Sustainability

Environmental Work Underway at First Church

Sustainable Power
  • The First Church Congregation is participating in Blue Sky Program for wind power.
  • All may buy Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs from Environmental Ministry Team. Details below. This supports the costs of recycling and Blue Sky programs.
Recycling
  • Congregation recycling all eligible waste.
  • 1-2-3 program for 2006-2007 year.

1. Reduce the thermostat setting at home by 1 degree in the winter or increase it by 1 degree in the summer. 2. Replace driving with walking, biking, carpooling, or taking public transportation 2 times per month. 3. Replace 3 regular light bulbs with CFLs.

Coffee Hour
  • Composting coffee grounds.
  • Use and hand-washing of reusable cups.
  • Sale of organic shade grown coffee purchased from Ten Thousand Villages which supports independent businesses.
Transportation
  • Drive Less Campaign. Encourage those who can to carpool, walk, bike, or take public transportation to church once a month.
  • Highway Cleanup. First Unitarian Church is responsible for a stretch of highway near Mountain Dell toward East Canyon. For more information, contact Hugh Gillilan, 582-9284.
Sustainable Building & Grounds
  • Provide input into the church’s strategic planning process especially as it relates to building renovation efforts.
  • Environmental Ministry Team provided a list of service companies using environmentally sustainable practices for use by church office in making future contract choices.
Water Conservation
  • Congregation will work toward replacing current sprinkling system timer with one that manages watering more efficiently and saves water & money.
Communications
  • Monthly environment and sustainable living articles in The Torch. To read articles, view newsletters here.
  • Regular table in Elliott Hall with basic information and updates.
  • Liaisons from church committees and groups whose work overlaps with Environmental Ministry Team.
  • Environmental Advocacy Action Network of individuals in the church community who have connection/membership in environmental organizations to facilitate timely communication of environmental advocacy issues.

Steps You Can Take

Recycle

  • DO RECYCLE curbside - plastics #1-7, plastic coated cartons, cardboard, cereal boxes, steel cans, junk mail, newspapers, phone books, shoe boxes, paperboard, magazines, paper towel tubes, and office paper.
  • DO NOT RECYCLE curbside - clothing, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, food & food wrappings, small appliances, yard waste, glass, and hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, other chemicals, batteries, CFLs).
  • Refrigerator - Rocky Mountain Power will give you $40 and an energy efficiency kit to take away your old refrigerator if it is in working condition. Call (1-866-899-5539) or see their website for more information.
  • Brown Glass - Squatters Brew Pub collects brown glass and will give a dollar coupon for Squatters' food items for every 6 bottles brought in. The glass goes to a local blower. Uinta Brweing (1722 South Fremont at 2375 West) will also recycle brown glass. They have a front yard bin. It is donated to an Ogden commercial flooring business. Dan's Foods (2300 East 3300 South) will send brown glass to Coors in Colorado for re-use. Bin near the adjacent softball field.
  • Clear and green glass - Drop off at Forest Hills Golf Course (2375 South 900 East), Jordan Park (1000 South 900 East), Rotary Park (2770 East 800 South), Transfer Station (502 West 3300 South, 8am-5pm, M-F).

 

Use Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)

The Environmental Ministry Team sells compact flourescent light bulbs on Sundays in Elliott Hall to help support the church's recycling and wind power efforts. Cost: $5.00 for 2 60-watt equiv. bulbs; and $7.00 for 2 100-watt equiv. bulbs. If you need another size, please contact Joan Gregory to make your request. green@slcuu.org

PLEASE NOTE: Because CFLs contain mercury, they must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Please keep unbroken so they can be processed. Bring the bulbs back to the First Church recycling center or Hazardous Waste Drop Off (5030 West 1300 South), Mon-Sat 9-5.

Why Use Energy Star Qualified CFLs?

  • Last up to 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs
  • Use 1/3 the energy of standard bulbs
  • Save an average of $20 each or more in energy costs over their lifetime.
  • Fit in almost any fixture, indoors and outdoors.
  • Convenient for hard-to-reach and high-use fixtures because of their long life.
  • Generate 70 % less heat than standard bulbs, cutting home cooling costs.
  • Provide the same amount of light (lumens) as standard bulbs while using fewer watts of energy.
  • Backed by a minimum 2-year manufacturer warranty.
  • Prevent more than 450lbs of greenhouse gas emissions each over the lifetime of the bulb.

Give a Gift of Light this holiday season with a gift of CFLs.

 

Participate in Energy-saving Programs

Coolkeepers from Rocky Mountain Power

Air conditioning accounts for nearly 30% of power used locally. In order to lessen the energy demand during peak times, Rocky Mountain Power is offering a $20 credit to those willing to install a Coolkeeper device on their central air conditioning units. During peak times, this wireless device may receive a signal to turn off the power for short periods of time (~15 minutes). Sign up at Coolkeeper

Home Energy Audit from Utah Clean Energy

Home Energy Audits may be used to determine potential energy savings in your home. The following audits are made available through the Utah Clean Energy Home Energy Efficiency - Quick Tips web site:

Changing CO2urse - Taking Individual Action Collectively

Adjust Your Thermostat. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2,000 lbs/yr of CO2. If each of the approximately 1,200 First Church member and friend households took this action, we would collectively save approximately 2,400,000 lbs of CO2 per year -- the equivalent of taking approximately 4,000 cars off the road for 1 year (based on: 12,000 mi/yr, 20 mi/gal, and 1 lb of CO2 per gallon)!!

Low Carbon Diet

Put your family on a Low-carbon Diet, a 30-day program to lose 5000lbs. This book is a step-by-step guide that is written in a way that families can work through the program together to make changes that reduce their carbon footprint.

Simplify the Holidays

The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice. Toward this end, they have developed several tools to help those who wish to "simplify the holidays":

Other holiday resources:

Alternative gifts at First Unitarian Church:

  • CFLs - Give a Gift of Light with a gift of CFLs and this CFL holiday card available online or at the Environmental Ministry Table
  • Shade grown, organic, fair-trade coffee and chocolate sold in Elliot Hall after Sunday services weekly
  • Give the gift of social justice for the holidays. Make a donation in any amount to the Salvation Army, the Homeless Youth Resource Center, the Heifer Foundation, and Women for Women International. The Social Justice Council will provide you a donation acknowledgement in the form of a decorative card insert to send along with your holiday card to the person whom you are honoring with this gift.

Stop by the Environmental Ministry Table in Elliot Hall after Sunday services during December for more alternative gift giving and simplifying the holidays ideas.