Becoming Green :Becoming Green Lee and Amanda Borden


What We’ll Cover :What We’ll Cover What’s God’s stake in this? What’s our stake in this? Plan A & B


What’s God’s Stake in This? :What’s God’s Stake in This? “The earth and everything it contains are the Lord's. The world and all who live in it are his.”         Psalm 24:1 (God’s Word trans.) “To live justly, temperately, gratefully, peacefully, would be to live at home in the creation.”       Lionel Basney, An Earth-Careful Way of Life


What’s our stake in this? :What’s our stake in this? Many of us have children Grandchildren And what we do today affects our environment today too The juxtaposition of Lee and Amanda


Juxtaposition of Lee & Amanda :Juxtaposition of Lee & Amanda Amanda Classic tree hugger Earth lover Step lightly on God’s creation Save planet for our descendants Lee Peak oil Climate change Overpopulation Societal collapse Be resilient Build local communities


Juxtaposition of Lee & Amanda :Juxtaposition of Lee & Amanda Come from different perspectives Amanda selfless, Lee much more selfish Overlap is surprising, almost breathtaking Everything we’re sharing responds fully to both our perspectives


So We Offer You Plan A & Plan B :So We Offer You Plan A & Plan B


Plan A :Plan A Chuck your city job Move to the country Become a subsistence farmer Grow your own food Reduce your reliance on the consumer economy Who’s up for Plan A?


Plan B :Plan B Things we all can do right where we live to step more lightly and be resilient We’ll run through a list of options Then we’ll have time for you to challenge us Fill in what we leave out


Plan B :Plan B When you travel Where you live When you eat When you parent When you recreate


When You Travel :When You Travel Drive a smaller vehicle When it comes to weight: 1 Ford Excursion = about 3.5 tons 1 Ford Excursion = 2.5 Toyota Corollas 1 Ford Excursion = 24 Vespa scooters 1 Ford Excursion = 355 bicycles


When You Drive :When You Drive Check your tire pressure Clean out your car Get regular tune-ups Start slowly and coast when you can Turn off engine while waiting Drive 55-60 on highways Turn off AC


When You Drive :When You Drive Drive less Combine trips by traveling and planning shopping Carpool Shop nearby Walk or bike Fly less


Where You Live :Where You Live Smaller Smaller Un-stick your windows, and use them Change your light bulbs Avoid using the ones you can’t change Caulk


Where You Live :Where You Live Shower, don’t bathe Plant something in that spa Compost Cancel the subscriptions and read online Install a programmable thermostat Wear less in the summer and more in the winter Turn off lights – use daylight


Where You Live :Where You Live When you’re gone, Turn thermostat off or down Turn off water heater


Where You Live :Where You Live Take your own bags when you shop Use cloth napkins Use real dishes Use real plates, glasses, and silverware Reuse things Recycle things Do without things


Where You Live – Long Term :Where You Live – Long Term Tankless water heater Light-colored (and/or metal) roof Add insulation Shade east, south, and west walls Close off areas you don’t need


Where You Live – Long Term :Where You Live – Long Term Share living space with a friend Live closer to where you work, shop, and worship – OR Work, shop, and worship closer to where you live


Where You Live – Long Term :Where You Live – Long Term If you’re thinking solar, in this order: Solar thermal water heater Solar oven Add stack cooling Photovoltaic panels Wind? Don’t even think about it


When You Eat :When You Eat Eat lower on the food chain Meat eater who rides a bike worse for global warming than a vegan who drives a Hummer! Buy food locally when possible Cook your own food Grow your own food – start with tomatoes Put up food


When You Parent :When You Parent Don’t World’s population is increasing dangerously Anything we can do to birth fewer babies is good Particularly moderately rich American babies


When You Parent :When You Parent Limit the size of your family Don’t ooh and ah over the quintuplets; just roll your eyes and move on When you nominate Mother of the Year, choose the mother of one child (hint: Amanda’s mom!)


When You Parent :When You Parent Teach your children well Help them look past the disposable economy Video: The Story of Stuff Model for them how a responsible Christian cares for God’s creation


When You Recreate :When You Recreate Stay closer to home Talladega? Do you really need that bass boat? Look for ways to walk, bike, and put your body to work


Resources :Resources LettheSunWork.com Look under “What’s New” for “Becoming Green Workshop”


Okay, attack :Okay, attack


What did weleave out? :What did weleave out?