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Conserving Energy Lighten Up

 

Conserving Energy - Lighten Up Suggestions

Suggestions offered for ‘lightening up at church’ by 27 people who attended the lunch showing of the “Lighten Up” DVD on January 20, 2007 offered by the Earth Keeper’s committee:

1. Church members bring their own coffee cups to church.
2. Use china or washable plastic at church functions.
3. Turn down heat in locations not being used and in the sanctuary most days.
4. Control heat in the building by small sections.
5. Use compact fluorescent bulbs in as many fixtures as possible.
6. Install solar panels.
7. Install automatic light controls and heat controls wherever possible.
8. Always turn off lights when exiting a room.
9. Use ‘earth friendly’ methods such as car pooling, walking, taking the bus and riding a bike to get to church.
10. Think more about operating as a community when attending meetings, taking kids to rehearsals, etc. Car pool!
11. Hold meetings when people are already at church for worship, music rehearsals, etc. in order to cut back on driving.
12. Use ‘green’ cleaning products and paper products. Explain to church members the reason for using these products. Put little notices in bathrooms with this information.
13. Use all forms of communication (bulletin, Messenger, e-mail, etc.) to educate church members on how to “lighten up”.
14. Add a statement to the every Sunday church bulletin about being a “less light” church.
15. When rebuilding and remodeling in the church following the capital campaign, use local companies and ones that support ‘green’ practices.
16. Use recycled paper in the offices as much as possible. Investigate using disappearing ink so that that more paper can be recycled.
17. Project the order of worship onto the sanctuary wall, so that the weekly bulletin can be eliminated.
18. Provide a venue for church members to share their “green” experiences.
19. Look into the church investments. Are we investing in companies that follow ‘green’ principles?
20. Bring church school into our ‘lighten up’ projects. Model the effort after the all church Heifer Project.

Suggestions for “lightening up” in our community, nation and world:

1. Pressure congress to have “war no more”
2. Lobby for state and national bills to cut emissions.
3. Encourage ‘green’ practices be used in new or restorative building in our community. Greater Rochester Enterprises (GRE) pushes ‘green’ building.
4. Work on advocacy through Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) and Presbyterians Restoring Creation (PRC).

Suggestions for “lightening up” our individual practices:

1. Turn off and unplug appliances when not in use.
2. Cut back to 1 car households.
3. Hang laundry out to dry. Hang laundry on racks inside when weather is not conducive for drying outside.
4. Use cloth napkins and cloth hand towels.
5. Make adjustments to furnace such as decrease humidity, decrease temperature, use programmable controls that can change heat levels at night or during working hours.
6. Take tote bags to the grocery store, all stores,
7. Use recycled computer paper.
8. Eliminate using bottled water.

For information about meeting dates, times, and places, contact -
Betty Iwan: Bettebi@frontiernet.net or (585) 442-3655