Tips for Green Holiday Giving

Is anything more wonderful than finding the perfect gift for someone, or receiving the present that’s just what you needed? How about gift-giving accompanied by the knowledge that your gift is also a gift for the planet? There’s more to green giving than just switching to the stuff with the “green” label. Here are some pointers for finding the right gifts that make everyone happy.

• Be sure your gift will get used. A gift that the receiver does not use is simply wasted.
• Give a consumable gift. The gift will not be left unused in the corner of their closet.
• Share a piece of yourself. Offer your services.
• Make a gift of any service. You will still reduce material consumption.
• Give a gift where it is needed on behalf of someone better off. Improve another family by the gift of a llama or a sheep on their behalf.
• Buy a local gift. A gift made or grown locally you have discovered right here.

Gifts are wonderful expressions of friendship. Just keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas, and that is so much more important than gift giving.

For more ideas>>

United Methodists take 'going green' to new levels

NEW YORK (UMNS) — United Methodists are "going green" at levels far beyond recycling church bulletins and eliminating Styrofoam cups at coffee hour. Throughout the country, congregations and communities are setting new standards of stewardship, said Tyler Edgar, assistant director of climate change and energy for the Eco-Justice Program of the National Council of Churches. "Churches are supporting huge local gardens that donate the produce to low-income families, erecting wind turbines reminiscent of the three crosses and engaging in local energy and sustainability initiatives that have the potential to define their communities in the coming years."
Read full story»

Plastic Bags!

In various places all over this country, people are waking up to the problem of plastics bags—namely that they are ubiquitous, end up in trees and water ways, and just about never break down. News of taxes or bans on plastic bags is spreading, and some people, who are trying to be more earth friendly or who want to prepare for the inevitable in their communities, are attempting to go plastic bag-less. That means you have to remember to bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store and actually use them.

Why are plastic bags so bad? Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year. Americans use over 380 billion polyethylene bags per year. Americans throw away approximately 100 billion polyethylene bags per year. Of those 100 trillion plastic bags, 1% is recycled. It takes 1000 years for polyethylene bags to break down.

So what can you do?

• Consider carrying your own reusable shopping bags. Just in time for the holidays, Target will give customers a 5 cent discount for every reusable bag they use to pack their purchases.
  
• If you do take home plastic bags from the store, be sure to recycle it! Every major grocery store has a bin up front for you to drop off your plastic bags, no matter where you received them.

Please remember, “All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it.” - Excerpted from the current UMC Social Principle, “The Natural World.”

Easy Recycling Tips

The average U.S citizen generates 5 pounds of waste per day or 1,825 pounds per year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency approximately 30% of our waste is containers and packaging. So 600 pounds are headed for the trash! That cardboard box can be recycled and the plastic bag can be recycled. Close The Loop. Recycle it and keep it out of the Landfill.

Newspaper—Recycling a four foot high stack of newspapers saves one tree from being harvested! Although these trees are grown for paper production, recycling paper consumes fewer resources (water and electricity) and produces less air pollution. Just drop off your newspapers in the bin on the church parking lot.

Aluminum—Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours — or the equivalent of a half gallon of gasoline. An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now! Just drop off your cans in the bin on the church parking lot.

Light Bulbs– An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. To keep the mercury out of the landfill, you can drop off your old CFL bulbs at Home Depot and Lowes.

It is so easy to be a good steward of our environment!

Cutting your energy costs nearly in half

There is nothing that say’s being good stewards of the earth can’t benefit you personally!
These are some simple things that any individual can do to realize huge savings on long-term energy costs:

1. Save 10% or more on your energy costs simply by plugging any air leaks around your windows and doors. With Fall coming up now is the perfect time to check all windows, doors and cracks. Add or replace caulk and weather-strip cold air outside.
2. Replace your air filters. Dirty air filters will cause your furnace to work harder than necessary, which can increase your energy bills. A clean furnace filter can cut your heating bill by 5% to 15%. It will also improve the air quality in your home.
3. Install a programmable thermostat and you can save up to 15% on your energy. to save up to $180 a year in energy costs.
4. Choose ENERGY STAR appliances and electronics. Products save 20% to 30% less energy than their conventional counterparts to earn an Energy Star label.
5. Upgrade your water heater to save energy. Reducing the use of hot water will help save energy. Depending on your budget for upgrades, you may consider replacing a water heater with a more efficient one, or adding a low cost water heater jacket to help retain heat within the tank for longer periods of time. Depending on the hot water heater, you may have to unhook your unit, drain it and reinstall it, but you'll save 4% to 9% on your water heating bill with the jacket alone.

If you need help with any of these items please contact one of our pastors. Members of the Men’s Group and the Green Team will be glad to help.

5 Simple Steps to Cut Your Energy Costs Nearly in Half

There is nothing that say’s being good stewards of the earth can’t benefit you personally!

These are some simple things that any individual can do to realize huge savings on long-term energy costs:

1. Save 10% or more on your energy costs simply by plugging any air leaks around your windows and doors. With Fall coming up now is the perfect time to check all windows, doors and cracks. Add or replace caulk and weather-strip cold air outside.
2. Replace your air filters. Dirty air filters will cause your furnace to work harder than necessary, which can increase your energy bills. A clean furnace filter can cut your heating bill by 5% to 15%. It will also improve the air quality in your home.
3. Install a programmable thermostat and you can save up to 15% on your energy. to save up to $180 a year in energy costs.
4. Choose ENERGY STAR appliances and electronics. Products save 20% to 30% less energy than their conventional counterparts to earn an Energy Star label.
5. Upgrade your water heater to save energy. Reducing the use of hot water will help save energy. Depending on your budget for upgrades, you may consider replacing a water heater with a more efficient one, or adding a low cost water heater jacket to help retain heat within the tank for longer periods of time. Depending on the hot water heater, you may have to unhook your unit, drain it and reinstall it, but you'll save 4% to 9% on your water heating bill with the jacket alone.

If you need help with any of these items please contact one of our pastors. Members of the Men’s Group and the Green Team will be glad to help.

What is Stewardship?

In ancient times, a steward was a servant who managed the resources of a household. Stewardship today means wisely managing the bounty of God’s Earth household. Modern English reflects this ancient Greek understanding of stewardship.

The word ecology at its root refers to the reasoning or logic of the household—the Earth household. Economy refers to the rule of the household.

Today, we are the stewards of God’s Earth household. The Christian tradition teaches that the land belongs to God, and we are called to care for it. To do so, our economies must reflect our
understanding of the rules of nature revealed through our knowledge of ecology. Healthy stewardship integrates knowledge of the natural world with economic and social systems that ensure the long-term sustainability of the whole of Creation, including the people within it.

Everyday Stewardship
Individual Actions
• Use CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs) to reduce energy use
• Bike or use public transportation to go to work once a week
• Use water-saving devices in sinks, showers and toilets
• Use reusable shopping bags
• Unplug appliances when not in use
• Slow down, it's more fuel efficient to drive at slower speeds
• Write, call or visit your elected officials to ask them to strengthen environmental laws

For more information check out The Eco-Justice Program office of the National Council of churches website: www.nccecojustice.org

Earth Care Column: Reuse and Reduce in Many Ways

Although we can do much to clean up pollution after it's in the environment, preventing pollution is even better. We can do that by changing how we manufacture and how we behave: reduce how much you use, reuse what's left when you're done, and recycle what you can't reuse.

Some easy ways to reuse are:

• Repair as much as possible.
• Use durable coffee mugs.
• Use cloth napkins or towels.
• Clean out juice bottles and use for water.
• Use empty jars to hold leftovers.
• Reuse boxes.
• Buy refillable pens and pencils.
• Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away.
• Reuse grocery bags as trash bags.

Reduce - The benefits of preventing waste go beyond reducing reliance on other forms of waste disposal. Preventing waste also can mean economic savings for communities, businesses, schools, and individual consumers.

National Geographic: Simply changing a light bulb can help reverse the effects of greenhouse gases http://video. nationalgeograph ic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/this-bulb-ngv.html

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Reduce waste, if not you, who? Anyone can educate about waste reduction — we all have the chance to be teachers! Here are resources to help you spread the word. http://156.98.19.245/download/index.html

Earth Care Column: “Be good stewards of the earth”

Did you ever wonder why it’s so important to recycle? Consider this: being environmentally "green" is more important than ever, and recycling is one of the simplest ways that we can protect our environment.

Recycling has the following benefits: It preserves natural resources, thus reducing the need to mine the earth for new raw materials ($208 million of reusable materials are dumped in Missouri landfills every year!) It saves energy by reducing the need to mine and refine new raw materials ( the energy needed to replace reusable materials dumped in Missouri landfills every year is enough to power 262,000 Missouri homes for a year; that’s about a $500 million energy bill!) It saves landfill space, which helps keep waste hauling rates lower (as local landfills fill up, haulers will have to take trash to landfills further away, thus increasing the cost of transporting each load.)

Recycling isn't just environmentally "green". The recycling and reuse industry is also a significant driver of economic activity in the St. Louis area, employing nearly 16,000 people with an annual payroll of $639,910,000.

This message has been brought to you by the Social Justice ministries

Plastic Pot Recycling - Summer 2009

The Plastic Pot Recycling collection at the Missouri Botanical Garden opened for the season on National Earth Day, April 22, 2009!

You can help reduce the amount of horticultural waste in landfills by recycling your plastic garden pots, polystyrene cell packs and trays at the Garden and other locations throughout St. Louis City and County.

Main Collection Site
April 22 -September 30, 2009
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Missouri Botanical Garden - Monsanto Center
4500 Shaw Boulevard
St. Louis MO 63110 [Map]
(314) 577-9441

Additional Collection Sites and details about what is done with the pots . . . http://www.mobot.org/plasticpotrecycling/default.asp

Earth Week Update #5 - Stewardship

Think about your relationship to this Earth which has been your home, and will continue to be for you and your descendents. What will be your own personal “stewardship legacy” regarding this magical and amazing sphere? Will you be a part of leaving it cleaner and more abundant, or will you be a part of the continuing degradation of its water, air, soil and other resources?

Together we can make a difference. Earth car is not something for someone else to do someplace else. It is for us where we are, at home, at work, at church and wherever we go.

The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
The Economic and Environmental Justice Program calls the church and society into a greater faithfulness to the biblical vision of wholeness and justice for all of God’s creation. From global warming and environmental racism to worker justice and poverty eradication, the program seeks to restore right relationships among ourselves, others and the created world.
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/c.frLJK2PKLqF/b.2808983/

Earth Ministry
Earth Ministry works in partnership with individuals and congregations to respond to this great moral challenge through education, modeling sustainable lifestyle choices, and organizing for social change through environmental advocacy. While rooted in Washington State, our resources are utilized across the U.S. and internationally
http://www.earthministry.org/

20th Annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival - Sunday, April 26, 2009
Every year, St. Louis Earth Day stages what has become the oldest and largest Earth Day celebration in the Midwest on the forth Sunday of April in historic Forest Park. This premier event draws more than 25,000 attendees and 250 vendors through common interests in environmental education, celebration, and stewardship.

http://stlouisearthday.org/

Earth Week Update #4 - Recycle

The average U.S. citizen generates 5 pounds of waste per day or 1,825 pounds per year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency approximately 30% of our waste is containers and packaging. So 600 pounds are headed for trash! That cardboard box can be recycled and the plastic bag can be recycled. Close The Loop. Recycle it and keep it out of the landfill. Some Quick Facts:

• Recycling and composting diverted nearly 70 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2000, up from 34 million tons in 1990-doubling in just 10 years.


• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.


• Recycling just one aluminum can is the equivalent of keeping a 100-watt light bulb burning for approximately four hours or having the television running for three hours.


• The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours.


• Recycling benefits the air and water by creating a net reduction in ten major categories of air pollutants and eight major categories of water pollutants.

At LUMC we have dumpsters on the parking lot to simplify your recycling of paper and aluminum.

Recycling Light Bulbs
With lamps such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), mercury content needs to be taken into consideration before disposal. Mercury is an extremely hazardous waste and is a major health concern when it comes in contact with humans and animals. In humans, mercury can cause brain and kidney damage. Place your CFL bulb in a plastic bag and drop them off at Home Depot or Lowes. Both have collection bins near Customer Service or the check out lanes.

City of St. Louis Recycling Program
Recycling is easy! The City of St. Louis offers twenty-six drop-off locations scattered throughout town. By taking just a few minutes each week to sort your recyclables, you can help to reduce waste and benefit the environment. Above and beyond recycling, you can reduce, reuse, and buy recycled. Use these pages to learn more about what you can do.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/

Web Innovations & Technology Services
For electronics recycling (and reuse) WITS has a great program. Also, most retailers will accept your old electronics when you purchase a new one, just ask.http://www.witsinc.org/EDay2009.html

Earth Week Update #3 - Reuse

Earth Day is a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress. Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day and every day is a time to act to protect our planet. Some easy ways to reuse material:

• Repair items as much as possible.


• Use durable coffee mugs


• Use cloth napkins or towels


• Clean out juice bottles and use them for water


• Use empty jars to hold leftover food


• Reuse boxes


• Purchase refillable pens and pencils


• Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away


• Reuse grocery bags as trash bags

Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Energy Center:
a nonregulatory state agency that works to protect the environment and stimulate the economy through energy efficiency and renewable energy resources and technologies.
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/energy/index.html

Environmental Protection Agency – Earth Day
EPA's Earth Day Web site offers you many tips and fun ways to protect the environment and your health every day.
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/index.htm

YAHOO Living Green – Reusing Stuff
Reduce, reuse, recycle — most of us make a habit of recycling, while the first two "Rs" go ignored. However, we can reduce how much stuff we need to recycle by reusing what we already have. Pass along usable goods to other people instead of throwing stuff in the garbage, and people will do the same for you.
http://green.yahoo.com/living-green/reusing-stuff.html

Earth Week Update #2 - Reduce

Although we can do a lot to clean up pollution after it's in the environment, preventing pollution in the first place is even better. We can do that by changing how we manufacture as well as how we behave: reduce how much you use, reuse what's left when you're done, and recycle what you can't reuse

Reduce - The benefits of preventing waste go beyond reducing reliance on other forms of waste disposal. Preventing waste also can mean economic savings for communities, businesses, schools, and individual consumers.

National Geographic:
Simply changing a light bulb can help reverse the effects of greenhouse gases (video)
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/this-bulb-ngv.html

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Educational Toolbox - Reduce Waste: If not you, who? is a consumer-focused public education campaign. Anyone can educate about waste reduction — we all have the chance to be teachers! Here are resources to help you spread the word in your community.
http://156.98.19.245/download/index.html

Earth Week Update #1: Why We Care

This week we celebrate Earth Day. On Sunday morning at Lafayette Park UMC we dedicated a new tree on Lafayette Ave. a reminder of our commitment to the environment.

From the General Board of Church and Society - UMC:
The crisis facing God's earth is clear. We, as stewards, have failed to live into our responsibility to care for creation and have instead abused it in ways that now threaten life around the planet.

"The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the ever-lasting covenant." - Isaiah 24, NRSV

The scientific consensus is clear that human activities are leading to a warming of the surface temperatures of the planet and the effects of this warming are being felt now and will be felt more intensely in years to come.

As a matter of stewardship and justice, Christians must take action now to reduce global warming pollution and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world whose land, livelihood and lives are threatened by the global climate crisis.

- From the General Board of Church and Society - United Methodist Church