climate system. It presently accounts for 4-9% of the total
climate change impact of human activity. But at a time when we urgently need to
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, emissions from aviation continue to grow.
For example, since 1990, CO2 emissions from international aviation have
increased 83%. The aviation industry is expanding rapidly in part due to
regulatory and taxing policies that do not reflect the true environmental costs
of flying. ‘Cheap’ fares may turn out to be costly in terms of climate change.
47. Earth-friendly
travel tips
Consider taking a vacation closer to
home. You’ll save money and avoid the stress of airport security, travelling to
and from the airport, and sitting in those tiny seats. Most of us live in
places that tourists from elsewhere visit, so take a holiday in your hometown
or region and find out what it has to offer.
48. More travel
tips…
Use other modes of transport where
possible. Trains and buses, for example, are much more energy efficient than
airplanes, and for regional trips can even be faster when airports are factored
in. Even cars can be more efficient than planes –especially with more than one
passenger.
49. More travel
tips…
Take advantage of technology! Use
video-conferences for meetings. Companies like Swiss Re and IKEA are using
video-conferencing to reduce business air travel. Companies benefit from
reduced costs, and more efficient decision-making about travel. Employees avoid
the stress of travelling and time away from home and family. Use webcams to keep in touch with family and
friends who live far away.
50. Flying friendly…
Try to minimize the number of
flights you take by combining trips. For example, book more than one
meeting in your destination city, so you don't need to fly there several
times. Combine business trips with
vacations (but make sure to split your time... don’t work and play
simultaneously!)
51. Flying friendly…
Fly during the daytime,
because studies have shown that flights taken at night have a
greater
impact on the climate. Fly economy, because more people per plane mean
fewer
emissions per person. Pack light, because lighter planes mean less fuel
is
burned.
52. Flying friendly…
Purchase carbon offsets to
account for the emissions from your flight. If the airline or travel
agent you are using doesn't currently offer its customers the option of
offsetting their flights, ask them to consider it. For example, when you book flights with
Expedia, there is an option to buy a carbon offset “Terrapass”
for as little as $5.99. Definitely worth
it.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/involved/individuals.cfm http://www.earthday.net/resources/2006materials/Top10.aspx
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/at_work.asp
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/air_travel.asp
http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/tenthings/
http://www.globalstewards.org/ecotips.htm
http://www.cascadespresbytery.org/CreationCare.html