Fix leaks

A faucet that leaks one drip per second can waste more than 3000 gallons of water each year.  A leaky toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water every day.  To determine whether your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food coloring in the talk; if the color appears in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.

Spiders

Don't kill that spider! There are an estimated 40,000 species of spiders, and they all eat insects. They're an important part of the food web and provide natural pest control. Read Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Graham. Find more information about spiders and helpful insects at the public library.

Use less water

*Keep a pitcher of water in your refrigerator so every drop goes down you, not the drain.
*Rinse vegetables and fruits in a bowl of water instead of under running water. Then pour the water on your plants.
*Use water from boiling vegetables for soup stock.

Fall Garden Tip

Instead of tilling your garden this fall to prepare it for winter, cover it with a good layer of mulch and leave it alone. Next Spring when you are ready to start planting, just move the mulch aside to make a row and plant your seeds without tilling. Join the "no till" movement. It save time and energy (no gas for the tiller), reduces noise pollution, and your soil will be happier.

Ongoing and Completed Projects

Well! It has been too long since I've posted anything and I plan to change that right now! Our Green Committe, now called St. Pius Green Team, is starting our 4th year and we thought it was time to recap what we have done. Mainly just to help us remember :)

Completed projects
-provided postcards for parishoners to send in to STOP JUNK MAIL
-Educational Film series
-Sold canvas bags
-Rain barrel workshops in 2009 and 2010
- Energy audit of church/school buildings
-purchased cloth napkins for use in Ken Kelly Hall
-have learned to use the dishwasher in Ken Kelly Hall and have washed dishes for several events to reduce use of paper products
-walk/bike to church weekend
-formed the Green Lite email list

Ongoing Projects
-St. Pius Community Garden
-recycling at parish events
-collection and recycling of batteries, ink jets, and CFLs
-green tips in bulletin
-purchasing dishes for use in Ken Kelly Hall
- Formation of Stream Team to analyze water in Merriam Stream

Green Hell: book review by Carol Meyer

Green Hell?
by Rich Heffern on Apr. 28, 2010
NCR Today
Sometimes it pays to listen to those who disagree with us. Spiritual director and writer Carol J. Meyer reviewed a new book for us -- Green Hell, written by Steve Milloy. Meyer does workshops and conferences in religious education, spirituality and personal development

Green Hell
How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them
By Steve Milloy
Regnery Publishing
Reviewed by Carol J. Meyer
Taking care of the earth seems like a no-brainer to me, so I was curious about what the opponents could have against it. Well, now I know. If Milloy is at all typical, it comes down to money and freedom. To him, the green movement is too expensive, and might interfere with our current affluent lifestyle, which must be preserved at all costs. And he doesn’t want any greens or government telling him what to do or how he should live.

Read more at http://ncronline.org/blogs/rich-heffern

Green Living

7 Things You Can Do Now to Heal Your Home and Make It a "Well Building"
From Living Green by Greg Horn
1. Remove the Carpet – Carpet traps dust, mold, phthalate particles, pesticides and other toxins commonly used in lawns and gardens. Wood, tile or stone floors can be kept much cleaner, which is healthier. If you wan to "warm up" your floors, use organic cotton or wool rugs that can be taken outside and cleaned or washed.
2. De-chlorinate the water – Chlorine from tap water is absorbed through your skin and lungs, especially during a hot shower. So it makes sense to filter your drinking and bathing water, but also consider a saline system for your pool if you have one. These systems use sodium chloride to keep your pool clean at about one-sixth the chlorine content of a pool using regular chlorine. Saline systems also keep your hair from turning green while sharply reducing a major source of chlorine absorption through the skin. One helpful website for saline pool systems is www.salinepoolsystems.com
3. Insulate, insulate, insulate: The tighter your house is, the less energy you’ll consume to heat and cool it and the fewer outdoor pollutants can get inside. There are numerous types of nontoxic insulation, including cellulose and Icynene, that are safe and do not outgas.
4. Replace your mattress: The formaldehyde and flame-retardant fumes that outgas from standard foam mattresses are just plain bad for you. These fumes can adversely affect your health, and you can’t avoid them because your face and body are touching or only inches away for several hours a night. Buy an organic mattress even if you can’t make any other investments to heal your house.
5. Dump the artificials: All artificial personal care products, fragrances and cleaning supplies contain toxic ingredients, some of which can cause serious health problems for you and leave residual effects in your house. Conventional cleaning supplies can be exceptionally toxic.
6. Bake out the bad stuff: High heat in the house will speed outgassing of new construction materials and furniture, and will also stop the growth of mold spores. The steps:
a. Remove all people, pets and plants and close all doors and windows
b. Turn up central heat as far as it will go (or use space heaters).
c. At the end of each 24-hour period, open the doors and windows and air your home out completely. Use a fan if necessary.
d. Sniff around and check for odors. See if they are gone, or if you need another day of baking.
e. The process can be completed in as little as one day and rarely takes more than four days.
7. Open the windows and ventilate: Air quality in the average American home is far worse than outdoor air
quality, precisely because our homes are so much more airtight in the 21st century. You can help outgas
fumes by simply opening windows on mild days and letting fresh air circulate through your home.