A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 34

Day 34 - Tell the Mailing Preference Service that you want to stop junk mail. Call 0845 7034599 or visit mpsonline.org.uk. Sign up to Tearfund's e-newsletter Twelve at tearfund.org/twelve.

Because I am moving today to Vernon from Bayonne, I don't have too much to say on this. Obviously today's activity is UK-centric, but you can go here for general tips on stopping junk mail that are US-focused. Just go do it!

O Lord, in your goodness you bestow abundant graces on your elect: Look with favor, we entreat you, upon those who in these Lenten days are being prepared for Holy Baptism, and grant them the help of your protection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 33

Day 33 - Have an embrace-the-silence day. Turn off everything. No TV, no radio, no ringtones, no cars. It'll be good for the soul.

On this Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent, it seems appropriate to spend the day in blessed technological silence. I myself am actually forced into this because I have packers coming today and I am moving on Saturday with lots of help from parishioners. There was an interesting article about taking a technology sabbatical recently in the NYT, and I commend it to your attention. Let this day be a day of communion with people, or with yourself, and try, if possible, to put away for a bit the cacophony of the virtual age. Do all of us really need to be that connected?

O Lord, you relieve our necessity out of the abundance of your great riches: Grant that we may accept with joy the salvation you bestow, and manifest it to all the world by the quality of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 32

Day 32 (Thursday of the Fifth
Week in Lent) - Any old iron? If they're on their last legs replace old electrical appliances with energy-efficient models. They could save a third of the energy.

Well, in both my apartment and in the vicarage, the appliances are fairly new. In addition, they aren't mine! So this is excellent advice, although it might be a bit expensive in the short term. Of course, that's the point, right? We have to bite the bullet - perhaps a little, perhaps a lot - now to do something for the future.

We've been reading from Exodus, Jeremiah, 1/2 Corinthians, and Mark recently. I was thinking that the recent passages in Jeremiah, which tend toward wonderfully sharp denouncements of the nations, might be a nice tie-in. And yet, with Jeremiah, like with nearly all the OT prophets, the emphasis is not so much on what the people will do now for the future, but rather on what they did in the past that has repercussions now for the Covenant. In a way, obedience to the Covenant is always done for the future; the quid pro quo is that if the people obey the Torah, then God will take care of them. Of course, the angst of the prophetic voice during the Exile and after is where God is and how God might be taking care of them regardless of the people's observance of the Covenant. As we lead up to Holy Week, it's been interesting to reflect on Jeremiah in particular.

O God, you have called us to be your children, and have promised that those who suffer with Christ will be heirs with him of your glory: Arm us with such trust in him that we may ask no rest from his demands and have no fear in his service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

PS - Please help me with Blogger formating! I can't get the line spacing to turn out right!!!!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 31

Day 31 - Fit aluminum foil behind your radiator – allowing you to turn the radiator down and save £10 a year per radiator. [That's nearly $20 per year US.]

My apartment in Bayonne uses baseboard water radiators. Not much luck there. The vicarage, however, that I'm moving into on Saturday has radiators, so this is a very timely idea. Has anyone ever done it? Do you cover a board with foil, or what? The picture I found isn't very clear....

Almighty God our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 29 and 30

Day 29 - Run your washing machine at 30 degrees. This uses 40% less electricity than running at 40 degrees.

Day 30 - Find out a new fact about the impact of climate change today. Amaze your friends.

Well, the past two days have been pretty full, and so I am just now catching up on today's and yesterday's Carbon Fast activities. I actually had to do the calculation to convert 40 C and 30 C - it's 104 F and 86 F respectively. I guess it's the difference between hot and warm water - since I haven't had my own washing machine in about 4 years, I'll have to re-teach myself about these things. I was told that whites should be washed in hot, but I really don't know if there's anything to that. Does anyone know?

A fact about global warming I did not know:

• Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.

So....go wash in warm water, not hot!

Be gracious to your people, we entreat you, O Lord, that they, repenting day by day of the things that displease you, may be more and more filled with love of you and of your commandments; and, being supported by your grace in this life, may come to the full enjoyment of eternal life in your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 28

Day 28: Do a home energy audit (e.g, here's one anyone can take). You could save a lot of money on energy bills.

The UK version of the Carbon Fast suggests one can save up to 250 UK (more than $500 US) on energy costs per year. That's not chump change in this economy. It's almost as much as the tax rebate we're supposed to get later this year. One of things we'll have to address this year at St. Thomas's is how we can be more efficient with our utilities as well. We run the physical plant for ministry every day, and so utilities become a major factor in our budget. We may be able to do an energy audit there and find ways to to reduce our expenditures without reducing our capacity for ministry.

Can you check with your church or other community and see what they can do? And can you do an energy audit for your own home or apartment? What would the net cost be for you?

Mercifully hear our prayers, O Lord, and spare all those who confess their sins to you; that those whose consciences are accused by sin may by your merciful pardon be absolved; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 27

Day 27 - Pressure a car owner to check their tire pressures. Low tire pressure means high fuel consumption.

Hmmm. Well, I have a car. You need to have one in New Jersey, unless you live very near the PATH trains and work and play in New York City. So I am aware of ongoing maintenance of tires and engine and all that - remember the $1600 I paid last month? And once I move out to Vernon (March 15 is the target date) I will definitely need to keep up with all of that.

My car doesn't get that great mileage - I think it's about 25 MPG on average. Oddly, once I move to Vernon it will get better mileage, since there's a lot more highway mileage out there. Here in Bayonne, there's a lot of stop-n-go driving, and this little 4-cylinder car just doesn't cut it very well - very inefficient. But out in Sussex County it should be better.

Even so - I'm aware that there are hydrogen cars that can get incredible mileage. It seems we should press for those, no? That's important, no doubt, for the future. But the Carbon Fast is really about what we can do in these 40 days. So, with that in mind: Do you own a car? If som go check the pressure on all tires. Is it correct? If not, go fix it.

O God, you have given us the Good News of your abounding love in your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 26

Day 26 - "Love does no harm to its neighbor" Romans 13:10. But while our lifestyles consume more and more energy, our poorer neighbors are suffering. Reflect on ways to love our neighbors in our increasingly connected world.

I confess to being a little uncomfortable with the quote used above. Not for what it says of course - it's completely consonant with the whole idea of agape love articulated throughout the New Testament. But when you read all of Romans 13, you find that it's slightly out of context. Not dramatically so, but the overall point of the first part of the chapter is submission to the government - a sort of go along to get along idea. This should be no surprise, of course; it's possible Paul, who wrote the Letter to the Romans, was himself in prison at the time, and his correspondence might well have been read. And at the same time there was persecution going on, sporadically, and Paul was being a bit pragmatically-minded in this passage. But the segue in verse 8 from paying taxes to talking about love is "Owe no one anything." Pretty smart, seems to me. Wise advice, financially, too - debt usually is not a good place to be in, excpet when taking on debt to finance an investment.

But the overal point of today's activity is right, it seems to me. Even 20 years ago, the world was far less interconnected. There was no Internet, of course, but also trade and financial connections were far weaker. Now we know ver well indeed that our actions at home do affect others, and vice-versa as well.

I'm reminded of the Good Samaritan story from Luke, and its urgent question: Who is your neighbor today? And knowing the Commandment, what are you going to do about it?

Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind, and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what you intend us to be and accomplish what you want us to do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 24 and 25

Day 24 - Counsel your local [city] council. Thank them for their recycling facilities but ask them if they could provide any more.

Day 25 - Who works hardest in the house? Mom? Dad? No, the fridge. It's churning away 24/7. Treat it to a good de-icing to make sure it's running efficiently.

Yesterday I was wrapped up with new parish business and did not take time to observe my own blogging discipline. It's a good warning sign, actually. One's best intentions for a deeper spirituality can get overtaken by the absolutely legitimate affairs of the world. Even Jesus is reported to tried to go away to pray, but the crowds found him and he couldn't say no to them. Of course, none of us are Jesus, and so we have to be far more intentional - and sometimes insistent - in taking care of our own selves so that we can take care of others.

So today can you write a letter or email to your local town council, recycling authority, or some other government entity and urge them to keep recycling, reuse, and other eco-improving initiatives on the front burner? The browning of our world is not any one person's - or any one corporation's or any one government's - fault. All of us are going to have to do our share to be the good stewards of creation that we are entrusted by God to be. So that means we can't - as I have been to a large degree - be oblivious to the issues at hand. Even one letter, with a copy to the local paper, can begin to get others to think and act as well.

And while you're waiting for a reply, go check your fridge and see if it needs to be de-iced. Careful in the freezer, though - you can damage some of the older models where's ice buildup if you chip at it. Let it thaw itself and you can usuaully lift out the big ice pieces without a problem.

O Lord our God, you sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with bread from heaven: Feed now your pilgrim flock with the food that endures to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 23

Day 23 - Turn the taps off. In one day a hot, dripping tap could fill a bath.

Wow. I can't believe that one dripping tap can do that. But it's worth checking anyway. I've always lived in water-rich areas - the Midwest has the Great Lakes, and of course Bayonne is surrounded on three sides by water. Manhattan is an island. So water waste has never really concerned me too much. Now of course we're reading that the state of Georgia wants to move its northern border with Tennessee so that it has a little access to the Tennessee River, because the aquifers that serve Altanta are drying up. Seems Georgians would rather take water from someone else than do the hard work of conservation.

I confess though - more than anything, I don't get bottled water. I mean, New York City has the best tap water in the world - it's clean and tastes good. I've always liked tap water, even when I lived in Indianapolis and the water from my well always vaguely like sulphur. But the billions of empty water bottles are becoming a real pollution problem, apparently. Not sure what to do about that. Recycle them, sure, but I have to give credit to Coke and Pepsi, the bottlers of Aqua Fina and Dasani - they've gotten us to pay more than a dollar a bottle for what was in some cases tap water anyway!

Check your water taps. Make sure they don't drip.

O Lord our God, in your holy Sacraments you have given us a foretaste of the good things of your kingdom: Direct us, we pray, in the way that leads to eternal life, that we may come to appear before you in that place of light where you dwell for ever with your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

More on Local Fruits and Veggies

It turns out that it isn't easy at all to grow local fruits and vegetables for consumption in local markets:

Consumers who would like to be able to buy local fruits and vegetables not just at farmers’ markets, but also in the produce aisle of their supermarket, will be dismayed to learn that the federal government works deliberately and forcefully to prevent the local food movement from expanding. And the barriers that the United States Department of Agriculture has put in place will be extended when the farm bill that House and Senate negotiators are working on now goes into effect.

As a small organic vegetable producer in southern Minnesota, I know this because my efforts to expand production to meet regional demand have been severely hampered by the Agriculture Department’s commodity farm program. As I’ve looked into the politics behind those restrictions, I’ve come to understand that this is precisely the outcome that the program’s backers in California and Florida have in mind: they want to snuff out the local competition before it even gets started.

Read it all in today's NYT. So now, if we want to be serious about locally-grown items, we have to go to Washington first....

RFSJ

PS - click on the excellent pic that accompanied the article - the detail is worth it!

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 22

Day 22 - Find one way to save paper today: re-use an old envelope or print double-sided.

I don't do a whole lot of printing, except for maps from Mapquest and the texts of my sermons. But as I think of it, there's not a lot that can't be printed on the backs of something else. I have tried to reuse printing paper with varying degrees of success throughout the years. When I was with Gartner Group, I ended up using a lot of paper, because the custom analysis software we used for our work couldn't actually display the results, but could only print them out. Our "14-age report" - we didn't have another name for it, it was always just the the "14-page report" or occasionally "the 14-pager" - was actually 17 pages. I found my self frequently printing the report sometimes two or three times a day. That used a lot of paper. I did try to reuse as much as I could, but the one problem was making sure I was looking at the correct side of the page!

How do you use paper? What are your habits regarding paper, and might you be able to improve them? Let us know in Comments.

O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 21

Day 21 - Only run your washing machine when you have a full load.

On this 21st weekday of Lent we come to the second half of our 40 days in the wilderness. We've learned and are continuing to learn we can take steps, both practical and spiritual, to reduce our own individual carbon footprints and so act as better stewards of the Earth that God has entrusted to our care. Like most of not all good Lenten disciplines, we are asked to look inward in order to strengthen our outward faith. The three disciplines that we are called to in the Lenten Bidding at Ash Wednesday are fasting, prayer, and alms-giving. The first two are inward, and the third is explicitly outward. But notice that all of these are about our own selves. They aren't directed at other people; and if you read the Ash Wednesday Litany of Penance you see that we are asked to collectively and individually examine what we have done or not done to be Christ's body in the world. Not anyone else, but ourselves.

I'm reminded of all this because of an article in The Atlantic that has just been published. It's called "God's Country" and it's a report on how Christians and Muslims are interacting with each other in Nigeria. It has both poignant moments of reconciliation, as well as very disturbing accounts of violence. Fr. Jake has first reported on it and what was reported that Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Anglican Primate of Nigeria, said and perhaps did in response to a massacre first perpetrated by Muslims in a certain town in Nigeria called Yelwa. Fr. Jake gets a lot of traffic and his commenters are very vocal. I don't normally post about matters in the worldwide Anglican Communion because Jake and others do it so well already. But as I read the comments on this piece earlier this morning, I felt called to comment. Here's what I said:

On this Lenten Friday, I find myself wondering. ++Akinola will surely have to face his God at some point. I just read the article and it *is* disturbing., to say the least. But my comment is at least #62. Most of the prior ones seem to be condemning ++Akinola and/or ++Rowan for not investigating or something. But my question is, how am I , how are *we*, implicated in this? What is *my* sin, what is *our* sin, that needs to be confessed? ++Akinola will meet his Maker, and I'm confident that God's justice will eventually prevail. I can't do anything about that one way or another. But I can examine my own heart. What I see there is some smug complacency on my part. I don't know about anybody else, but reading about the violence *on both sides* is eye-opening and heart-rending for me. I have no answers, only questions and only prayer, at this moment.

I encourage you to read all the comments and the original article itself. Draw your own conclusions. But I cannot do anything really about the sins of another. That, as I said, is up to God. I can only examine my own heart and mind and see where I have fallen short, where I am separated from God and from others and from the created order and from my own inward self. It seems to me that's what Lent is and has to be about. When there is injustice in the world, surely we must call attention to it and surely we must struggle against it. When murder is done in the name of Christ, sure that's wrong. At the same time, it's so easy on my part to say, "How horrible - what a terrible thing" and neglect the inward inquiry into where I am sinning as well. that's what I can do something about. That's what observing a holy Lent is all about. Oddly enough, in Lent it is all about me! And it is for each of us. That's what I, what all of us, have to be about as we prepare for the great celebration to come.

Grant us, O Lord our Strength, a true love of your holy Name; so that, trusting in your grace, we may fear no earthly evil, nor fix our hearts on earthly goods, but may rejoice in your full salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 20

Day 20 - Compost. Put the nutrients from food waste back into the soil – not into a methane-emitting landfill.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City noted in an op-ed piece today that 65% of Americans live in cities. Now I've lived in three Midwestern cities (Toledo, Columbus, and Indianapolis) and two Northeast ones, New York and Bayonne. The population of New York City exceeds the combined populations of all the other cities I've lived in. And I would venture to guess that more than half of all NYC residents have no access to enough open space outside to start even a small compost pile. I could have done it in Toledo, in Indianapolis, and in Bayonne, but not in Columbus, as I lived in apartments or condos my whole time there, without gardens or yards. And of course not in New York either. (I will be able to do it in Vernon.) So I recognize this as a good thing to do, but there needs to be some serious work on how to do it in highly urban environments. The Wikipedia article on composting is Eurocentric and talks about how the EU itself has mandated industrial composting, which helps a lot. But even in the UK, where the Carbon Fast originates, I wonder how many residents can actually do this.

It sounds like I am being less than supportive here. Maybe I am, at least on today's activity. Others may have a different take. But it seems to me that activities devoted to reducing one's carbon footprint should be actually doable by most folks. Maybe there's just far more available open space in the UK than in some of the US urban areas.

I wonder if there are micro-composting ideas available? [Pause while goggling.....] OK, there's this:

If, like the Chinese, you are challenged for space, don't despair. You can compost on a spot as small as a windowsill, and use the finished product on your houseplants. On the following pages you can learn about this and other ways to "micro-compost."

The book referred to is here and is published by the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It's apt that the BBG has a book that talks about micro-composting in what is, if it were separate, the 4th largest city in the US.

Keep watch over your Church, O Lord, with your unfailing love; and, since it is grounded in human weakness and cannot maintain itself without your aid, protect it from all danger, and keep it in the way of salvation; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

PS - I am getting very frustrated with Blogger's inability to keep line formatting consistent. Can anyone help? Please?

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 19

Day 19 - Grace Maglasey and her husband Andrew struggle to grow enough food because their village in Malawi is caught in a cycle of floods and droughts. Join in with Grace's prayer today: "We pray that those of us who farm should harvest a lot of food so that this year we will not have hunger. In the name of Jesus, Amen."

There's not much more that can be said than that all farmers, especially those growing their own food to eat, can grow enough this season. I'm reminded that hunger is not just a problem in Africa. It's a problem right here in the US as well. When I was a seminarian I worked at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Manhattan. They run the Episcopal Church's largest soup kitchen, the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. Five days a week, from 10:30 AM until 12:30 PM, any and all who come are served a hot 2000-calorie meal, as much as they can eat. Promptly at at the beginning of service every morning, you can hear from the walkie-talkies that the staff carry:

Ready on the gate?
The reply comes back:
Ready on the gate!
Ready on the door?...Ready on the door!
(pause)
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s show time. Dinner is served. Thanks be to God!

They haven't missed a scheduled day since 1973, and according to their annual report served an average of nearly 1100 meals a day in 2006.

What is truly awe-inspiring to me is that they do this right in the nave of the church! The old church building burned in the early 80's, and when they rebuilt it they put in chairs as opposed to pews. So after church on Sunday, they stack the chairs up and pull out the round tables for the soup kitchen guests. (The picture shows a view from the gallery, looking toward the Altar.) Those who come to eat can do so in the company of some very nice stained glass windows of the Acts of the Apostles looking down at them. I think it's absolutely stunning that on Sundays the Community gathers to Eat, and then feeds others in that very same space on the other days of the week. It's amazing, and I'm very glad I was able to experience both aspects of the ministry at 9th Avenue and 28th St in Manhattan. My eyes and my heart were opened by what I saw and experienced. To mix a metaphor, hunger is alive and well right in the midst of the richest city in the world.

Give ear to our prayers, O Lord, and direct the way of your servants in safety under your protection, that, amid all the changes of our earthly pilgrimage, we may be guarded by your mighty aid; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 18

Day 18: Cut the air miles. Don't consume any food that you know has been imported by plane (apart from Fairtrade products).

This is a hard one, and could also be another UK thing. Given its size, there is a lot of food in the US that is presumably shipped by air, although I know that trucks are used a great deal too. As far as I know, there is no way to tell this in the US. I know in some stores there has been an effort to get more locally grown produce, etc., and in New Jersey, that means tomatoes, believe it or not.

If you are in the UK, of course, you can go to the Fairtrade site above for more information. Fairtrade is more about justice and sustainability, than necessarily about food traveling long distance. According to their FAQ:

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

They have more than 3,000 products under the Fairtrade label, and in 2006, that did 290 million pounds UK in business, or more than half a billion US dollars. I don't recall seeing much in the US on this sort of thing, but I freely admit that, before I began the Carbon Fast, I have been woefully ignorant of all this.

So how to eat as locally as possible? The Daily Mitzvah blogged yesterday about trying to eat locally (they're on a slightly different Carbon Fast schedule than is The Proper of the Day) and it isn't easy. It means looking at labels and checking websites and stuff. As I contemplate my own breakfast shortly, I have to admit that the cereal and milk I'm going to eat isn't very local. the milk is....[going to go check]...processed in Maryland and the cereal God-knows-where.


Is there automatically a net benefit by buying locally? It all goes back to the cost-vs-risk equation. The fact that I can get fresh dill in February to make my grandmother's dill dip for an Oscar get-together is a wonderful thing. Minor, but pleasing. That dill probably came from California. Dill is not available until about June here in the Northeast if grown locally. So my buying that bunch of dill helped a farmer or conglomerate somewhere, and the shipping and distribution firms that got it to me, and of course the grocery store I bought it from. Is it a question of buying now and paying later? The economist in me wonders what the net benefit is, or even if it can be quantified.

And more than that. I can contemplate a scenario where, even if I just consider perhaps a hundred miles or so around the New York metro area, that our winter diet would be far more limited:

• Dairy, yes. Lots of dairy farms in the upper Hudson valley. Cheeses I assume so also, but limited. I know of New York cheddar, and so I guess there could be others as well.
• Meats: Hmmm. I really don't know. Chicken is a possibility; but I'm not aware of much else. Maybe lots more frozen stuff, but of course that takes energy too. To my knowledge, there are no local beef herds. Would we actually want to reintroduce them?
  
• Fresh bread: I assume so, because wheat, etc., can be stored until it's needed. Are there any commercial bakeries in the area? I don't know.
• Pasta: Sure. it can be dried. And canned sauces too, which is good.
• Deli stuff: sure, just watch the shelf life of the meats.
• Fruits and veggies: very little. This is the big downside of this area. Lots can grow here, but the growing season is shorter. Most of our fruits and vegetables come from the salad bowl states or even overseas, especially in winter. Lots of root vegetables, I guess - potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets would be back on the menus of the area.

Bottom line: a mixed bag. It would be interesting to do a longer experiment to see if someone can actually eat locally for say, a month, or longer.

So today's Carbon Fast activity definitely has me thinking. And, as an Anglican, I do believe that's a good thing! Of course, one should never stop thinking, but one should also start doing as well.

Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom you have given a fervent desire to pray, may, by your mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 17

Day 17 (The Third Monday of Lent, also St. Matthias this year): Only fill your kettle with as much water as you need.

This is another one more suited to the UK; I'm not sure how many Americans regularly use a tea kettle. But it's good advice anyway; watch what you are using as you prepare your food and drink. can you use less water, less gas, less whatever?

I don't drink much tea at all, so I use a tea kettle perhaps once or twice a month. I can't think of any other ideas at the moment. Anyone?

Look upon the heart-felt desires of your humble servants, Almighty God, and stretch forth the right hand of your majesty to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 16

Day 16: Switch off lights as you leave the room.

When I was growing up, my mom always reminded me to do that, and I had gotten in the habit. I think I lost that habit when I became single and was rattling around in a big house, just me and the dog. I suppose it felt safer, warmer, less empty, to have some lights on. I didn't get it much thought then, as I was thinking about other things.

I'm going to be moving to a very nice 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 2-story Victorian house that St. Thomas' is providing as the vicarage. The congregation has done an amazing amount of work on it, including all new windows (courtesy of the Diocese of Newark), a complete new kitchen, new very nice carpeting upstairs, and repaired hardwood floors downstairs, which I just love. Now Vernon and the parish complex is rural or semi-rural, and so I may well feel very much alone again. I'll have to conscientiously think about the lights here too. The vicarage is almost as big as my old home in Indianapolis, and I won't be enfolded in the embrace of a city, which is what I'm used to.

Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 15

Day 15: Snub plastic bags. Get into the habit of taking your rucksack (or backpack, etc.) to the supermarket or go retro with a cart. Ask your supermarket to remove unnecessary packaging.

Turns out there are all sorts of biodegradable things you can get to help with this. Emily of The Lost Albatross posted some links over at Daily Mitzvah about biodegradable poop bags and shopping/kitchen bags. She also pointed out that there are companies working on "bioplastics" that are not based on fossil fuels. Check them all out.

I myself am not very good with much of this. More reflections later, but for me, the mere acting of doing a daily entry about each of the days of the Carbon Fast have opened my eyes in a lot of different ways. Seems to me the hysteria from the Right about A) the science is wrong or at least exaggerated; or B) it would cost too much to do anyway, is just overblown. I think it's more selfishness: people will use any excuse simply to not change their lifestyle. I guess it's kind of like sitting in poop. Even if you know that after a while it will stink and could even kill you because of infection and all that, they won't change because for the moment it's warm and even comfortable. There. That's my own contribution to exageration and hyperbole on this topic. And the worst of it is, I'm one of those people! I am doing a tererible job of reducing my carbon footprint. And I accept the science (what's not to accept?) and am persuaded by the dangers.

And then I am reminded about what's perhaps equally or even more important as we continue to debate this as a global society:

Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 14

Today is is Thursday in the Second Week of Lent, and that makes it Day 14 in the Carbon Fast for Lent. Today's activity:

Day 14: Take a shower instead of a bath: you'll heat less water.

Well, I always take a shower anyway, and the head in my shower is one of those low-water-density ones that still spray a nice spray. But since this is the UK version, I guess baths are something the English like to do. I suspect most Americans take showers, I don't know. I haven't regularly taken a bath in a very long time.

I'm reminded of those huge ceiling mounted shower heads in some hotels - it's like standing in very heavy warm rain. It's quite nice, but it sure uses a lot fo water. And then I'm reminded of the fountains on the Las Vegas Strip - they are amazing but I cannot help but wincing that they are running fountains in the middle of the desert, when Lake Meade is going dry!

O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ