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Best Practices from Oblate Parishes February 27th, 2011

“Greens of Guadalupe”: Our Lady of Guadalupe  Catholic Church, Laredo, Texas

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Laredo, Texas prides itself as a leader in promoting a healthy community environment. Greens of Guadalupe is a parish group at Our Lady of Guadalupe. The group is supported and led by members from the parish. Greens of Guadalupe at Our Lady of Guadalupe is an example of parish best practice organizing.

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These Come From Trees! January 10th, 2011

Do you want to save trees – and money – at the same time? Check out the blog “These Come From Trees” – which describes itself as “An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper!

The group sells inexpensive, but durable stickers that look like this:

A single “These Come From Trees” sticker can save roughly a tree’s worth of paper, each year!

The project has indeed gone viral, with stickers appearing everywhere from the Denver airport to Seton Hall University. Schools can order them for free, and the project has developed a simple lesson plan which guides students through calculations of paper and money saved.

People often accidentally over-consume paper products, without intending to do so. A friendly reminder at the right time can help us to pause and consider how much of that item – whether a paper towel, napkin, or photocopy – we really need. The stickers wind up reducing consumption by as much as 30%, and at no cost to the user!

Order your “These Come from Trees” stickers today!

Eco-Tips for the Holidays December 10th, 2010

We have a new Eco-Tips page on this site. Updated weekly, it has suggestions on how to make our everyday lives more environmentally sustainable – and fun! Please visit the Eco-Tips page in English and in Spanish.

Our thanks for these weekly posts go out to a committed parishioner in the Oblate parish of Mary Immaculate in Pacoima, California! These weekly tips are printed in the Sunday bulletin in that parish. Feel free to use them for your church.

Consider giving experiences rather than things:

As we enter the holiday season, consumers flock to malls, department stores and outlets in droves to search for that perfect gift, that one card that says it all, that tree to end all trees. But as we feast, give gifts, decorate and travel, we also consume lots of resources and generate lots of waste. A recent report noted that the amount of household garbage in the United States generally increases by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, from 4 million tons to 5 million tons.

Think about what you can do to stop the impact of the holidays on earth. The people we love will most enjoy spending time with us; think about how you could do this instead of buying more things.

When decorating this Christmas think green:

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Law to Protect Philippine Environment from Destructive Mining Operations July 6th, 2010

On June 29, 2010, Governor Avance-Fuentes of South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines signed into law Resolution No. 84 “Enacting the Environment Code of the Province of South Cotabato”. This code bans open pit mining. It talks about the need for genuine consultation with affected indigenous people as well as for protection of the environment, particularly of local water supplies. Multiple concerns about the damaging effects of open pit mining underlay the Governor’s decision to sign the law. This was a courageous decision as she was under serious political pressure from a powerful politician with mining interests not to do so.

The Governor, in her signing statement, said: “When the rivers dry up, the aquifers no longer supply clean water, and pollution contaminate our waters, can we, in conscience, face the future generation? Is it not that we duty bound to actively ensure the sustainability of our natural resources for the next generation’s survival?”

Read Governor Avance-Fuentes’ Signing Statement…

Companies Respond to Consumer Demands on Environment July 1st, 2010

Activist campaigns targeting corporations have been surprisingly successful in changing corporate behavior and “greening” supply chains, particularly with regard to timber and beef products. For continued success though, consumers need to signal a clear preference for sustainably produced goods.

A Yale Environment 360 article details one campaign’s success:

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World Bank Approves $3 Billion Loan for Controversial Coal Plant in South Africa April 12th, 2010

On April 8th 2010, the World Bank approved a controversial $ 3 billion loan for a coal-fired power station to ESKOM, the South Africa-based, state owned electricity utility, despite serious concerns from environmental organizations and the faith community. United States, Britain and Norway, Italy and the Netherlands abstained from voting for the coal loan due to unresolved environmental concerns and economic impacts on local communities.

More than 200 organizations across the world have endorsed a critique of the loan saying it will be a burden to poor people who will likely see their household bills increase, while international extractive corporations will continue to receive subsidized energy due to special pricing agreements with Eskom

Eskom is the world’s fourth-largest power company and Africa’s largest carbon emitter, and accounts for 40% of South Africa’s total emissions. The loan raised serious environmental concerns such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and raised questions about the World Bank’s commitment to renewable energy sources.

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