Here are some "Green Tips" submitted by KIPL members. You may need to abapt them to your congregation. Placing "Green Tips" in your communities bulletin or newsletter is a good way to reach out to the broader community and help them to learn to care for God's creation. Please use them as much as you want.
During these warm months, please consider closing the blinds in rooms at the end of the day. This will keep rooms cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning and using less electricity.
Always recycle aluminum cans! There is a recycling container in the __________ room. Please empty cans before depositing them. According to the Sierra Club, "nearly 50 billion cans trashed in 2005 could have saved enough energy to power 1.3 million American homes if they had been recycled. Each can tossed wastes as much energy as pouring out half a can of gasoline."
There is a box labeled "Reusable Paper" in the __________ room. If you have 8 ½ x 11 paper that is clean on one side, put it in the box with the clean side up. Make sure the paper has no staples or confidential information. Feel free to also use this paper for scrap paper. Anyone can make posters on the clean side instead of using a fresh sheet.
Encourage everyone to reuse materials at the end of an event. For example, after a festival or dinner, save decorations and extra supplies in the __________ closet rather than disposing of them. Likewise, before shopping for an event, check out the supplies in the closet first.
Organic coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) is available in the __________ room. According to Cooperative Coffees, organic farming promotes long-term sustainability of soil and water supplies, lessens the amount of pesticides and chemicals that destroy our earth, and protects the natural habitat of other species such as migratory birds.
During these cooler months, please consider opening the blinds in rooms all day. Not only does this let in a source of natural light, but it will also keep rooms warmer, reducing the stress on our boiler and using less natural gas.
When making copies, always hit the front and back feature on the copy machine, minimizing paper use. According to the Sierra Club, the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. We can do better!
After brown bag lunches consider packing up plastic, glass, and tin containers to recycle at home. This includes yogurt cups, soup cans, and microwave trays. If you're eating a microwave meal, take the cardboard box to a recycling bin at __________. We can recycle cardboard on the premises!
There are bins in room __________ for batteries and styrofoam recycling. Please make sure any styrofoam is clean. According to the US Environmental protection Agency, "Disposable batteries account for half of the approximately 1,800 tons of cadmium in our waste stream each year."
When printing from a website, you can copy and paste the necessary information into a Word document to avoid printing unnecessary advertisements or website information.
If it is a bright, sunny day, consider keeping your classroom lights off, using the natural light and conserving electricity.
When you leave a room, turn off the light.
When making posters, consider splitting one piece or save previous posters and use the backs.
When eating, pick up one napkin instead of several. Likewise, when washing your hands in the restroom, click the dispenser once instead of several times for your paper towel.
Consider other options for transportation to worship: carpooling, TARC, or biking/walking. There is a bike rack located outside the __________. If you're not familiar with TARC, try their new Trip Planner at www.ridetarc.com. According to the American Public Transportation Association, "public transit saves an estimated 1.4 billion gallons of gas annually, which translates into about 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide."
Please consider replacing any incandescent bulbs with a compact fluorescent (CFL). CFLs use 70% of the electricity and last 10 times longer.
If you've never been, please take a short break and check out the community's organic garden next to the __________ building. Contact __________ if you're interested in helping out!
Be mindful of using any equipment (ie: overhead projectors, TVs, stereos, VCR/DVD players, computers, or projectors.) that requires electricity. Don't let it run if it is not in use.
If you're the last to leave, please turn off lights.
Instead of printing an e-mail, consider making folders in Outlook to save the electronic version.
Consider the necessity of purchases before making them. Consuming less ultimately creates less waste! According to the Sierra Club, we'd need more than five Earths at the American rate of consumption.
Avoid using plastic bags. If you must use a plastic bag for your lunch, please recycle it next to the aluminum can recycling bin. According to the Sierra Club, "an estimated 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are consumed globally each year. It takes 60 million barrels of oil to produce 500 billion bags. Bags buried in a landfill can take as long as 1,000 years to break down."
Use human power instead of electricity when possible. For instance, manually sharpen your pencil, take the stairs, or open your own door instead of using automatic ones.
Please consider your tissue and toilet paper use. According to the Sierra Club, "North Americans use 50 pounds per person of toilet paper and tissues per year, up from 37 pounds per person 20 years ago. Greenpeace Canada reports that if every American household replaced just one box of 100-sheet facial tissues with recycled, we'd save 103,000 trees."
Consider offering a more plant-based diet for community events. According to the University of Chicago, switching to a plant-based diet shrinks your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year. In comparison, trading a standard car for a hybrid cuts only about one ton per year.
