Thinking Green in Bleak Midwinter

(Reported by Marty Lamb. Reflection on a discussion in a group of 27 people who were thinking about how we might decrease the size of our carbon footprint at home.

"So...what comes of "Thinking 'Green' in the Bleak Midwinter" ?

Matthew Fox has written, "Consciousness is as much changed in ritual as it is in the struggle for social justice." In the "Thinking 'Green' in the Bleak Midwinter" group, as we explored how to decrease the size of our global footprint at home, for five weeks in meeting together we practiced the rituals of :

  • Prayer
  • Sharing Successes
  • Voicing questions and challenges
  • Reporting results of individual research
  • Committing to incremental individual changes -More prayer

We committed to looking for that balance between being overwhelmed by the problem into paralysis and feeling so proud of what we're already doing that we do not take further steps. We agreed to be respectful of each other's views and lifestyles, differ though they may. We borrowed Wanda Urbanska's mantra of "Nothing's Too Small To Make A Difference" and aimed towards making incremental changes into our lifestyles. We took the individual Interfaith Power and Light Lifestyle survey and got to see how our responses compared with others.With the place on the survey to record our energy usage each month for a year, we might add on a row for "water" and track these important aspects of our lives in 2008. Several of us used the EPA energy usage emissions calculator to learn more about our present emissions and to do some planning.

We focused on water, electricity, fuel, recycling, air quality, and green building as well as touching upon eating and shopping locally as we shared numerous ideas with each other. We shared our current expenditures in some of these areas for comparison, developed our awareness of options, and made some mental shifts. Some of us committed to taking the sustainable household challenge to reduce our carbon consumption by 10% in 2008 and are on our way to achieving this objective. Our new friend David Christenbury's comments on engineering and building were helpful. Valuable comments from a total of 27 persons who participated in the series were appreciated. Most participants were from CUCC, but visitors from other churches were welcomed as well. Several websites were suggested, and we had e-mail correspondence in between sessions. Lena led a field trip outside of sessions to our local recycling plant which expanded our knowledge further. Ron Howells shared a wealth of information from his experience in working to improve air quality at our final formal meeting together.

In addition to awareness building and consciousness raising, the following are examples of changes at homes being made:

  • insulating water heater pipes and water heaters -buying and installing rain barrels
  • recycling and repurposing more and more
  • improvement in bundling errands -accessing more websites to use for consultation
  • turning down thermostadts and keeping them down
  • developing plan for home improvements in response to energy audit findings
  • doing more solar clothes drying
  • taking shorter showers and with an accompanying pail nearby
  • installing new shower nozzles
  • taking heavy items out of our vehicles
  • taking our own containers from home to carry home leftovers when dining out
  • commuting more on bicycle
  • not putting pedal to the metal in driving
  • putting more blankets on bed; wearing a hat to bed
  • wearing sweaters and layers of clothing in cold weather
  • unplugging TV's an computers from the wall or powerstrip when not in use
  • continued replacing of our old lightbulbs with LCD's
  • adding insulation to attic entrances and ceilings
  • placing foam behind light switches
  • decreasing purchases of green glass and clear plastic

Nothing's too small to make a difference! We still may find ourselves having to make difficult decisions about changes at home with limited information, but now at least we have a group of local friends with faces to whom we can ask questions and brainstorm ideas.

Next Steps ?

We'll keep the e-mail open as communication possibility (Talk to Marty if you did not participate in the group but would like social inclusion in this). "More Mulling Over with Marty" will be available on the first Sunday mornings of each month in 2008 at 12 noon in or nearby the Bradow Room should anyone want to come chat a little while about lifestyle improvements we're trying to make. There is also a "homey" reunion planned for SEPTEMBER 21st so we can update each other. Put that date on your social calendars NOW. Watch this blogsite in the near future for a compilation of websites recommended by group members to access in trying to decrease the size of our carbon footprints at home.