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Environmental MinistriesThe Environmental Ministry Team (EMT) is made up of folks who feel called to foster stewardship of God’s creation by sharing our goal of restoring the healthy planet entrusted to us. We strive to educate the congregation and our neighbors in order to transform attitudes and increase commitment to creation care, with the goal of restoring harmony and justice for all living things.
The team also works on implementing the action steps recommended by the "Green Congregation" program of the historic Massachusetts Conference (now the Southern New England Conference) of the United Church of Christ. (See Green Congregations here.) |
Lenten Carbon Fast
As people of faith, it is our responsibility to be wise stewards of God’s Creation. These actions will reduce your production of climate changing pollution and help to preserve God’s gift of the earth for future generations.
Each week, choose several of these easy actions from each category to fulfill our stewardship of the Earth.
Home
Travel
On Easter, take some time to reflect on all of the changes you’ve made that bring you into greater harmony with the Earth and all life. Make a personal pledge to continue living sustainably.
Each week, choose several of these easy actions from each category to fulfill our stewardship of the Earth.
Home
- Turn down your thermostat by at least one degree. Aim for 60oF at night. Turn down the heat when you leave your home.
- Conserve water by installing a low-flow faucet, toilet, or rain barrel. Put a bucket in the shower and use that water for watering plants or to flush the toilet.
- Check windows and doors for leaks with a feather or ribbon. Use caulk, weather stripping, or a “draft dodger” to improve the leak.
- If you’re going to be away from your computer, game console, or TV for more than an hour, turn it off.
- Take a shower rather than a bath, or take a shorter shower than usual. Turn down your hot-water heater by one setting (or two in the summer).
- Learn how to skip the drying cycle on your dishwasher and air dry the dishes.
- Turn your washing machine to cold wash and cold rinse.
- Shut off lights when you leave a room or install motion sensors.
- Hang some of your clothes to dry them.
- Turn off or unplug appliances and power cords when you’re not using them. Even in the off position, many electronics use power. Some people find it easiest to plug several things into a power strip to turn them all off at once. New power cords have plugs that will automatically turn off when specific appliances are turned off (eg DVD player turns off when TV is turned off).
- Embrace the silence for several hours in a day. Turn off your TV, computer, radio, and cell phone.
- Embrace the dark for one evening. Turn off electric lights and use candles.
- Replace all of your light bulbs with light-emitting diodes (LED).
- Use a laptop rather than a desktop computer. Set your computer to go to sleep after a reasonable interval of inactivity (NOT a screensaver).
- Be a vegetarian for two days a week (ask church members for their favorite recipes or check on the Meatless Mondays Needham website).
- Look to purchase locally-grown foods and be aware of where foods come from. Investigate the Needham Farmer’s market or join a CSA (community supported agriculture). Buy fair trade organic chocolate for Easter.
- Bring reusable bags with you to all stores, not just the grocery store.
- Be aware of how much food you discard during Lent. Start a composter in your back yard - a simple way to give back to the earth.
- Bring a reusable mug to the coffee shop if allowed. Use plastic utensils when you’re away from home and keep some with you in your purse/backpack/desk.
- Strive to use NO disposable water bottles during Lent. Bring a reusable water bottle with you at all times and refill it as needed.
Travel
- Make one of your journeys more environmentally friendly by carpooling, combining errands, walking/biking, or by taking public transportation.
- Rethink flying on vacation and take a trip closer to home. Purchase carbon offsets if you do fly.
- Check your car’s tire pressure or take it to a service station to check. Cars with low tire pressure get lower gas mileage.
- Obey the speed limit. Every increase of ten mph decreases fuel efficiency by about four miles per gallon.
- Minimize idle time by turning off your car if it is stationary for more than one minute.
- Reduce the time you “warm up” your car prior to driving it to 30 seconds.
- Speak to a neighbor/coworker about the changes you’ve made during Lent.
- Pick up litter and dispose of it properly.
- End junk mail. Stop unwanted catalogs (catalogchoice.org), credit card offers (1-888-5-OPTOUT) and other junk mail (DMAchoice.org).
- Find a green organization to join or support (anything from our church’s environmental ministries team to the sierra club).
- Save paper by printing double sided or wrapping a gift in color comics or a reused gift bag.
- Save paper by using cloth towels/napkins instead of paper towels/napkins.
- Refresh your memory on what your town recycles by looking at the town website. Bring recyclable items you use elsewhere home to recycle.
- Educate yourself about global climate change.
- Plant a native tree.
- Decide NOT to purchase a new item today. During Lent, if you need new clothes or other items (and you probably don’t) visit a secondhand store or garage sale.
- Learn about mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Educate yourself about fracking.
On Easter, take some time to reflect on all of the changes you’ve made that bring you into greater harmony with the Earth and all life. Make a personal pledge to continue living sustainably.
Please join EMT and Green Needham for a cooking class with Sweet Basil Restaurant’s Dave Becker. This fun event is good for our health, the planet, and benefits the Needham Community Council’s Food Pantry. www.greenneedham.org/blog/event/meatless-monday-dave-becker-zoom-cooking-class/
Meatless Monday Needham is a public awareness campaign sponsored by Green Needham Collaborative, The League of Women Voters and The Needham Community Farm, to encourage healthy eating habits that prioritize human and environmental health. Our aim is to inspire people to decrease consumption of meat and eat more healthy plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, soy, and nuts. This dietary adjustment not only has health benefits but also is an easy and effective way to reduce our carbon footprints, since meat production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
The essence of our campaign is to ask people to take a simple online pledge: serve meatless, healthy plant-based meals on Mondays for 12 weeks. To support those who pledge, we feature tasty recipes and cooking resources online.
As a fun incentive, all individuals who pledge will be eligible to win one of three Purple Carrot plant-based meal kits offered as prizes. Each kit comes with three delicious plant-based dinners, 2 servings each. On October 31, we will draw the names of the three winners. Additionally, for each Meatless Monday pledge received by that date, a $1 donation will be made to the Needham Food Pantry (up to $250) to help it through this difficult time.
We would love to have our church members join this worthwhile challenge! Please explore the Meatless Monday Needham website and Facebook Page and take the pledge!
Meatless Monday Needham is a public awareness campaign sponsored by Green Needham Collaborative, The League of Women Voters and The Needham Community Farm, to encourage healthy eating habits that prioritize human and environmental health. Our aim is to inspire people to decrease consumption of meat and eat more healthy plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, soy, and nuts. This dietary adjustment not only has health benefits but also is an easy and effective way to reduce our carbon footprints, since meat production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
The essence of our campaign is to ask people to take a simple online pledge: serve meatless, healthy plant-based meals on Mondays for 12 weeks. To support those who pledge, we feature tasty recipes and cooking resources online.
As a fun incentive, all individuals who pledge will be eligible to win one of three Purple Carrot plant-based meal kits offered as prizes. Each kit comes with three delicious plant-based dinners, 2 servings each. On October 31, we will draw the names of the three winners. Additionally, for each Meatless Monday pledge received by that date, a $1 donation will be made to the Needham Food Pantry (up to $250) to help it through this difficult time.
We would love to have our church members join this worthwhile challenge! Please explore the Meatless Monday Needham website and Facebook Page and take the pledge!