In honor of earth day...

In honor of Earth Day, here are some thoughts on what you might do to make a difference. They came to me from David Radcliff of New Community Project. But he shares a source where he got them...

Seven Simple Steps to Protect God’s Creation

1. God doesn’t make trash—we shouldn’t either. Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle.

2. Walk, bike, hike, combine trips…but by all means, drive less—the typical car emits five tons of greenhouse gases every year

3. Make Earth-friendly food choices by: eating lower on the food chain (not eating meat two days a week can reduce your carbon footprint by 650 pounds annually and your water footprint by tens of thousands of gallons); choose organic whenever possible; plant a garden and save the energy and chemicals used to grow, package and ship food to you—not to mention the emissions saved by not mowing that much lawn…

4. Conserve household energy and save money: install low-flow showerheads (reducing by 1 gallon a minute @ 10 minutes a day saves over 3000 gallons of heated water per year), compact florescent light bulbs (500 pounds of CO2 per bulb saved) & energy efficient appliances; turn down the water heater & insulate hot water pipes; insulate and caulk walls and window; unplug or turn off computer at surge protector when not in use—save 50 pounds of CO2 per month; hang ‘em out to dry (one load of line-dried clothing per week saves 20 pounds of CO2 per month)

5. Turn off the TV—we average five hours a day, and they don’t call it commercial television for nothing

6. Plant a garden, join a local watershed group, go camping, or join a New Community Project Learning Tour to experience God’s earth up close and personal

7. Be a witness for caring for God’s earth by making choices that get attention: don’t use Styrofoam or other disposable eating utensils at the church pot-luck (bring your own table service from home), rummage through trashcans for recyclables, walk to church, give up meat a couple days a week, bike to the grocery store, use one-side clean paper for writing and printing projects, wear an NCP Save the Rainforest t-shirt, sell the second car—folks are sure to take note—and maybe think twice about their own choices!



Sources: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Environmental Science by G. Tyler Miller; You are Here by Thomas Kostigen, carbonrally.com