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Congregation | Greening Resources |
Institutional Life |
Energy Conservation
Energy Conservation
Greening
Ideas
Educational Resources
Practical Resources
Greening Ideas
The Union of Concerned Scientists ranks “home
heating, hot water, air conditioning, and household appliances and
lighting” as the next “most harmful consumer activities” after
transportation and food consumption. In
a recent statement*
to the President of the United States, prominent religious leaders in
Washington state said the following:
“The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Ps 24:1). In light and wind, in land and water, energy resources are abundant gifts for human well-being from our creator God. But because we are called to “till and to tend the garden” (Gen 2:15), we have a moral obligation to choose safe, clean and sustainable sources of energy to protect and preserve God’s creation. Energy conservation is faithful stewardship. …By depleting energy sources, causing global warming, fouling the air with pollution, and poisoning the land with radioactive waste, proposing a policy stressing only more fossil fuels and nuclear power diminishes our children’s and grandchildren’s health and well-being. On the other hand, investment in clean technology, renewable energy, greater vehicle fuel efficiency and safer power plants (old and new) will both conserve what we have now and preserve options for our descendants. …The first beneficiaries of a new energy policy should be “the least among us,” the poor, the vulnerable, and the sick to whom we can provide assistance with high energy bills, inexpensive mobility through expanded mass transit, cleaner air by reducing pollution from power plants, and lower gasoline prices through strict monitoring of oil companies for price-gouging. Energy conservation is justice.
( *
This statement, “Let There Be Light: Energy Conservation and God’s
Creation,” can be read in its entirety at www.thewac.org/EnviroStatement.htm.)
Congregations can truly help to model and promote an intergenerational justice by taking very simple, practical steps to conserve energy and (whenever possible) choosing to buy from energy sources that cause less damage to water, air, other species, and Earth’s intricate climate system.
One congregation’s
experience …
“Faithful Energy Stewards: Georgetown
Gospel Chapel”
Rev. Leroy Hedman is a
Colleague at Georgetown Gospel Chapel – the first congregation in the
country to receive an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star
Award, and one of Earth Ministry’s first Greening Congregations
Partners. The following
account, and others like it, can be found on the
EPA’s
web site.
“The Georgetown Gospel Chapel in South Seattle has a lot to be proud of. Over the past 5 years, thoughtful energy-efficiency projects have resulted in thousands of dollars of much needed savings – savings that help support day-to-day operations as well as the Chapel’s benevolent missions and community gardens. …
“The Georgetown Gospel Chapel is proud to say that it makes every effort not to use incandescent lighting. (Only 5 percent of the electricity that is supplied to an incandescent bulb is actually used for lighting – the rest is wasted energy.) Instead, the Chapel employs the use of controlled compact and tubular fluorescent bulbs to light up the congregation. These fluorescent technologies provide ideal lighting at a fraction of the operating costs of the old wasteful incandescent. …
“The Georgetown Gospel Chapel is doing its part to protect natural resources while reducing the momentum of climate change. The chapel showed the way by implementing a comprehensive upgrade including lighting, insulation, heating, cooling, windows, appliances, and water measures. By establishing a foundation and remaining dedicated to energy efficiency, the Georgetown Gospel Chapel will reap the rewards of energy efficiency for many years to come. Savings each year are estimated at approximately $3,000 to $5,000, not to mention the prevention of 60,000 pounds of CO2.”
Educational Resources
· God’s Creation and Global Warming video, produced by the National Council of Churches of Christ’s Eco-Justice Working Group. This twelve-minute video is an easy-to-understand introduction to global warming, its current and potential impacts, and the disproportionate contribution industrial countries make to it. The video places this introduction in a faith-based context – clearly stating why people of faith should respond to this crisis. To learn more about the video and to order it, click on the link above.
· It’s God’s World: Christians, Care of Creation, and Global Warming. This “download-able” five-session curriculum (for older youth and adults) helps groups to explore theological implications and impacts of energy consumption and provides suggestions on reducing daily contributions to global warming. Download by clicking above or to order a hardcopy, call (800) 762-0968 (between 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST), ask for EJ 9701.
· The Interfaith Climate Change Network (a joint project of the National Council of Churches of Christ and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) provides a wide variety of educational, advocacy, and practical recourses.
· The Interfaith Coalition on Energy (ICE) has produced several publications specifically designed to help congregations reflect on their energy use. These include: Energy and the Bible, Energy and Environmental Activities for Religious Congregations, and Energy Activities for Faithful Youth. To find out more about these resources, contact ICE at 7217 Oak Ave. Melrose Park, PA, (215) 632-1122, email: 754-0723@mcimail.com.
·
David Gershon and Robert Gilman’s book, Household Ecoteam
Workbook: A Six-month Program to Bring Your Household into Environmental
Balance, is an excellent, easy-to-use resource for assessing areas in
which congregations can better conserve energy.
To order, call (914) 679-4830.
Practical Resources
· Click here for Puget Sound-area resources.
· The National Council of Churches of Christ’s (NCCC) Eco-Justice Working Group has produced an easy-to-use “Energy Stewardship Guide for Congregations.” It offers help for creating an energy team and approaching others in the congregation on energy conservation. Then it guides groups through basic steps to reduce energy use (in lighting, heating and cooling, hot water, and refrigeration), and then to next steps for continuing to enhance energy conservation in the congregation. It also contains helpful information on study guides and other resources. The guide is 75¢ and can be ordered by calling (800) 762-0968 (between 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST) and ask for EJ 9960.
· The Interfaith Climate Change Network (a joint project of the National Council of Churches of Christ and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) provides a wide variety of educational, advocacy, and practical recourses.
· The Interfaith Coalition on Energy (ICE) has a wealth of printed resources specifically for congregations – probably the most comprehensive resources of this sort in the United States. These materials cover issues like worship space operation, “for design professionals,” recruiting and training facility managers, and many other energy related issues. For more information on ICE and a list of their publications, contact ICE at the above information.
· The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also has many helpful resources and a certifying program for congregations. The EPA also labels the most energy-efficient products with an “Energy Star” symbol. The Energy Star web site lists appliances, electronics, office equipment, lighting, exit signs, and much more – as well as locations for finding these products.
· Real Goods Trading Company sells energy efficient products (e.g., compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar products, energy-efficient heaters, etc.). Such energy efficient products are also increasingly available at local hardware stores and home furnishing (e.g., IKEA), lighting (e.g., World Lighting), and hardware stores. If you don’t find them at your favorite store, consider asking store management to stock them.
· Increasingly, programs are emerging through which you and/or your congregation can purchase/subsidize “green power” – power derived from wind, solar, and other less ecologically-impactful sources. For examples of these programs, go to Episcopal Power and Light’s web site; or visit Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s “Green Tags” Program.