A number of people responded to our first email…Thanks! It seems there is quite a lot of interest in the “green movement” and many of our fellow congregants are already quite active and involved. Here are a few of the comments we received:
I would highly recommend that we go one step farther when we change our lightbulbs to a higher efficiency product. Full spectrum lighting is much healthier and they are environmentally friendly. There are numerous web sites which offer these products for about the same price as what people are paying now for high efficiency bulbs.
My husband has been buying those light bulbs for years to lower our electric bill. We compost our vegetable garbage (i.e., peelings, skins, etc.) during spring, summer, and fall plus leaves and grass clippings. My husband uses these as fertilizer for his vegetable garden. He also installed black solar panels near our pool so that we can heat the pool with water that has gone through the panels. It works well as long as we have enough sunny days!
I think this is a great endeavor!
If you’ve got some ideas to share just hit “reply” and let us know what you and you family are doing to help the environment…and save $$$$.
In addition to saving money there is another reason to become energy efficient and environmentally conscious. The concept of Tikkun Olam, which means to “repair the world”, is part of our Jewish tradition. Rabbi Mosbacher and Kim Hausner have put together the following statement that provides a moral and Jewish foundation for our initiative:
Rabbi Mosbacher introduced the Vayehi Or “Let there be light” initiative on Yom Kippur 2006. The goal is Tikkun Olam, to heal the world, by "going green". Tikkun Olam is a core Jewish principle, motivating Jews through out the ages to try and make the world a better place. "Going green" is a way to perform Tikkun Olam by literally helping to heal the earth.
Genesis 1:31
God saw everything that God had made, and, behold, it was very good.
The first chapter of B'reishit (Genesis) tells the miraculous and majestic story of creation. God creates the universe, the earth, the sun, and the moon. God fills the earth with plants and animals of every kind. The first chapter tells the tale of the first six days of creation and ends with "and, behold, it was very good". God blessed what God had created. The word "good" appears seven times in that first chapter of B’reishit.
As Jews we have a responsibility to perform Tikkun Olam, to care for the Earth and all of its creatures. Global warming, droughts, floods, more severe storms are the earth crying out for our help. Be a part of the Vayehi Or initiative and help heal the world, just a little bit.
At the end of the creation of humankind, God “placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, to tend and to till it.” We have a moral responsibility as Jews to tend the earth we have inherited, and pass along a more healthy planet than we have inherited. Please join us in this effort.
There are many simple things you can do in your daily life - what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home - that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antactica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference.
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.
Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
Change Your Air Filter
Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.
Fill the Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
Adjust Your Thermostat
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
Check Your Waterheater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.
Change the AC Filter
Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.
Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.
Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
Buy Energy Certificates
Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.
Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid
Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.
Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Plant a Tree
Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breath. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
Insulate Your Water Heater
Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
Replace Old Appliances
Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Weatherize Your Home
Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.
Use a Push Mower
Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide and x $ per year.
Unplug Un-Used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.
Put on a Sweater
Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.
Insulate Your Home
Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.
Air Dry Your Clothes
Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.
Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.
Switch to Double Pane Windows
Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.
Buy Organic Food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.
Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.
Source: www.stopglobalwarming.org
Food Tips
What Individuals Can Do
What defines "local" food? Is it food from one's nation? From one's state or province? From farms within 50 kilometers of your house? When ecologist Gary Nabhan decided to eat locally for a year, he drew the line at 400 kilometers from his house, partly guided by the size of the watershed in which he lived. Nutritionist Joan Gussow suggests trying to buy food produced "within a day's leisurely drive of our homes," a goal "designed to maintain a living countryside."
Regardless of the precise definition, there are several actions people can take to promote local food systems:
Learn what foods are in season in your area and try to build your diet around them.
Shop at a local farmers market. People living in areas without a farmers market might try to start one themselves, linking up with interested neighbors and friends and contacting nearby farmers and agricultural officials for help. People can do the same with CSA subscription schemes.
Ask the manager or chef of your favorite restaurant how much of the food on the menu is locally grown, and then encourage him or her to source food locally. Urge that the share be increased. People can do the same at their local supermarket or school cafeteria.
Take a trip to a local farm to learn what it produces.
Host a harvest party at your home or in your community that features locally available and in-season foods.
Produce a local food directory that lists all the local food sources in your area, including CSA arrangements, farmers markets, food co-ops, restaurants emphasizing seasonal cuisine and local produce, and farmers willing to sell directly to consumers year-round.
Buy extra quantities of your favorite fruit or vegetable when it is in season and experiment with drying, canning, jamming, or otherwise preserving it for a later date.
Plant a garden and grow as much of your own food as possible.
Speak to your local politician about forming a local food policy council to help guide decisions that affect the local foodshed.
Source: www.worldwatch.org
Saving Water Indoors
Use what you need, need what you use
Saving water inside the home is simple. Following are a few easy water conservation tips. Fixing leaks and replacing old water-guzzling plumbing fixtures with water-saving ones could save a family of four 30,000 gallons of water each year.
Here are some ways to save water inside your home.
First
Find out if you have a leak in your home by reading your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. (Remember to wait for the hot water heater and ice-cube makers to refill, and for regeneration of water softeners.) If the readings are different after the two-hour period, you have a leak. If you have a well, listen for the pump to kick on and off while the water is not in use. If it does, you have a leak.
Leaks
Leaks are often silent, allowing loss of water to go undetected for long periods of time. Some toilets may produce a running water sound that is easy to hear. Some leaks are visible as a small trickle running from the rim to the water in the bowl. The average leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water per day.
To detect silent leaks, remove the lid from the toilet tank, remove any colored cleaning agents, flush to clear water in the bowl, then add dye tablets, leak detector fluid or a few drops of food coloring to the tank. If the tank is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes. Flush as soon as the test is complete.
Fixing leaks
To fix a leak yourself, you need a large adjustable wrench and a screwdriver. Now follow these simple steps:
- Jiggle the handle. If that makes the toilet stop running, the chain or guide wire attached to the handle may have been out of alignment.
- If the toilet flush handle frequently sticks in the flush position, letting water run constantly, replace or adjust it.
- Make sure the handle fits snugly against the tank. If it doesn't, use the adjustable wrench to tighten the nut attached to the handle on the inside of the tank.
- Check the rubber flapper or flush valve at the bottom of the tank. It may not be resealing tightly after flushing. If it is worn or corroded, it needs to be cleaned or replaced. Replacement kits with easy-to-follow instructions are available at most hardware and home stores.
- Check the tank water level. The correct water level is about one-half inch below the top of the overflow tube in the middle of the tank. The overflow tube drains directly into your sewer system. To lower the water level, use the screwdriver to adjust the screw on the end of the ballcock float arm or bend the float arm down until the correct water level is achieved.
- If the water won't shut off at all, replace both the flapper and the ballcock.
- If these simple procedures don't stop the leak, you should call your plumber.
Low-volume toilets
Since the mid-1990s, all new toilets have been redesigned to conserve water, using 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Older models use 3 gallons or more per flush.
If your toilet is not a newer water-saving fixture, you might want to consider purchasing a newer model.
Leaks
Water losses caused by dripping faucets can range from several gallons to hundreds of gallons of water per day. Faucets left in the open running position waste from several hundred to several thousand gallons of water per day. Check faucets regularly for leaks at the faucet head and seepage at the base and its connections.
Repairing leaky faucets
Leaky faucets are repaired by replacing washers and by tightening or repacking the faucet stem. Do-it-yourselfers can find a variety of repair kits in local plumbing supply stores, home improvement/hardware stores and discount stores. Most kits contain detailed instructions and a listing of necessary tools. If preferred, a plumber can make repairs.
Low-flow faucets
Check the amount of water flowing from each faucet. You can do this by opening the faucet and allowing the water to flow into a container for 10 seconds. Multiply the amount of water in the container by six to determine the per minute flow. If your existing faucet flows above 2.5 gallons per minute, install a low-flow aerator. For a bathroom faucet, a 1.5 gallons per minute flow will provide enough water for personal hygiene needs. For a kitchen faucet, you will want 1.5 to 2.5 gallons per minute of flow to make sure the flow of water is enough to wash and rinse dishes. You may want to use a low-flow aerator with an on/off flip handle that allows you to increase or reduce the flow as needed.
Aerators
Faucet aerators are circular screened disks, usually made of metal, that are screwed onto the head of the faucet to reduce flow. Aerators for kitchen faucets are available with a variety of spray patterns and flow-control features. Faucet aerators require periodic cleaning of grit and scale buildup that may inhibit flow.
Low-volume showerheads
By timing your shower to less than five minutes and installing low-flow showerheads, you can save water. The older the showerhead, the more water it uses. New showerheads deliver 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Older fixtures can deliver as high as eight gallons per minute. Pressures have been adjusted to the low-flow fixtures to deliver as good a shower as the higher flow showerheads.
Check your showerhead. If it is leaking or the flow rate is more than three gallons per minute, you should replace it with a low-flow version (2.5 gallons per minute maximum). To fix a leaky showerhead or to install a new showerhead, you need an adjustable wrench or pliers and joint sealer or tape.
Now follow these steps:
- Use the adjustable wrench to remove the old showerhead.
- Clean the threads to remove old joint sealer.
- Apply joint sealer or tape, using package instructions.
- Use the adjustable wrench to install the showerhead. (Use a cloth between the showerhead and the jaws of the wrench to avoid scratching your fixture.)
- Turn the water supply on and test the showerhead.
Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only one-third full. The initial burst of cold water will be warmed by the hot water as the tub fills.
In the shower, turn water on to get wet, turn off to lather up, then turn back on to rinse off.
When adjusting water temperatures, instead of turning the water flow up, try turning it down to balance the temperature.
Turn off the water as you brush your teeth, wash your face or shave.
Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in a trash can rather than in the toilet.
Several conservation practices can reduce the amount of water used when washing clothes:
- For washers with variable settings for water volume, select the minimum amount required per load.
- If load size cannot be set, operate the washer with full loads only.
- Use the shortest wash cycle for lightly soiled loads. Normal and permanent press wash cycles use more water.
- Check hoses regularly for leaks.
- Pretreat stains to avoid rewashing.
When you replace your clothes washer, consider a water-efficient model that uses an average of 27 gallons of water per load. Front loaders use 20–25 gallons. Older and non-water efficient washing machines can use as much as 56 gallons of water per load.
- Operate the dishwasher only when you have a full load. When purchasing a dishwasher, consider a water-efficient model.
- When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water and fill the rinsing sink to one-third or one-half full. Avoid letting the water run continuously in the rinsing sink.
- Kitchen sink disposals require a lot of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternative method of disposing of food waste instead of using a garbage disposal.
- Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave.
- Install instant water heaters in bathrooms and in the kitchen so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up.
- Insulate your water pipes. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.
- Avoid installing a water-to-air heat pump or air-conditioning system. Newer air-to-air models are just as efficient and do not waste water.
- Install water-softening systems only when necessary. Save water and salt by only running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.
- Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it, such as watering a plant or cleaning.
- Replace leaky drain plugs in sinks and bathtubs.
- Store drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the tap run while you wait for cool water to flow.
Source: floridaswater.com
Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development. Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their own harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their own businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.
The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees:
A fair price
The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees that farmers and workers received a fair price for their product. The Fair Trade price means that farmers can feed their families and that their children can go to school instead of working in the fields.
Quality products
By receiving a fair price, Fair Trade producers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. The Fair Trade producers’ traditional artisanal farming methods result in exceptional products.
Care for the environment
Most Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea and chocolate in the US is certified organic and shade grown. This means that the products you buy maintain biodiversity, provide shelter for migratory birds and help reduce global warming.
From crop to cup
TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. It works with importers and manufacturers in this country to document business practices, providing a reliable consumer guarantee that indicates what coffees, teas and chocolates have been purchased from producers according to international Fair Trade criteria. These criteria are established by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), a consortium of Fair Trade groups in Japan, Canada, the US and 17 European countries. FLO makes annual inspection visits to producer groups on its Fair Trade Register to ensure that the benefits of Fair Trade relationships are reaching the farmers.