1st EcoTeam Meeting, Nov. 10, 2008

1st EcoTeam is now meeting on a monthly basis. And the November 10 meeting was another filled with ideas and plans as well as reports on activities.


There have been ecoteam presentations to several Sunday School classes. Joe DeLeon and cohorts shared the Intro class with Doubleaires and Voyagers. The classes went well although it is now felt that there isn’t quite enough time to do the 11 minute video in the intro class. We’re hoping someone will find one that’s 3 - 5 minutes so that could be used instead.

There’s also a need for videos of this type for the web site. Several people have seen “The Story of Stuff” and suggested that there could be an excellent class built entirely on that.
Glen Suhren did the global warming class for the Voyagers. It was a two part series and dealt exclusively with the scientific evidence. As an engineer, Glen has a good grasp of the science and communicates it well.
Tom Downing and John Holbert did two “First the Word” Saturdays on a topic near and dear to doom and gloom environmentalists: The end of the world.


The committee reaffirmed our commitment to education at the church. People are largely uninformed about the strong, public statements that the Methodist Church has made regarding our responsibility to the environment. These have been part of The Book of Discipline for many years.
It was felt that there needs to be more attention drawn to the fact that FUMC gets 10% of our energy from renewable sources while Northhaven gets 100% from renewables.



Joan Cole suggested that we see if we can get Dan Northcutt as a speaker for one of our events. He’s director of environmental studies at St. Mark’s and does superb presentations on global warming and renewable energy. We’re hoping to make connections with Rocky or Dana so a coordinated event might be planned.
Lennijo Henderson announced that she will be leading a six week study group on the connection between food and sustainability entitled “Menu for the Future.” The course will be held from 6 - 8 pm at the Micah Center at Cochran Chapel UMC and a light supper will be provided. The cost of the six session series is $90 and includes all course materials.
As we look toward 2009 we need to be thinking about the One Great Gift of Service activity. Right now we’re thinking an EcoFair will be our contribution. Tom also indicated that there is still a need for more desk recycling containers. Someone also suggested that we should also make sure that trash cans are located next to recycling containers in order to insure that the right items land in the most appropriate container.
We’re also looking at a tree planting in the Fall. Mike Holloway will talk to Wayne Smith about identifying a park where we might do this.

We hope to have another recycling drive. Joe said he’d like to get that off the ground this year but several indicated that it’s not likely till after the first of the year.
There was some discussion of the 1st EcoTeam website. We’ll be posting the notes for all our meetings on the blog and it will be sent to interested friends — along with a note that they can be taken off the mailing list if they desire.
Someone asked where the 1st EcoTEam blog is located on the church web site. Answer: It’s under Missions and Outreach. Decision: Change it to: Missions and Outreach → 1st EcoTeam.
The original notes from the Nov. Meeting are available here.

1st EcoTeam Meeting, Sept 14, 2008

The 1st EcoTeam met on Sept 14,2008 for the first time under Joe DeLeon’s leadership. The committee charged with developing a “Intro” class for Sunday Schools reported on their work. Under the heading of “God, Nature, and Humanity” they presented their outline which consists of: 1. The Biblical Basis. 2. Sustainability. 3. Current issues. and 4. An Invitation to Join 1st Ecoteam. This is the first in a series of classes that will be available under the name Environmental Stewardship Series.

Others we hope to include in the series are: Global Warming: The Science (Glen Suhren), Theological Perspectives (Tom Downing), Competing Interests: The Future of Energy (John Ozmun), Conservation (Joe DeLeon) and one on Health and Pollution (teacher to be determined).

Tom Downing and John Holbrook will also be doing an upcoming “First the Word” presentation on what the end of the world might be like — to complement their earlier class on what the beginning of the world might have been like.

We brainstormed ideas on possible activities for the coming year. Several of the ideas seemed to come together around the notion of an EcoFair. Susan Holloway volunteered to cochair that effort.

For a complete list of the brainstormed ideas, see the full meeting notes at http://www.garyduke.com/oo/ecoteamnotes.html/ (user: libstaff, password: libstaff)

Our next meeting will be Sunday, Oct. 12 from 12:30 - 2:00 pm (probably in the Patio). Bring your own food or wait till later.

Gas Mileage

Interested in helping the environment and spurred by gas prices, I recently decided to enact a science experiment. This details my experiment.

Results (short version):
Driving 65 mph does save gas!
Ranger - Previously 19 or 20 Miles per Gallon (MPG)
Now 21 or 22 MPG
Escape - Previously 18 or 19 MPG
Now 20 or 21 MPG

History:
In the 1970's the was a gas shortage. To help reduce the need for gasoline, a national 55 Miles Per Hour speed limit was created. The reasoning was simple: After 55 Miles per Hour (MPH) the fuel efficiency of any vehicle will decrease exponentially. Eventually, gas was again in ready supply and people "can't drive 55". So, slowly those limits were lifted. Now, speed limits commonly reach up to 70 MPH in some stretches. And while cars are now more efficient than ever, science hasn't cured the 55 MPH drop off. I was reminded of this recently when I read a story saying that you could increase your gas mileage if you'd just drop down to 65 MPH. So, I decided to give it a try.

Hypothesis:
If I drive no more than 65 MPH, it will increase my gas mileage. And not just a bit, but a noticeable (and therefore WORTH WHILE) difference.

Vehicles involved:
1999 Ford Ranger, 2WD, Extended Cab, 3.0L V-6 engine with 5-speed manual transmission
Approximately 135,000 miles
Before experiment I would get around 19-20 MPG
EPA Rates this vehicle at 19 MPG city / 24 MPG freeway / 21 MPG combined

This vehicle is mainly driven to work and back. Bumper to bumper traffic from Oak Cliff up 35 or Zang/Beckley to the Dallas North Toll Road. There traffic generally opens up and I can drive 65 MPH to 635. That is where I work. The drive home is generally slower.

2004 Ford Escape, 2WD, 3.0L V-6 engine, 4-speed auto with Overdrive
Approximately 45,000 miles
Before experiment we would get around 18-19 MPG
EPA Rates this vehicle at 17 MPG city / 23 MPG freeway / 19 MPG combined

This vehicle goes the same route as the Ranger, except it stops at the Toll Road and Lovers Lane. It is also the weekend driver for our family.

Experiment:
The experiment is simple: Drive no more than 65 MPH. The first tank of gas I really struggled remembering to keep the speed down. So, I took a sticky note and put it on my speedometer. It's much easier to remember to drive less than 65 MPH when you can't see the speedometer at 70+ MPH. Previously, I would regularly drive up to 75 MPH when traffic allowed.

Results:
The results are immediately seen. From one tank to the next, I saw a jump in roughly 3 MPG, despite I drive mostly in stop and go traffic. In the Escape, the change has been comparable. The greatest was this past weekend in the Escape. We took a trip approximately 180 miles one way, mostly freeway. On that drive we averaged as much as 23 MPG!

Recommendation:
Once again, environmentally friendly and cost efficiency work in perfect harmony. Dropping your max speed just a bit to 65 MPH will save you mileage! Considering the continued rise in gas prices, can we afford not to? And, of course, saving gas mileage means saving pollution. It's a win-win.

I encourage everyone to try this earnestly for just a single tank of gas. Put your sticky note on the dash and stay under 65 MPH. You will see the difference at the pump, too!

Just fill up your tank and reset your trip meter. After driving a tank at 65 MPG, fill it up again. Divide your mileage against how many gallons you put in the tank. That will give you the Miles per Gallon.

One Great Gift of Service 2008

Many thanks to all who made our One Great Gift of Service double header event a smashing success! On Saturday, April 19 we placed 162 reminders on light switch reminders throughout the church. With those -- and a good followup -- we hope to make a dent in that $10,000 plus electric bill that we ALL help create each month.

We also selected, purchased, delivered,labeled, and distributed 20 blue, desk side recycling containers in offices of clergy and staff.

On Sunday, we hosted the One Great Gift of Service reception in CrossRoads Center. We served environmentally friendly coffee in real cups (no styrofoam today) and did just about everything we could think of to educate folks on the meaning and value of fair trade products.

There was lots of literature from Equal Exchange and even though we decided not to sell fair trade coffee yet, we did encourage people to purchase it through the Equal Exchange web site. Examples of fair trade products including coffee, chocolate, and tea were on display. Videos were rolling: Awakening Your Consciousness from Equal Exchange and one from a lecture by Tom Kimmerer.

The United Methodist Church General Conference Resolution Regarding Use of Fair Trade Coffee was prominently displayed as were materials from the UMCOR Coffee Project.

What's Important about a Cup of Coffee ?

It's possible you're like I was and haven't heard the case for fair trade - shade grown coffee.

Here it is in a nutshell.

Most people have a rather narrow view of sustainability. It's much more than "going green." It has has components of social justice and economic robustness. And -- as it turns out -- understanding coffee is a really good way to help us see these relationships.

Coffee is big business. It is the second most heavily traded commodity in the world. (The first is oil). So where does coffee come from? The answer is not the grocery store. No, it comes from the coffee plant.

Most of the coffee we normally buy is called commodity or technified coffee because it is grown on large coffee plantations -- which helps keep the price low. However, this cost saving farming method requires that coffee be heavily treated with pesticides and that the great forests be cleared to make room for the coffee farms.

The traditional way of growing coffee is to grow it in the shade -- either under the canopy of an existing forest or under other useful trees that have been cultivated.

So when we buy coffee, we make a choice. We can buy whatever coffee is available in the store or from the vendor. This is almost certainly technified coffee. Or we can buy it from sources that specialize in shade grown, organic, fair trade coffee.

So, it turns out that if you buy shade grown, organic, fair trade coffee, you're buying from local communities and you're helping stabilize the economic well being and the social well being of those local communities.

When you choose to buy shade grown, fair trade coffee several things happen: 1) More money goes to the farmers and their families than if you buy commodity coffee. 2) The people in those local communities are less exposed to pesticides and herbicides.

So, when you make a choice about what coffee you're going to drink, you're also making a choice about the stability of the local communities.

But it doesn't stop there. When you make a choice for fair trade coffee you're also influencing the preservation of the forests. Because if the native farmers and their families are doing well and are more able to make a livelihood, they have less reason to engage in things like illegal logging.

And when forests are allowed to remain intact, song birds and other animal species that depend on forests for their habitats are less likely to die off.

When we begin to notice (and to care about) where the cup of coffee came from, we suddenly realize that it is in fact tied to everything else.

In that simple cup of coffee there is this complex system of relationships that involves natural ecosystems, wildlife, the economic and social viability of farmers and their families throughout the world.

So, in the face of all this, why aren't we falling all over ourselves to buy fair trade coffee? Two reasons I'd say: First, we haven't heard this story. Secondly, we're used to thinking only in terms of lowest price. Fair trade coffee is more expensive than the mass produced, technified version.

But, knowing what we now know, there are very good reasons for the Christian to think about more than the lowest price. So let's do it.

Change a habit. Buy fair trade coffee.