"It becomes more and more evident that there is an
inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among
men."
... Pope Benedict XVI
An extra thousand dollars a year was not going to stop parishioners at St Declan's Penshurst to go to 100% accredited Green Power. Nor will it stop St Brigid's Marrickville
Calls were put out in each of these parishes for someone to lead the way on sustainability matters, and now St Brigid's is about to appoint a Sustainability Spokesperson on their Pastoral Council. Both parishes are also conducting energy audits to find ways of reducing their carbon footprint.
But what brought this about? People on the Pastoral Councils have been inspired to combat climate change by learning about the 'Seven Steps to Sustainability' from Thea Ormerod.
"I am finding there is a lot of willingness out there" says Thea. "People just need to get thinking about what they can do."
Step 1: Appoint a Sustainability Spokesperson at your place of worship
This is the "go to" person, who makes sure the parish keeps up the momentum for change.
Step 2: Switch your place of worship to 100% government accredited Green Power.
Electricity Watch is an independent resource that can help you choose the best Green Power provider for you: greenelectricitywatch.org.au
Step 3: Reduce your energy consumption.
Get an Energy Audit for your place of worship and switch to
energy efficient lighting and appliances. Actually reducing your
energy consumption has extra benefit of reducing your energy
bill.
There are a number of companies who will come to your place of
worship and to households to install energy efficient light
globes and shower heads (currently no longer for free).
For
example:
Only one in 20 Australian homes have solar hot water heaters,
yet they re-coup their costs in 5 - 10 years.
See greenpagesaustralia.com.au
Step 4: Actively encourage your fellow worshippers to also do steps 2 and 3 in their homes
Step 5: Support public policies that address climate change.
Become informed about public policies that would support
action on climate change.
Invite your local MP down to your place of worship, or make an
appointment to visit him/her, to demonstrate to him/her that your
faith requires you to place our environment as a high
priority.
Step 6: Spread the word
If a small parish switches to 100% accredited Green Power and
persuades 20 households in your parish to do the same you save
147 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year, which is about the equivalent
of taking over 30 cars off the road.
Persuade another parish to follow suit and nearly 300 tonnes of
emissions are saved and the equivalent of 60 cars taken off the
road.
And so... If all 7,000 places of worship in Australia acted in
this way over a million tonnes of CO2 emissions would be
saved.
Catholic parishes tend to be larger, so use 3-5 times the
electricity of a small parish. The impact of switching to 100%
accredited Green Power is so much the greater.
Step 7: Be Creative
No meat Mondays (or Meat-free Fridays!): The
production of meat is one of the greatest contributors to
greenhouse gases.
Producing 1kg of beef results in more CO2 emissions than going
for a three-hour drive while leaving all the lights on at home.
So if your tradition allows you to eat meat then try abstaining
at least one day a week.
Solar
panels: With the Government rebate of $8000 households with a
combined income of less than $100,000 p.a. you can get a 1kw
solar panel for as little as $6000.
See if your place of worship is eligible for the Federal
Government's Photovoltaic
Rebate Programme.
Solar hot water: 30% of your energy bill can be taken up by
heating water. So it makes good environmental and economic sense
to install solar hot water panels.
Car pool: Fewer cars means less pollution. Carpooling could extend to travel to work, not only travel to Church on Sunday.
Photo: Possum in suburban Sydney
Share your parish enviromental story with us and let others be encouraged by your work!
Please send an email to the editor .
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* Holy Eucharist Parish - St Albans
Also see:
On
Holy Ground Audit
The 'Seven Steps to Sustainability' (see left) originated from Project Green Church, the Uniting Church at Maroubra Junction. For further information, see the fact sheets on the Climate Institute's website.