• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Eco-Justice Connection

Eco-Justice Connection

An initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches

Get Involved Donate
  • About
    • Mission / Goals
    • Partnerships & Collaboratives
    • History / Timeline
  • Voices
  • Initiatives
    • Faithful Advocacy
    • Climate & Energy
    • Environmental Justice
    • Local to Global
    • Climate & Health
    • Resiliency and Restoration
  • Resources
  • NCCC

Search Eco-Justice Connection

Blog

Have a Faith Based Community Garden? Make the Climate Connection!

April 23, 2013 By chris

One thing that almost every congregation does is eat together. Coffee hour after worship, Wednesday dinner, pancake breakfasts—where there is a congregation, there is food. Over the past years, many […]

Have a Faith Based Community Garden? Make the Climate Connection!

April 23, 2013 by chris

A special prize for the most innovative Climate Connection sign awaits- send us a picture of yours today!
A special prize for the most innovative Climate Connection sign awaits- send us a picture of yours today!

One thing that almost every congregation does is eat together. Coffee hour after worship, Wednesday dinner, pancake breakfasts—where there is a congregation, there is food. Over the past years, many congregations’ food ministries have inspired community gardens, in which people of faith are growing some of the food that they and their neighbors eat. Some congregations have started gardens for reasons including community outreach, hunger alleviation, and creation care.

What is exciting is that growing your own food is a great way to reduce your (or a congregation’s) greenhouse gases. So although many gardens around the state were not solely created because of climate change, NCIPL celebrates each and every congregational garden. That’s why we’ve started the Climate Change Acknowledgement Campaign, which is an opportunity for gardens around the state to make the climate connection. NCIPL invites all congregations with gardens to make and display a sign in the garden stating “This Garden Makes the Climate Connection.” If you choose to participate, please let us know and be sure and send us a picture so that we can share it on our website/facebook. Thank you to those who tend the Earth and we hope that you have fun with this project. A special prize awaits the most creative climate connection sign.

Need some help connecting the dots between climate change and food? Invite us to give a Sacred Foodscapes presentation.

Filed Under: Blog

Durham Shambhala Meditation Center Energy Audit Reflection

April 22, 2013 By chris

“A couple of years ago NCIPL did an energy audit at the Durham Shambhala Meditation Center, and about that time the Center also sponsored a showing and discussion of Al […]

Durham Shambhala Meditation Center Energy Audit Reflection

April 22, 2013 by chris

clothesline“A couple of years ago NCIPL did an energy audit at the Durham Shambhala Meditation Center, and about that time the Center also sponsored a showing and discussion of Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth”.  As a (now retired) employee of the US EPA, I considered myself pretty environmentally aware, but I was surprised to learn that for most people their greatest contribution to carbon dioxide outputs comes not from their cars but from the fossil fuel burned to heat and cool their houses and run the appliances therein.  In a way this was somewhat of a relief for me because I can’t afford a Prius, and I don’t have good enough depth vision to drive a car with such rounded fenders.  So I’m sticking with my old 24 mpg station wagon for now, but I definitely wanted to do something.  I found that just using a solar clothes dryer (known back in the 20th century as a clothesline) saved almost 40% on our electric bills in the spring and fall.

Also in response to both the audit and the movie, I looked into various options when the HVAC system in my home needed to be replaced and decided to go with a dual fuel heat pump rather than a standard gas pack.  I found estimates that the dual fuel heat pump, while more expensive initially, would pay for itself in 7-9 years as well as generate less carbon dioxide from the day of installation.  The guy that installed it said “Yeah, yeah, they say” but I’d estimate it will pay for itself in about 5 years.

I was asked to write a couple of paragraphs on the impact of the audit, but now I find it hard to stop.  While nothing can ever be as cost-effective as a $2 clothesline, every time I was out there hanging up clothes on a beautiful sunny day, I found I still wanted to do more to utilize the abundant sunshine we are blessed with in this area.  I’d heard that solar water heating, while more mundane, was more cost-effective than photovoltaics.  However, the commercial solar water heating systems that we looked at cost at least $3,000 so we were looking at a big up-front investment and a long pay-back time.  We are currently in the process of having a do-it-yourself solar water pre-heater installed based on a design from Mother Earth News.  The cost will be just over $1,000 so we hope to at least recover our investment in our lifetimes as well as being the first in the neighborhood to have solar-heated hot water.  Once we get that done we are going to put in a small off-grid photovoltaic system.  I doubt this will ever pay for itself, but it will obviously make some difference in electric bills and carbon dioxide generated and also be a reliable source of electricity during power outages.”

-Jackie  Stonehouer, Member of Durham Shambala Meditation Center

To schedule your congregation’s audit, contact us info@ncipl.org.

Filed Under: Blog, Education, Energy Efficiency

St. Thomas More Energy Audit Reflection

April 22, 2013 By chris

“As I’ve been asked to make some personal reflections on the energy audit at St. Thomas More Parish sponsored by NCIPL, let me offer these few comments.  We had a […]

St. Thomas More Energy Audit Reflection

April 22, 2013 by chris

Parishioner upgrading lighting.
Parishioner upgrading lighting.

“As I’ve been asked to make some personal reflections on the energy audit at St. Thomas More Parish sponsored by NCIPL, let me offer these few comments.  We had a major building project in 2007-2010 during which we had incorporated several energy-saving features.  However, we did not have sufficient capital to do all that we wished during construction.  When NCIPL contacted us about a free energy audit, we were approaching Advent, 2011 and the start of our liturgical year of energy reduction that we in the Environmental Stewardship Ministry sponsor.  We said “yes” because we figured that we’d hear some items we knew and some that we didn’t.

Mr. John Seymour, an NCIPL volunteer auditor from the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach) performed our audit.  John was very professional, skilled in his field and personable.  I especially appreciated that before we ever looked at a building, he walked us through the zero-cost behavior changes that could lead to savings.  With a very large congregation and with visitors using our facilities, and with a large faculty and student population we don’t easily manage behaviors.  Sometimes you have to put in central control of a thermostat so it’s not changed by each user!  We did find some suggestions that staff and faculty could implement, so that’s the easiest fruit to harvest.

Since not all buildings could be covered in the time available, we looked at the new Parish Center and the Sanctuary.  Afterwards we prioritized our list of items based on affordability and pay-back.  The only cost for our first item was the labor of the maintenance staff.  The air flow from the sanctuary HV/AC was re-directed away from the windows and into the sanctuary so that heat or cooling loss from the glass was minimized.  We had no way to estimate cost savings from this item.  The next change was more substantial, the replacement of halogen lights in the entrance hall ceiling with LED lights.  A total of 152 halogen lights were replaced with LED lights for a monthly cost savings of $170.87, based on an estimated average usage of just six hours per day.  Our $3000 initial investment will be paid off in 18 months and from then on we’ll be benefitting from that $171/month savings.  And the need to replace the bulbs is years away!

I think we’re allowed to celebrate successes, and the energy reduction already achieved from the audit is a success.  One dimension is the money saved, which can be directed to fulfilling the mission of the parish.  Secondly, there is the reduction in electricity usage, which in North Carolina means burning less coal and generating less carbon dioxide.  Finally, this is just one way we are participating in the larger mission of the Environmental Stewardship Ministry, to “Care for Creation and the Poor.”  Our list is still long, there’s always more to do!”

-Bob Weickert, Co-Chair of the Environmental Stewardship Ministry at St. Thomas More, Chapel Hill

To schedule your congregation’s audit, contact us info@ncipl.org.

Filed Under: Blog, Education, Energy Efficiency

Earth Day 2013 and Your Congregation

April 4, 2013 By chris

Climate Convergence NCIPL is honored to be a partner in 350.org’s upcoming Climate Convergence on Raleigh, occurring the weekend of Earth Day. The mission of the Climate Convergence on Raleigh […]

Earth Day 2013 and Your Congregation

April 4, 2013 by chris

Climate Convergence

NCIPL is honored to be a partner in 350.org’s upcoming Climate Convergence on Raleigh, occurring the weekend of Earth Day.

The mission of the Climate Convergence on Raleigh is to hold a large rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a convergence from all directions on Raleigh by bicycle as well as automobile in order to demonstrate the strong support of North Carolinians for stopping global climate change, to provide opportunities for attendees to learn more about climate change and solutions to stop it, to demand state legislative support of initiatives that will slow climate change, to provide the attendees with options for getting actively involved with climate change projects of existing North Carolina non-profits, and to provide a model for other states and perhaps the country to do similar actions.

-CCR 2013

NCIPL Director Susannah Tuttle will be facilitating the rally’s Interfaith Service, and NCIPL Steering Committee member Tim Watson will also lead one component of the service. Find out how you and your congregation can join in on this demonstration here.

If you are located in the Western region of the state and are looking for a more local rally, we encourage you to consider attending WNC Green Congregation’s Care of Creation Candlelight Vigil, an event happening in unity with the Climate Convergence, occurring on Sunday, April 21st in Asheville’s Pritchard Park (7-8 p.m.).

2013 Preach-In on Global Warming

The weekend of April 20-21st will be the last formal weekend of the National Preach-In on Global Warming. If your congregation has not yet participated, register today. How exactly you participate is up to you: your worship service can address climate change (check out these sermons for ideas), you can host a screening of this year’s feature film, The Hungry Tide, you can send postcards to President Obama asking him to Care for Creation, or more. The possibilities are endless and this is great way to honor Earth Day.

Other Resources

Download a free copy of The National Council of Churches 2013 Earth Day Sunday Resource. This year, their resource examines the environmental impacts of common Sunday morning routines.

Also, be sure and Check out Blessed Earth’s ideas for “Honoring God’s Creation on Earth Day.”

Events

First of all, check the Preach-In page for NC events on a regular basis to see what events are planned near you. You can also submit your event for others to see.

Click here to check out a list of Earth Day events across the state.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: earth day

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 26
  • Page 27
  • Page 28

Footer

Contact

Eco-Justice Connection
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Subscribe

Click here to subscribe to newsletters and blog updates.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 Eco-Justice Connection · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design