Day 5 -
Pray for people living in poverty and affected by climate change.
Think prayerfully about how we are depleting our resources at an unsustainable
rate. Reflect on the facts that the richest 20% of the world's population
consumes 80% of the world's resources, and those who contribute least to the
causes suffer most from the effects of climate change.
Day 6 - Notice what food you throw away
this week.
See if you can reduce it by a third. Eat leftovers and shop
more carefully using a list and planning your meals. The amount of food
thrown away by an average household adds the equivalent of the CO2
emissions of 1-5 cars.
Day 7 - Reduce the number of plastic bags
you use.
Get a fabric or reusable bags for shopping. Although plastic bags
use 70% less plastic than they did 20 years ago, most are still made from
polyethylene, a non-degradable plastic. If you live near a brewery, you can
obtain 15-20 gallon durable, synthetic grain bags which breweries usually throw
away. These can either be used as garbage bags or rinsed out and re-used to
take trash to the dump.
Day 8 - Save energy in the kitchen.
Cook food in a microwave, which uses 50-70% less energy than a
conventional oven. When you need to cook in a pan on the stove, use a lid to
preserve heat, which will also cook your food faster. Cook double
portions and freeze what you don't eat.
Day 9 - Reuse and recycle waste.
Compost food waste to reduce the rubbish destined for landfill
sites. If you don't have one, consider buying or making a composter. The
average US household produces about 4.5 pounds of solid waste per day. Landfill
sites are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, with every pound of solid
waste generating 2 pounds of greenhouse gases. Composting is methane-free and
does not produce carbon. For information about composting and buying
composters, see http://www.composting101.com/.
Day 10 - Avoid buying
products that have lots of packaging.
About a third of the waste we generate is from packaging to get
items to our homes. Choose loose products and buy refillable containers
when possible (food co-ops and health food stores usually offer these options.)
Day 11 - Though challenging to
contemplate, consider greening your "final arrangements."
