"Men have become the tools of their tools."
—Henry David Thoreau
| 615 W. 43rd St. - Indianapolis, IN 46208 317.283.4760 - info@uui.org |
Imagine for a moment a church community that has a fundamental, bottom-line commitment to living in harmony with the earth. With the authorization by the church membership to develop the Green Sanctuary project, UUI now has a golden opportunity to achieve this lofty, yet realistic, goal.
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Green Sanctuary Task Force
UUI's Earth Points Program: Internet URLs
There are many ways you can participate in UUI's new Earth Points Program, to help us reach our ultimate all-church goal while you live a more "green" life at home and at work. Two suggestions: (1) Start by referring to the Earth Points Check List, which shows many ways to earn "green" points during the program. Then (2) for ideas and help with the "green" projects that you wish to undertake, refer to some of the many internet sites on the subject. To get you started in your search, the Green Sanctuary Task Force offers the following starter list of URLs.
For example: Are you interested in recycling? Energy efficiency? Transportation? Educating yourself and others? Taking care of the outdoors? Reducing water use?
Check out these great sources of information that are just a finger click away:
UUI Green Sanctuary Action Steps Being Developed
The comprehensive Green Sanctuary Program, which the UUI congregation has authorized a special Task Force to develop and implement, requires us to document completion of 12 activities in four focus areas. Following is our present list of planned activities for each of these four areas, along with early ideas for steps that may be included.
The Task Force will welcome your comments and/or suggestions about these activities. In addition, you can participate further by volunteering to be a lead coordinator or participant to help implement one or more of these action areas. The names of the Task Force members are listed elsewhere on this web site. Contact any one or all of them in person, by phone or via e-mail at uui-green@uui.org with your ideas and to volunteer your services to the greening of UUI, your home and your community.
Recycling: Where YOU Can Do It
Do you know where—and what—you can recycle in the Indianapolis area? Just as important: do you know WHY we should all recycle?
Fact: in 2004 Indy's citizens recycled more than 17,000,000 pounds of recyclable items. The result: for every ton of steel cans recycled, we don't need to use 2,500 pounds of iron ore; 1,400 pounds of coal; and, 120 pounds of limestone. It also means not having to spend the energy equal to powering 18,000,000 homes for 12 months!
And that's just one small example. So, join this growing trend and recycle whatever you can.
Here's where to do it:
Making UUI a Green Sanctuary
The Beginnings
As a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, UUI covenants to affirm and promote the seven basic principles and purposes of the UUA. The Green Sanctuary project was born from the seventh of these principles:
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
We strive to do this by focusing on the theological, spiritual and ethical aspects of human activities that affect the health and sustainability of the living earth.