Environmental Task Force

As a Member or Friend of Edgewood United Church, United Church of Christ, What Can I Do to Help the Environment And Build a Sustainable Society?
Food choices matter

Support local, organic agriculture by joining and shopping at the East Lansing Food Co-op (Northwind Drive, near Grand River and Park Lake, across from the former Farmer Jack, in East Lansing; (517) 337-1266). Buying organic and buying local has a huge impact on energy use (most supermarket food has traveled thousands of miles), and supports the eventual transition to sustainable agricultural practices. Energy intensive farming (relying on heavy use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides) gave us short term productivity gains but resulted in a net reduction in soil productivity, requiring greater energy inputs every year to maintain past yields--obviously not sustainable. Organic methods can reverse that trend rapidly. In addition, organic food is healthier and safer for you. Many foods carry pesticide residues that do not wash off and may be dangerous to human health over the long term. Look for the following labels: "USDA Organic," "Fair Trade Certified," "Certified Organic," and "Certified Human Raised and Handled." Bogus labels to avoid: "Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly," "Animal Care Certified." For more on labeling, see the Consumers Union Guide to Environmental Labels (http://www.eco-labels.org/home.cfm).

Other Local Farmer’s Markets:

Allen Neighborhood Center in Lansing, Michigan
Our Farmer's Market takes place every Wednesday from May through the end of October in the parking lot at the corner of Kalamazoo and Allen Streets (next to the Allen Neighborhood Center) from 2:30 - 6:30 pm. EBT Food Stamps and WIC Project Fresh coupons are accepted.
When: (May-October) Wednesdays, 2:30-6:30 PM
Where: ANC Parking Lot (Corner of E. Kalamazoo and Allen Street)
Contact Information: Judith Bommer at 517-367-2468
www.allenneighborhoodcenter.org

Meridian Township Farmer’s Market
When: (May to October) Saturdays 8am - 2pm May-October
Wednesdays 8am - 5pm July-October
Thanksgiving Market - the day before Thanksgiving 10am - 2pm
5151 Marsh Rd, Okemos, MI 48864 Contact: LuAnn Maisner 517-853-4608
http://meridiantownshipfarmersmarket.wordpress.com

DeWitt Farmers Market
The DeWitt Farmers Market is an annual summer market. Open most Saturdays, except holiday weekends, it has vendors from all over the local area. When: (May-October) 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, excluding holiday weekends
Where: Downtown DeWitt, at the intersection of Main and Bridge Streets.
Contact information: Leanne Roman at 517-281-3364
www.dewittfarmersmarket.com

To find places in Michigan to buy sustainably-grown or organic foods check out the following web sites: 
Local Harvest at www.localharvest.org
Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance www.moffa.org
Sustainable Table Eat Well Guide www.eatwellguide.org
The New Farm “farm locator” at www.newfarm.org/farmlocator/index.php
Check out your impact with the Eating Green calculator atwww.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/calculator.html

Coffee. If you drink coffee, purchase fair trade/shade grown coffee (available locally here at Edgewood on the first Sunday of each month, at health food stores, and will be served to you at Starbucks if you ask). Our group is sponsoring the use of these ethical coffees at our Sunday morning coffee and donuts. For more info, see www.equalexchange.com.  Edgewood also sells fair trade cocoa, tea, nuts, cranberries and chocolate bars on the first Sunday of each month along with the coffee.

Shopping Choices Have an Impact. Check up periodically on campaigns to end sweathop and slave labor in the products in American stores. Look for the UNITE union label on garments, write to companies that could do more. Support responsible companies with your shopping and purchase dollars.

Join with the MSU Real Food Group to support fair trade and sustainable food and coffee (www.msu.edu/%7Erealfood)

Join or just help out sometimes at the MSU Student Organic Farm. Call 517-230-8012 or email CSA@msuorganicfarm.com. Volunteers are always needed and welcome!!

Refuse to support sweatshop labor: Look for the UNITE Union label on garments, shop National Green Pages, join the national student anti-sweathop campaign.

What Else Can I Do?
  • Write (or call) our elected representatives to let them know of your concern for renewable resource use and sustainable development. Contact Rep. Mike Rogers at (517) 702-8000 and U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow at (517) 203-1760 and Carl Levin at (517) 377-1508. Urge our representatives to support increased auto fuel efficiency (e.g., the McCain-Lieberman bill Climate Stewardship Act).
  • Recycle (in fact, re-use) used toner cartridges and support a monastary through the laser monks (look for the remanufacturing links).
  • Challenge yourself to lifestyle changes that will reduce fossil fuel and virgin resource consumption and increase use of renewable and post-consumer resources. Permanent community members in particular: consider environmental impacts when making major purchases, such as cars, appliances, and homes.
  • Driving is our biggest single contributor to environmental damage as American consumers. Walk, carpool, bicycle instead of driving. Make your next car purchase a green vehicle. Hybrid vehicles in particular have better gas mileage and lower emissions--and never need to be plugged in. In the near future, biodiesal may be another alternative. Overall, seek cars with (a) low petroleum demand (high mpg) and (b) low or zero emissions. Cars are rated on these two qualities. For ratings of the greenest cars, go to American Council for Energy Efficient Environment Online greenbook (www.greenercars.com/bestof.html).
  • Electricity. Our local electric power is generated by heavily polluting coal-power electric plants. Offset their carbon emissions either by purchasing green power from the local utility (both Consumers Energyand the Board of Water and Light have programs available on request), or by donating to the development of wind power on Native American Indian reservations  through Native Energy (www.nativeenergy.com).
  • Lights. Replace light bulbs with far more efficient compact flourescent lightbulbs (or CFL's; available at Home Depot but check for the energy star label to avoid getting second rate bulbs that burn out). These can be ordered at a bulk rate through the web page online ordering link at (Michigan Interfaith Power and Light, www.miipl.org/CFL) These bulbs use a fraction of the energy. They cost more at initial purchase, but easily pay for themselves over time due to their long life and low energy use. 
  • Water. Raising water efficiency/productivity is essential to long term economic health.  Aquifer levels are dropping in North America (as well as in other major countries including China) due to inefficient agricultural practices, suburban sprawl and development, heavy use of water for golf course and lawn care (golf courses consume for irrigation and watering as much water as the U.N. minimum for 4.7 billion people on a daily basis), and industrial practices. Dropping aquifer levels are an obvious sign of non-sustainable activity, and have already lead to a drop off in agricultural productivity in some countries. Minimize lawn watering, discourage traditional golf course development (new designs are less water intensive but need public support), support efficient agricultural irrigation practices (such as drip irrigation). Think twice about agreeing to water privatization (it has been tried in Atlanta and elsewhere, with poor results).
  • Lawn care is a big source of environmental impact. Use only organic and environmentally friendly fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide products (go to North Country Organics, www.norganics.com/index.html) for a detailed list of products; they can be mail ordered through The BioControl Network, 1-800-441-2847). Organic fertilizers and weed suppressants are locally available atHammond Farms (339-0788) and at Van Atta's Greenhouse (339-1142) as well.  If you are using ChemLawn TrueGreen, insist that they use organic products or drop your contract. They may comply and your voice along with others may give them a new business idea. Eliminate your two-stroke power mower (running it for one hour generates as much pollution as driving for 13 hours) and replace it with a 4-stroke power mower, or--even better--an electric mower (also quieter) or--best of all--a push mower (new ones are very light weight, have super-sharp blades, and are well engineered).
  • Paper. All of us use office paper. Buy 100% post-consumer recycled paper whenever possible. It is available to MSU faculty, staff, and students at MSU Stores on Service Road for just over $3.00/ream (about the same as other paper). Using this paper increases the market for recycled material and thus contributes to eventually saving large quantities of timber for other uses (tourism, recreation, and protection of watersheds and habitats). Advocate for accurate market pricing of paper, and against market-distorting subsidies that conceal the sharp environmental costs of virgin timber extraction.
  • Recycle Toxic and other materials.  Participate in curbside recycling. Details on the East Lansing program are available at the East Lansing City web page (click on "waste collection" at www.cityofeastlansing.com). Take corrugated cardboard to city recycling sites on Abbott or on Haslett and Park Lake Road. Take plastic foam, packing "peanuts" and styrofoam to Dart Container in Mason (24 hr drop off; 432 Hogsback Rd, Mason, MI 48854, (517) 676-3800; take 127 south to Howell Rd, turn right, then right again onto Cedar, then right onto Hogsback). Contact the City of East Lansing for dates to drop off paint, solvents, and a wide range of other toxic materials that should not go in the trash. (Never dump paint or solvents down the storm drain, which goes to the river). You can even recycle your old cell phone at the new East Lansing recycling facility, or with ReCellular, Inc. (734-205-2134 or mnewman@recellular.com). Recycling reduces the pressure on virgin materials and encourages the market to reuse and recycle materials--sustainability.
  • Composting Food Waste. Many people are interested in composting their own kitchen waste. One popular method is with a worm-composting bin. These are not hard to set up and produce nice soil that you can then put on your garden! Several popular books are available; lists are available at www.wormwoman.com.
  • Renovate. How can I afford to renovate my home to be more energy efficient? One obstacle is financing. But new tools are becoming available, including energy efficient mortgages which allow for financing of upgrades. Another obstacle is learning about the materials. Learn about green building materials and techniques at the Green Home Guide (www.greenhomeguide.com).
  • Read and Learn. Many books, periodicals, and websites provide excellent information on alternatives to our current approaches, alternatives that are economically sensible and environmentally sustainable. For one example, visit Lester Brown's Earth Policy Institute and Read his "Plan B" book! Subscribe to Worldwatch Magazine. Go to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and read the Bishops' guidelines on our moral responsibility to respond to the current and unfolding ecological crisis.
  • Join environmental organizations and contribute to their mission. Responsible, well-grounded, widely respected groups in our view include the Union of Concerned Scientists, Worldwatch, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
  • Become a member of the Edgewood United Church of Christ Environmental Concerns Task Force. Contact Jim Detjen at Detjen@msu.edu or (517) 349-7360.