Green Living News & Tips Archive
Climate Justice Month 2016 + Commit 2 Respond
Our Climate Justice Month Begins on March 22, which is World Water Day. The Climate Justice Month series of worship and events concludes with Earth Day on Sunday, April 24.
Action:
On March 20, our RE Youth will engage and kick off World Water Day (March 22) with a beach clean up with Heal the Bay. We will be working at the beach surrounding Annenberg Beach House. Meet at UUCCSM, 9am to join the caravan to the Beach.
In April, our RE Youth will install our first rain barrel for UUCCSM.
Engagement/Education/Community:
Green Living Practice Groups on Wednesdays (Series of 4) , 8:30-9:15am, Dates are : March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13, 2016.
We will join in a spiritual practice of learning and sharing our ways to align our daily life more closely with the needs of Mother Earth and all living things....including our future generations. Focus to include Water, Energy, Air, and Resources. Contact: Beth Brownlie or green@uusm.org for more information and to RSVP.
Second Sunday Supper, April 10, 6pm : Join us in community meal and learn about our community partner CSU, Community Services Unlimited.
Green Living/FIA Film Series: April 24, 2016, 5:30pm
The Wisdom to Survive film screening with discussion to follow.
Worship:
Come join us in worship on Earth Day Sunday, April 24, with our beloved minister, Rebecca Benefiel Bijur preaching. 9am and 11am. Come learn about our new community partner, CSU, Community Services Unlimited which serves the South Central LA population promoting Earth Justice.
Generous Congregation Giving: To be towards CSU and UUMFE in April for Earth Month.
2nd-Sunday Supper and Cinema on October 11
This month, the Green Committee hosts Second Sunday Supper, featuring locally grown and sustainable main dishes and drinks. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. We are a small group, so help with hosting and cooking is appreciated! (Contact: Alison Kendall)
Immediately afterward, join us for Second Sunday Cinema’s presentation of “Groundswell Rising: Protecting our Chidren’s Air and Water.” This film “gives voice to ordinary folks engaged in a David and Goliath struggle against Big Oil and Gas. We meet parents, scientists, doctors, farmers, and individuals across the political spectrum decrying the energy extraction process known as fracking that puts profits over people. This provocative documentary tracks a grassroots movement exposing dangers to clean air, water, and civil rights.”
Hydraulic fracturing aka “fracking” is truly an issue of the moment, for myriad reasons. Evidence strongly suggests that its effects on air quality and groundwater are significant threats to environmental and human health, and that it is a direct cause of earthquakes, especially in several Midwestern states that have seen dramatic recent spikes in seismic activity. Moreover, while cleaner-burning natural gas has often been lauded as a healthier energy source than coal and oil, we’re learning that the fracking process itself often leaks enough methane, itself a potent greenhouse gas, to more than negate the benefits and contribute Climate Change.
Unlike many environmental documentaries of the last several years that are often unavoidably gloomy, “Groundswell Rising” tells the inspiring story of a grassroots movement across the U.S. (including notable actor/activist Mark Ruffalo) that is actually pushing back against the fracking boom and, in some cases, winning. We can learn from them, because the use of fracking for shale oil in California is expanding. The city of Los Angeles placed a temporary moratorium on it last year, but Governor Brown has resisted calls for a statewide ban. And if you’ve turned on cable news anytime recently, you’ve probably seen one of the sunny ads that industry groups have been running as part of a massively-funded PR campaign to convince audiences that fracking is safe. This is a good time for us as a congregation to study the issue and decide how we can act.
Some of us had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mark Lichty, executive producer of this film and himself a member of the UU Fellowship of the Poconos in PA, when he visited UU Santa Monica in September. After the screening, technology permitting, we plan to hold a Q&A Skype session with Mark and the film’s director, Renard Cohen. Don’t miss it!
More information about the film can be found at: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/gsr.html
— James Witker
Free Green Living Workshops: Six-Part Series Beginning March 4. Santa Monica Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. The Green Committee invites everyone to participate in a series of free Green Living workshops. Topics discussed include: water, energy, waste, shopping/food, and much more. Learn how to become part of the solution! Classes are held Wednesdays from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the following dates: March 4, 11, 18 and 25; April 1 and 8. For more information please visit: http: www.eventbrite.com/o/sustainable-works-109375305 Contact: Alison Kendall for more information.
GO GREEN! Contact office@uusm.org to receive the newsletter online only.
“Did you know it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef? You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than by not showering for 6 months!”
— The Green Living Committee
Go Green. Contact office@uusm.org to receive the newsletter online only.
Adopt a beach forEarth Month
The Green Committeeis proud to coordinateUUCCSM adopting a beachwith Heal the Bay for Earth Month. Our responsibilitiesare three beach clean-ups per year. Heal the Bay willprovide the materials; we just need bodies. The first oneis scheduled with RE for Sunday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to12 noon. The dates for our other clean ups are October 2and February 5. All members of the congregation areencouraged to participate in all beach clean-ups.
Our congregation also has decided to give 15% ofthe offering for the month of May to Heal the Bay. Healthe Bay is a fantastic organization that is committed tocleaning up the oceans and providing education tocommunities about ways to help make the oceanshealthier. Please put these dates on your calendar - welook forward to making a difference together!
- Jessica Clay, chair Green Committee
Green Living Committee Focuses on Food Revolution Events
The Green Living Committee (GLC) had a wonderfulshowing of the movie "Ripe for Change" in February.This movie detailed agriculture and politics in Californiaover the last 30 years. There was a lively discussion afterwards addressing many of the complex questions thatthe movie raised.
The Food Revolution GLC-sponsored Second Sunday Supper was quite a success with guest chef JuliaCrookston. She cooked a wonderful meal of yams with acitrus and marmalade glaze plus a chard and bean stew.There was a large turnout for the demonstration and afascinating Q & A after addressing concerns around thecost of organics and feasibility of buying local duringthese difficult financial times. Guest presenter JenniferPiette discussed her food delivery service, Out of the BoxCollective, and the goal of partnering with local farms,delivering local, healthy, and organic food to the greaterSouthern California region. Her delivery service is looking for interested families in the Santa Monica and Westside area. If you are interested, contact Beth Brownlie.
The Second Sunday Supper followed and the vegetarian fare was a hit. A lot of people brought their owndishware, and for those that didn't we were oh so happyto use the new dishes that Kathy Cook ordered for thekitchen. Thank you Kathy. Also a BIG thank you to allthose that helped with clean up: Ron, John, Kathy, Debbie, Linda, and everyone else. Thank you, thank you toall who helped from the Green Living Committee.
- Jessica Clay, chair Green Committee
Upcoming Green Living Committee Events
APRIL: "Sustainable Design in France and Germany." Architect Alison Kendall discusses her experience teaching andresearching sustainable design in Europe last year on Sunday, April 3, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. From living in a village inthe south of France, to performing energy analysis on a stone farmhouse, investigating innovative approaches tobicycle and transit planning, and traveling with French architects to visit a German city known for solar buildings andgrassroots environmentalism, she describes green building here and there and what we can we learn from each otheras we face the common threat of global warming.
MAY: Are you afraid to ride your bike on city streets? Would you like to bike to church, work, or school, but aren't surehow to begin? Join us for a Bike Skills workshop after Coming of Age Sunday, May 22, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Certifiedcycling instructors from Sustainable Streets, a non-profit promoting active transportation, will teach you what youneed to know. Topics include rules of the road and bike safety tips, common causes of crashes and how to avoid them,basic bike maintenance and helmet fit. From church we'll take a short ride on bike lanes to a parking lot to practicesome key bike riding skills, including scanning, signaling, turning and quick stops. Suggested donation of $25 perparticipant supports bike safety classes in public schools. Ages 14 to 80. For information and registration, contact AlisonKendall.
Come and check out our upcoming Events
MARCH: Come join us on March 13 for GLC's (GreenLiving Committee) Food Revolution Second Sunday Supper. We'll have a cooking demo with Farmer's Market Chefand local ingredients at 5 p.m. and a potluck at 6 p.m.
Bring your favorite side dish that is local, organic,home-cooked, or healthy. Please bring and share your recipes. The GLC will be providing drinks and vegetarian maindish. Trashless: Bring your own plate/napkin/fork.
Come and learn about UUA's Ethical Eating Statement of Conscience to be adopted this year. Also learnabout Locavores, the slow food USA movement; learn howvegetarianism helps combat climate change; learn aboutCSA groups (Community Supported Agriculture); and, thegood and the bad of organic alternatives. Join the conversation about how to improve our health and the healthof the earth by changing the way weeat. What you eat is a Political Act!Contact Beth Brownlie for info.
APRIL: Sustainable designin France and Germany. Architect Alison Kendall discussesher experience teaching andresearching sustainable design inEurope last year on Sunday, April 3from 12:30 to 2 pm. Living in a villagein the south of France, performing energyanalysis on a stone farmhouse, investigatinginnovative approaches to bicycle and transitplanning, and traveling with French architectsto visit a German city known for solar buildings andgrassroots environmentalism, she cringed each time thecarbon footprint of the average American was discussed,but she taught French architects and planners the innovative and effective programs California is using to reducegreenhouse gases. From tending a vegetable garden tohanging clothes up to dry, traveling by train and shoppingfor food, daily life had its own lessons.
Come see some ideas from Germany, France, Spain,and Lisbon and explore what it really means to live sustainably. In Europe "development durable" or sustainability is defined as far more than an environmental movement: it means integration of environment, economics,and culture in a sustainable equilibrium.
MAY: Are you afraid to ride your bike on city streets?Would you like to bike to church, work, or school butaren't sure how to begin? Join us for a Bike Skills Workshop after the Coming of Age service on Sunday, May22, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Certified cycling instructors fromSustainable Streets, a non-profit organization promotingactive transportation, will teach you what you needto know. Topics included are rules of the road andbike safety tips, common causes of crashes andhow to avoid them, basic bike maintenance,and helmet fit. From church we'll take ashort ride on bike lanes to a parking lotto practice some key bike riding skills,including scanning, signaling, turning,and quick stops. Suggested donationof $25 per participant supports bikesafety classes in public schools. Ages14 to 80. For information and registration, call Alison Kendall.
UUSM Conservation isRecognized
It was noted in the January 23 edition of the SantaMonica Daily Press that the Unitarian UniversalistCommunity Church of Santa Monica had received theAdaptive Reuse Award from the Santa Monica Conservancy. This award was given for the conversion of anadjacent Craftsman bungalow into classrooms and ameeting space for its congregation, choosing preservation and adaptive reuse over demolition and newconstruction. The article also noted that the churchitself is architecturally valuable, designed by localarchitect John Byers in the 1920s.
- Diana Spears