Green Tip of the Month
There are so many ways you can help the earth with your food
choices. Here’s one: buying locally-grown products keeps tons of
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere because so much of
what you find in supermarkets is shipped in from all over the world. Here’s
another: it takes ten times more fossil fuel to produce a calorie of meat
than a calorie of plant food. Solutions: 1) Buy fresh local produce
in season and freeze or preserve for later use. 2) Eat
plant-based meals two or three times a week.
Find Connecticut farmers’ markets, farms, farm stands, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture,) as well as restaurants and retailers that source from local farms at: www.buyctgrown.com. To find Connecticut’s organic food and farms go to www.ctnofa.org.
Send your green tips to katdargan@sbcglobal.net
For more information
contact Ellen Castaldini at ellen.castaldini@sbcglobal.net 860-644-1539,
or Kat Dargan
at 860-533-0456 katdargan@sbcglobal.net
UUS:E became an officially designated Green Sanctuary in June of 2006. We are one of 50 congregations in the nation that have been certified by the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE), and are the first in Connecticut. The congregation has come though a long process that involved an environmentally focused evaluation of all aspects of congregational life, and the creation and completion of a 15 step action plan.
We try to incorporate “green” thinking and actions into all areas of programming at UUSE – from worship services, to adult and youth Religious Education, to recycling many types of items and purchasing recycled and earth friendly supplies, to composting and growing an organic vegetable garden. We practice energy conservation, and purchase Connecticut Light and Power’s 100% Clean Energy Option. We have also been working on plans for a new “green" addition to the building. Green Sanctuary is our way of bringing our UU Seventh Principle to life: “Respect
for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
The Green Sanctuary program is facilitated by the Sustainable Living Committee (SLC) which plans and promotes programs and activities at UUS:E. The committee also works with other local, state and national groups on environmental justice issues. SLC co-sponsors educational programs and encourages congregational participation in working for positive change in the wider community.
The Sustainable Living Committee meets the second Tuesday of each month from 7 to 9 P.M. in the Program Room. For information about the committee or upcoming events please click on Sustainable Living Committee (SLC)
The committee also writes a monthly article in the UUS:E newsletter entitled GREEN SANCTUARY.
The newsletter includes a Green Tip of the Month. A recent Green Tip of the month can be found to the right of this column. For some past Green tips click on More Green Tips
If you interested in participating in UUS:E’s new Ecological Landscaping Team to help plan and implement a comprehensive design for our grounds as we prepare for the building expansion and changes to our site, contact Carol Marion, who has agreed to chair the team!
Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolates are on sale in the UUS:E lobby on second Sundays each month after both services. Purchasing these products helps small farmers in Central America and Africa earn a decent living for themselves and their families and helps them to practice sustainable farming methods that are safe for the farmers and the environment. Your purchases also help to cover the costs of using Fair Trade organic coffee at all of our congregational events.
Here is a GREAT NEW LINK:www.greenyour.com
It is still far too hard to find clear information on how to take small or large steps towards livng more sustainably
www.Greenyour.com has created an interactive resource with carefully researched facts, tips and products that can help you green yhour liefe every day. For anything you choose to green, you'll find three areas of information: FACTS, TIPS. and PRODUCTS. In the Facts section, you'll find information about the key environmental impacts, controversies, and health concerns. In Tips there are great ideas for specific things we can all do to reduce our impact on the Earth. And, of course, in the Proudcts section there are greed products!
The following guidelines were adopted in May of 2007 for use in our UUS:E kitchens:
Food and drink are served in the "china" dishes and washed in the dishwasher. Directions for dishwasher are printed and taped directly above it. For small events, cups, etc. can be placed upside down on a rack in the dishwasher to be washed later when the rack is full. Before leaving be sure dishwasher is in "Drain/Off" position or it will run all night! Also check stove burners and ovens!
If there are not enough dishes because of the size of the group, only recycled paper products should be used, and only if absolutely necessary. (Chinet brand paper plates and Marcal or Seventh Generation brand napkins are made from recycled paper, are sold in stores and usually on hand in hall closet.) Recycled paper cups are hard to find and expensive, so please use the mugs for all beverages when possible.
Use spoons instead of disposables for coffee stirring. Use cloth
table covers instead of disposable ones.
Following pot lucks and other food events, place the white plastic pans on counter or table just outside kitchen door so people can separate food scraps (compost), trash, and dishes thereby keeping the kitchen from filling up with too many people.
Coffee grounds and food scraps go into the compost pail under the kitchen counter next to trash bin. The compost is emptied weekly or as needed in the tumbler behind the dumpster in the far-right parking lot.
Glass, metal, and plastic #1 and #2 containers (no lids) are rinsed and put in appropriate bins under same counter.
Clean paper and light paperboard (example: cracker box) is flattened and put in paper bin next to container bin. ( But no greasy pizza boxes. They go in the trash.) Corrugated cardboard should be flattened and placed on the back porch or taken to your town for recycling.
If your event generates a lot of recyclables or compost, please help by emptying the compost pail into the tumbler, and by taking recyclables to your town or to the paper bin behind the Senior Center (corner Vernon St. and E.Middle Tpke.) Hopefully with all this, you will not have enough trash to bother taking it out to the dumpster! That's the goal!
Some important web links:
For information on current and upcoming programs and activities go to the Sustainable Living Committee
Last updated
June 19, 2008
