Sermon: The Wisdom Traditions

A sermon delivered by Kevin Reynolds, December 7, 2008 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of New Bern

• Good Morning. I know you are all aware of the 7th Principle: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” This principle has a corresponding source which celebrates the sacred circle of life and instructs us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. My subject this morning includes some advice, some suggestions on what you can personally do to convert this lofty principle into everyday behavior relative to the environment.

• First : a disclaimer or two.(1) What are my qualifications to lecture you about this subject. None. Niente. Naught. Zilch. Zero. Bonnie Barto asked if I would do a presentation and I foolishly said yes. Obviously if what you hear this morning does not please you then the fault lies with (?) Bonnie. Always assign a scapegoat. I did some research. Someone famous said if you steal material from one person it is plagiarism. if you steal material from many people it is research.

• Incidentally, the scope of this subject is such that I would like to break it into two or more presentations. However if after this presentation the congregation decides by popular acclaim it has had enough we will adjust.

• Another disclaimer. Do I personally do everything I am going to suggest you do for the environment? Of course not. This discussion will have it’s fair share of “do as I say, not as I do”. Seriously, I realize many of you are doing many good things .This is probably a little preaching to the choir because UUers do more for the environment than most. All I hope is that you get some more ideas from my talks which you can actually translate into action. Incidentally, the amount of information available on the subject of the environment is overwhelming. Typing “the environment” into a google search brought 18 million 500 thousand hits. Took me a while to visit all those sites. From the ridiculous to the sublime. How to make a chair out of a grocery store shopping cart, but more notably: how to make a solar panel out of beer bottles. Do I have any volunteers to help me with that project starting of course with the challenging task of emptying the beer bottles?

• I will be citing references, including mostly web sites, some books and articles. I don’t expect you to remember them so those of you who would like to have a copy of this presentation, including all the references I cite, please sign the sheet on the table in the fellowship area and I will email you a copy. I thought about hard copies but the hypocrisy was a little much.

• Environmentalists have a tendency to turn people off by being too serious, moralistic, and just plain dull. So I try to lighten up a little. Not always easy considering the catastrophic consequences suggested by some of the data. Also sometimes environmentalists make the problems sound insurmountable but there are many individually small steps we can take that can make a difference. If you don’t try then you are part of the problem. It is easy to be part of the solution. On the positive side there is a great deal more agreement today than just 10 years ago that we must act. The environmental damage we have done in this country can be blamed on our own wastefulness, willfull ignorance, conspicuous consumption, addiction to creature comforts, and political indifference; all of which are cleverly promoted by corporations that profit mightily from these character defects. American’s character used to be described as thrifty, hard working, practical, and prudent. Those characteristics sprung from necessity. Some of our parents and grandparents recycled, canned their own food, raised their own meat, concocted their own cleaning supplies not for environmental reasons but because they had to. These skills enabled millions of Americans make it through tough times. Many of these skills are being revisited in today’s economy. However, the post-WW2 economic boom and technology made it possible for many americans (not all), to abandon the old ways and live more like the robber barons of old, tempting many who could afford it ( any many who could not afford it) to go for oversize gas-guzzling cars, massive freeways and parking lots, overheated, oversized, over cooled, over lit, over gadgeted houses with massive garages, enormous freezers and refigerators crammed with throwaway cans, bottles, and over processed, over packaged food bought at mega malls and produced by industrialized agriculture with synthetic fertilizers and chemical poisons which many also dump on pointless oversized lawns which frequently runs off into our waterways. These excesses are summed up by A mind numbing well known statistic. Americans compose 5% of the worlds population but use over 25% of the worlds oil. If these excesses resulted in our quality of life being 5 times better than everyone elses at least we could rationalize it. I think, however, our materialistic lifestyles have frequently made our lives less satisfying.

• We can change by many people doing many little things. I’m reminded of a true story. A family was vacationing on the outer banks and the 6 year old daughter had seen a television show describing the plight of the polar bears. The warming of the oceans and corresponding reduction in ice has created an endangered status for the bears. The little girl watched the show intently. When it was over she asked her mother for a cup of ice. She took the cup and ran from their oceanside cottage to the waters edge where she threw the ice into the ocean. When her father asked her why she said “for the bears of course. I want to help them”. There are 6.7 billion people on the earth today. At the current rate of growth, about 9 billion by 2030. if we each do our part that is a lot of ice. Small steps can make a major difference.

• Statistics can be mind numbing and terribly deceiving but can also help with putting the big picture in perspective.

• As I noted, Americans represent 5% of the world’s population and consume 25% of the oil.

• American’s receive 17 billion catalogs per year; about 3 million tons of paper.

• 65 years ago air conditioning was not available for houses. Today we use 4.8 billion gallons of oil annually for a/c.

• The average american throws his & hers weight away in just packaging every month

• Of the over 1 billion pounds in pesticides used annually in the US , less than 1% actually reaches a pest.

• It takes 20 trees to keep one baby in disposable diapers for 2 years. a clarification that baby is not in the same disposable diaper for two years. Many of them.

• Switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs could save 4 billion gallons of fuel annually.

• If all our vehicles achieved a 55 mpg average (and this is very feasible) we would save 70 billion gallons of fuel annually. Much more than offshore drilling would bring.

• If each U.S. household installed one low-flow sink faucet or aerator, it would save more than 60 billion gallons of water annually.

A recent Harris poll, sponsored by the Nature Conservancy indicated 48% of Americans recycled, 26% said they buy food and produce from local sources, and only 2% said they had switched from incandescent to compact flourescent lighting. Obviously, there is significant room for improvement.

This morning I’ll introduce the subject and talk about recycling and leave some time for discussion and suggestions.

You step up to the register, the cashier asks if you've found everything ok and then the inevitable question is asked: "Will it be paper or plastic?"

How many think plastic is the best ecological choice? How many would vote for paper? Let me throw some facts at you and we’ll revisit your vote. my sources are primarily the Sierra Club web site i.e.Sierraclub.org

Paper comes from trees - and lots of them. The logging industry is huge and the process to get that paper bag to the grocery store is long and environmentally taxing. First, the trees are found, marked and felled. Machinery is then used to remove the logs from the forest floor- whether it by logging trucks or, in more remote areas, helicopters.

Machinery requires fossil fuel and habitat destroying roads) thereby creating stress on the forests' inhabitants Trees must dry at least three years before they can be used. Machinery is used to strip the bark, which is then chipped into one-inch squares and cooked under tremendous heat and pressure. This wood stew is then "digested" with a limestone and sulphurous acid soup for eight hours. The steam and moisture is vented to the outside atmosphere, and the original wood becomes pulp. It takes approximately three tons of wood chips to make one ton of pulp.

The pulp is then washed and bleached, requiring thousands of gallons of clean water. Coloring is added to more water, and is then combined in a ratio of 1 part pulp to 400 parts water to make paper. The pulp/water mixture is dumped into a web of bronze wires, the water showers through, leaving the pulp, which, in turn, is rolled into paper.

Whew! And that's just to make the paper. We must include all of the chemicals, electricity, and fossil fuels used in the shipment of this raw material and in the production and shipment of a finished paper bag.

Paper, when thrown away, can either be recycled or end up in the landfill. If it ends up in the landfill, over time (and usually many, many years) it will break down. If it ends up in the recycling center, the following process occurs:

First the paper must be returned to pulp. This is done by the use of several different chemicals including sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium silicate. These chemicals bleach and spread out the pulp fibers.

If well packed, a single grocery size paper bag can hold the same volume of up to 4 plastic bags. Reuse them as trash can liners and for craft projects. They also make great weed barriers and eventually break down and naturally compost.

It is also important to note that paper bags can be composted (provided they don't have a lot of printing on them). You can throw them straight into the compost pile, or fill with yard waste. Simply pitch the whole bag, green waste and all, into the compost pile. Don’t forget, as I have several times, that the wet yard waste and kitchen waste is wet and will drop out of the bottom of the bag and spill all over your $60.00 Columbia shorts and Tommy Hilfiger shirt.

Plastic is a by-product of oil refining and accounts for 4% of the worlds total oil production. It is a 'biogeochemical' manipulation of certain properties of oil, into polymers. Plastic polymers are manufactured into five main types; plastic bags are made from polyethylene. Polyethylene, as a raw material, can be manipulated into any shape, size, form or color. It is watertight and can be made UV resistant. Anything can be printed on it and it can be reused.

For the most part, the whole process of making plastic bags requires only electricity (not counting the large, fuel burning heavy machinery required to acquire the oil). Most of the electricity used in the actual production and manufacturing of plastic bags comes from coal fire power plants, which, it is interesting to note, 50% of that electricity is generated from the burning of old tires (made from rubber which is essentially, plastic).

Like paper, plastic bags can end up in two places: the landfill or the recycling center. If a plastic bag ends up in a landfill, it will stay intact for thousands of years. Plastic does not compost. With plastic products in the mix, garbage does not have a chance to break down over time. Landfills are considered airtight, which explains why after 20 years you can find a hot dog that is still fully intact and a newspaper with articles clearly legible.

Plastic is fabulous in that it is recyclable. All you have to do is basically re-melt and re-form. The re-melting process also sterilizes the plastic thus allowing any recycled plastic to be made into hospital grade products. Plastic can be recycled many times before it becomes brittle - then it can be made into something as functional as a mousepad or a doormat. Please note that not all plastic bags can be recycled and many stores that collect them simply send them to the landfill for lack of another alternative. The Sierra Club estimates that 90% of the plastic bags we get from stores is not recycled but resides for eternity in landfills.

Plastic impacts the environment two ways. The first is through the use of electricity during manufacturing. Plastic not being recycled can be burned yielding from 10,000 to 20,000 btu per pound (60% of which can be recovered) creating electricity. This can reduce the overall sulphur emissions from coal.

The burning of plastics has its cons. Inks and additives found in plastic can create dioxins when burned as well as emit heavy metals. The ash itself is toxic and needs to be disposed of in toxic waste dumps. And then, does this use justify the continued use of limited natural resources?

Plastic also impacts the environment through landfills. Plastic does not break down - your yogurt container will always be there. An argument can be made that plastic decreases landfill mass. Plastics as a whole make up 18% of waste by volume and 7% by weight (plastic bags themselves are light and take up very little space). If plastic were to be replaced by other materials, trash weight would increase by 150%, packaging would weigh 300% more and energy consumed by the industry would increase by 100%.

Plastic has other benefits. Reduction in aircraft weight saves an average of 10,000 gallons of fuel per plane, per annum, the world over. Since 1970, plastic has been responsible for doubling automobile fuel economy.

Plastic refuse has a serious negative effect on marine and bird life. Due to a variety of reasons, people litter the oceans big time. Plastic and monofilament fishing lines and nets strangle fish, mammals, turtles and especially marine birds. My daughter Michelle is a Wildlife Biologist employed by the National Geodetic Survey working on endangered species, mostly birds, in the Hawaiian Island archipelago. She spends a lot of time in the Northern pacific. She has sent numerous pictures of birds either strangled by plastic or dead from ingested plastic

I’ve drenched you with data. Would anyone like to change their vote after hearing the data (which were obtained from the sierra club)?

Both paper and plastic are bad choices. I think you know the best choice. Cloth bags, made from renewable resources, light, durable, hold up to 40 lbs, can be insulated, are reusable and will last for years.

There is another major advantage to using the cloth bags which is increased physical fitness. We keep them in the car. Being an active senile senior (you can work out the acronym) I forget my cloth bags with depressing regularity. I have made literally hundreds of trips from the store back to the car to retrieve the bag I forgot. I’m really in much better shape than when I used paper or plastic

I have asked super market checkout clerks what percentage of shoppers use the cloth bags and it is very disappointing. Maybe 1 in 25 or less. Find more ecologically sound uses for paper and plastic bags at www.greenfeet.com/

New Bern makes recycling of most household trash easy. They provide the containers, the city picks up the recyclables each Tuesday in my neighborhood. all we have to do is a little sorting of cans, bottles, plastics and paper. It takes minimal time and there is no excuse not to do it. However, if you live in New Bern take a walk around the block early on trash pick-up day. Go to your neighbors trash and poke around. You’ll learn a lot about them. Seriously, I think you’ll note that many households do minimal or no recycling. That is disappointing. I don’t have an answer to that one. It’s tempting to think about laws and penalties but I have no confidence in the ability of law writers to get it right. When we get to discussion I’d love to hear your thoughts.

• household wastes are relatively easy but there are some tough ones . Batteries. How many of our hi tech tools and toys use batteries. Lots and lots and getting more lots. The batteries I’m talking about the are 1.5 or 9 volt little fellows that power these toys and gadgets. batteries are one of those little things that really add up. With about 3 billion dumped each year, the lead, cadmium, mercury, and other heavy metals in household batteries can be a bummer for our soil and water quality. to take just one example, more cadmium in landfills comes from batteries than any other source. First step. Use rechargeable batteries. Financially it is a no brainer. Rechargeable batteries (e.g. nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion) can get their juice rejuvenated hundreds of times, but eventually they too wear out. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation , www.rbc.org or call their hotline at 1-800-8-BATTERY to find out where you can drop rechargeables off for recycling. I did that for you and as many of you know Staples will accept both rechargeable and non-rechargeable aa, aaa, d, and c batteries for recycling and/or disposal. In fact wouldn’t it make sense to have a battery box here at the Fellowship where folks could drop them. I’ll volunteer to run them to Staples since I go there frequently for business needs. That will save CO2 by reducing multiple trips.

Check earth911.org or call 1-800-CLEANUP for other locations. If you or your business go through a lot of batteries, it might be worth enlisting a company like Battery Solutions or the Big Green Box that will recycle them for a fee.

The bottom line: Think carefully before buying new battery-powered gadgets (do you really need them?) and be sure to recycle all kinds of batteries. Solar chargers can be great alternatives for small accessories like cell phones and iPods--they even come in backpack or beach bag form.

Catalogs. I mentioned the volume. Want to get off the mailing list? Write Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643 , Carmel , NY 10512. Also www.catalogchoice.com will work.

• Computers. Don’t put your computer in Standby or sleep mode for lengthy periods. By lengthy I mean 45 minutes or longer .It wastes a lot of energy.

• Less than one-fifth of obsolete computers are reused or recycled. Find a responsible recycler for your old PC or Mac at www.computertakeback.com. Many obsolete US computers are shipped to China and other countries. That means they have to worry about disposal of the toxic chemicals and materials. Somehow that solution is discomforting.

• Packaging in general is disgraceful for multiple reasons. How many of you have been frustrated while trying to open some plastic encased product. More than 2 million seniors go to the emergency room each year because of injuries incurred. I bet some have. When I discuss supermarkets and Walmart in a future talk I’ll cover packaging.

• I think I’ve put you through enough today. I’d like to see if you have comments, questions or suggestions relative to recycling.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12720

“Save Our Planet-750 ways you can help clean up the earth,” Diane MacEachern

The 7th Principle-What you can do