It is not too late. God’s world has incredible healing powers. Within a single generation, we could steer the earth toward our children’s future. Let that generation start now, with God’s help and blessing.
-Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
We remind parents that they are the first and principal teachers of children. It is from parents that children will learn love of the earth and delight in nature. It is at home that they develop the habits of self-control, concern, and care that lie at the heart of environmental morality. Renewing the Earth --
USCCB
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
Thomas Merton
If you exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will deal likewise with people.
St. Francis of Assisi
Choose life in order that you and your descendants may live. (Deut. 30:19)
How beautiful are all God’s works! even to the spark and fleeting vision! The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has God made in vain, for each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor? (Sirach 42:23-25)
Respect for life and the human person extends also to the rest of creation.
Pope John Paul II
Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life.
God is present and speaks in the dynamic life forces of our universe and planet as well as in our own lives. Respect for life needs to include all creation.
Celebrate Life: Care for Creation, Bishops of Alberta, Canada
Because creation was entrusted to human stewardship, the natural world is not just a resource to be exploited but also a reality to be respected and even reverenced as a gift and trust from God. It is the task of human beings to care for, preserve and cultivate the treasures of creation.
Pope John Paul II
O God our Creator, as our Easter season increases our thirst for the waters of your divine life, keep us mindful of those whose physical thirst for water is rarely quenched. Deepen our solidarity with women in parched lands whose lives are consumed in the effort to secure water for their families. Help us to guard the purity of water and use it with reverence, cherishing it as sacramental symbol of our Baptism into life, death, and resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Lord, hear our prayer, that we as a parish focus on the personal use of water in our commitment to honor and cherish all living creatures in our world. We pray to the Lord. Amen.
O Christ, Wisdom and Power of God, help us be ever mindful of the beauty of your creation and as protective of it as a mother is of her child. Constantly remind us that we are the custodians of these precious resources we so rely on to provide us the fuel for our daily living. Guide us to carefully use these gifts, conscious that we must share them with all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. In the power of your Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
Lord, hear our prayer that we as a parish vow to reduce our energy consumption this week as Abraham, without hesitation, agreed to sacrifice his son Isaac. We pray to the Lord. Amen.
Christian love forbids choosing between people and the planet. It urges us to work for an equitable and sustainable future in which all peoples can share in the bounty of the earth and in which the earth itself is protected from predatory use. Renewing the Earth – USCCB
In agricultural operations, we envision that farms are carefully integrated into, and respectful of, their environment. When feasible, farmers produce organic crops that safeguard water quality and the health of their families, consumers, livestock and local wildlife. Water is carefully conserved through innovative irrigation techniques. Energy is used sparingly and wind farms provide clean energy for the community…Farmers’ markets enable farm families to sell their produce directly to consumers. Renewing the Earth -- USCCB
• Recycle your school papers and notebooks.
• Hang your clothes on a clothesline instead of using a dryer.
• Use clothes line or drying rack instead of dryer when possible.
• Ride MAX.
• Ride your bicycle to work.
• Going on vacation?
Make sure the heat is turned down and the water heater is turned off before leaving.
• Replace gasoline lawn mower with electric mower or push mower.
• Water with spot irrigation or a soaker hose rather than overhead sprinklers.
• Landscape for energy efficiency, i.e., plant trees to shade house during winter.
• Sharpen your mower blade.
Blunt blades will tear grass rather than cut it making cutting the
grass more time consuming which uses more energy. Damaged grass also needs more water
than healthy grass.
• Decrease water use on lawns.
Grass requires between 1 and 1½ inches of water a
week to
thrive. It doesn’t matter whether the water comes from irrigation or
natural rainfall—or a
combination of both. Apply it as a single dose on regular
soils or at most split it into two equal
applications. Do not water a little bit
every night or three or four times a week.
• Decreasing size of lawn, Leave grass 3-4 inches long.
• Water in early morning.
• Leave some clippings in place to mulch the lawn.
• Water in intervals of 15 minutes to prevent run-off.
• Ensure your irrigation system isn't watering the sidewalk, isn’t leaking, and is set to the
right times and amounts.
• Most vegetable and flower gardens require about 1 inch of water per week.
• Grow some of your own food.
• Buy foods grown locally; visit your Farmers’ Markets.
Before arriving at your plate,
the average meal travels over 1,200 miles. Buying products that are locally produced ensures
that the energy consumed by transportation is as low as possible.
• Stay in town for the weekend.
• Slow down.
Cut your speed when driving to save on fuel economy. Research shows that for
every mile over 55 miles per hour, fuel economy decreases by 1 percent.
• Properly maintain your car: keep it tuned.
• Keep tires properly inflated.
• Use your car air conditioning instead of driving with the windows open. Better yet, use the fan.
• Bike or walk
See Metro’s site with a bicycle trip planning tool and a popular bike route map,
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=10799
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=10809
• Recycle cell phones and glasses St. Pius X.
• Recycling Call Metro Recycling Information, 503-234-3000, or go to
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=525
or
http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=1383 for information on recycling.
• Start a compost bin in your yard or a small one under your sink.
• Read your electricity and gas bills to be aware of how much energy your household uses.
These calculators can help you calculate how much energy your household uses for lighting and
appliances.
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html
http://www.csgnetwork.com/elecenergycalcs.html
• Visit the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon site to see how churches can make a difference.
http://www.emoregon.org/earth_concerns.php
• Disconnect appliances when not in use.
Appliances and chargers (including cell phone
chargers) left plugged in drain electricity even when not in use.
• Wash clothes with cold water.
• Wash only full loads.
• Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer.
• Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket (Electric only. Speak with a plumbing and
heating contractor for a gas water heater.).
• Lower the setting on your water heater to no more than 120 degrees.
• Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner every 3 months.
• Only run your dishwasher when there’s a full load and use the energy-saving setting.
• Reduce “phantom” electricity usage by unplugging computers and televisions and any other
appliances that drain energy while in an off position.
• Buy “Energy Star” appliances when appliances need replacing.
• Use “Energy Star” light bulbs.
• Eat less meat; enjoy a vegetarian meal.
Livestock production creates more climate change gasses than all the motor vehicles in the
world. In addition, much of the world’s deforestation is a result of clearing and burning to
create grazing land for livestock. Fruits, vegetables, and grains, on the other hand, require 95% less raw materials to produce and, when combined properly, can provide a complete and
nutritious diet.
• Buy something organic this week.
Eating organic reduces the amount of pesticides and fertilizers released into the environment as
well as keeping your family, farmers, and food handlers away from these chemicals.
• Plant your own organic garden.
• Compost fruit and vegetable peelings.
• Buy products made from recycled paper.
• Make your own baby food.
Pureeing your own vegetables reduces number of baby jars needed
• Use glass cookware in the oven.
With ceramic or glass instead of metal pans you can lower the temperature by 20-40 degrees
and your food will be done in the same amount of time and use less energy.
• Open the windows as much as possible in the mornings and the evenings to cool down the
house naturally.
• Close your curtains during the day to keep the house cooler.
• Do not use the dishwasher heat cycle for the drying cycle.
• Disconnect the ice machine in your freezer.
• Avoid fast-food restaurants; pack a picnic lunch when travelling.
• Visit the grocery store only once a week.
• Cut back on soft drinks by substituting tap water at least once a day.
• Track the amount of water needed for watering lawns (in Hillsboro) by visiting
www.conserveh2o.org.
• It’s impossible to keep the grass in the strip between the sidewalk and street green without a
huge amount of water. Replace this grass with hearty, drought tolerant plants.
• Estimate the solar potential of your property, the cost of a photovoltaic system and the current
incentives from tax credits by visiting
Oregon.cleanenergymap.com
