McFarlin Environmental Stewardship Ministry
McFarlin Green Team Meeting
Tuesday, June 30, at 7 PM in room 229 -- which is on the north side of the atrium.
How Green Are You? The Environmental Stewarship Committee ask that you take this test to see if you are doing what you can to preserve our environment for future generations. Click here for the test.
Development of a McFarlin Environmental Stewardship Ministry
An ancient proverb says, “We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.” As United Methodists, environmental stewardship is both a sacred mandate and a joyful obligation. The environmental movement is sweeping through United Methodism, through many individual churches, led by pastoral and lay leaders all over the world. On January 9th 2008 a small group of McFarlin leaders met to discuss the development of a Environmental Stewardship Ministry within our church. The goals developed during that discussion included the following:
1) Increasing awareness of environment stewardship among our own McFarlin congregation.
2) Making our church infrastructure – the building, grounds, and programs - more environmentally sensitive in the way they run.
3) Sponsoring programs and activities that support and promote environmental consciousness among our congregation.
4) Networking with other United Methodist programs – other churches, UMW, the conference, etc. – to coordinate theologically-based responses to climate change, environmental challenges, and natural disasters.
During 2008, the developing McFarlin Environmental Stewardship Initiative sponsored a number of activities and meetings in support of “the greening of McFarlin.” After organizational meetings in January and February, a number of meetings were held through the year to further develop plans to help McFarlin become more environmentally responsible. Many such activities are already in progress through the staff, the Trustees, UMW, and other McFarlin groups. Short-term initiatives have included reducing the use of styrofoam and paper plates, scheduling meetings to reduce energy use, and recycling efforts involving cardboard and other recyclables. Longer-term initiatives have included discussion of a professional energy audit, installing on-demand water heating, and generation of some of our own energy using solar- or wind-power.
In April we held an “Environmental Stewardship Panel,” with speakers that included Denny Hook (head of the United Methodist Environmental Coalition), Joanne Kurklin (Interim Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches), Kendall Cartmill (a McFarlin member who teaches public school courses involving environmental issues, and Kevin Kelleher (the McFarlin lay leader who is Deputy Director of the National Severe Storms Lab).
In November we held an “Environmental D&D (Devotional and Discussion)” Meeting that featured a devotional from the new “Green Bible,” along with discussion of Christian responses to environmental crisis.
If you are interested in being an active part of the McFarlin Environmental Stewardship Initiative, contact Joe Rodgers (jrodgers@ou.edu) or Kevin Kelleher (kevin.kelleher@noaa.gov).
MCFARLIN'S EFFORTS
Environmental Education/Resources (Links)
*Oklahoma Food Coop and Native Roots Market
* Carbon footprint calculators
- www.carboncounter.org
- www.conservation.org
- http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator)
* Sustainability tips
- Home composting - http://www.lcswma.org/yardwaste.asp
- OSU Master Gardener Program - http://www.hortla.okstate.edu/hortla/mastergardener.htm
- HGTV Green Home - http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/green_home_2008/article/0,3183, HGTV_30916_5816498,00.html
* Energy efficient tips
- http://www.oge.com/es/bc/es/energy-solutions.asp
- http://www.myhomeideas.com/myhome/green-living
- World Energy Efficiency Association - http://www.weea.org/Directories/Directory-nonprofits.htm
- Recycling Compact Florescent Bulbs - http://www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling/
In Norman there are currently only two disposal options that involve recycling the bulbs. The option available to all Norman residents is the annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event. The event is scheduled for May 3rd from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. this year at the Lloyd Noble Center. The other option is available only to OEC customers. If your electricity is provided through OEC you can take your burned out CFLs to OEC’s office at 242 24th Avenue NW for recycling. If you would like more information about the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event or instructions for cleaning up a broken CFL call the City of Norman’s Environmental Services office at 292-9731.
* Global Warming
- Climate Calculator - http://bie.berkeley.edu/calculator.html
- OCS Climate Change Report
Several important reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were issued during 2007. As a result of the findings, our OCS climatologists accelerated their examinations into climate variability and change across Oklahoma, with an emphasis on aiding state and local decision makers with their questions on how a changing climate may impact Oklahomans. In a statement issued in 2007, OCS climatologists expect the following climate change scenarios and the associated impacts to be realistic should the projected range of warming materialize for the remainder of the 21st century:
•The frequency of hot extremes and heat waves will increase.
•Cold extremes and cold air outbreaks will decrease.
•Atmospheric water content will increase.
•The jet stream and its associated storms will move poleward. As we see it, the implications for Oklahoma will be:
•The warm season will be longer and arrive earlier.
•The cool season will warm and shorten, leading to a longer frost-free period and growing season.
•Earlier maturation of winter wheat and orchard crops will leave them more vulnerable to late freeze events.
•There will be increased yearround evaporation from the ground and transpiration from green vegetation.
•Drought frequency and severity will increase, especially during summer.
•Drier and warmer conditions will increase the risk of wildfires.
•Rain-free periods will lengthen, but individual rainfall events will become more intense.
•More runoff and flash flooding will occur.
* General Information
- Sept 2007 UMW publication (called "Response") http://gbgm-umc.org/Response has lots of good articles and links
- Oklahoma Conference Environmental Coalition website www.okumec.org
- Harvard Kennedy School for Government publications and website (especially the Winter 2008 issue) http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/topic/37/environment _and_climate_change.html
- University of Oklahoma's "The Green Page", OU's source for green initiatives www.ou.edu/green