Eating Well Magazine article by Lynne Curry.

THINK YOU’RE GREEN?

Go meatless more often. Drive less often. Switch to LED lightbulbs. Give up plastic straws. Give up plastic—-period. While there’s no simple solution to climate change, we constantly hear that if we all did even one of these things it could, collectively, make a difference for our planet. If 40% of the country gave up meat once a week for a year, for example, it would be the greenhouse gas equivalent to taking over 1.6 million cars off the road. Compelling right? But there’s a catch. The complexities of climate change can activate some strange psychology, turning our good intentions into stumbling blocks instead of building blocks.

HOW WE GET IN OUR OWN WAY
Research has found that, when it comes to this scary global subject the human brain responds in a more emotional way than a logical one. Hearing stories about starving polar bears, catastrophic wildfires and coastal flooding triggers anxiety. And when we feel overwhelmed, we subconsciously seek a single, quick fix - like bringing metal straws when you go out to eat - to help us feel better and get on with our lives, according to Princeton University psychology professor Elke Weber, Ph.D. Certainly doing something is better than doing nothing, but the problem is that once we check off one Earth-friendly to do, we may stop making other positive changes.

This once and done tendency is called “single-action bias.” Even though the action hasn’t solved the issue (because no one thing of climate change hinges on just giving up plastic straws), the mind feels relieved by taking that step. Once the fear is alleviated, we tend to stop going further because the motivation to act is gone.

Don’t beat yourself up if you realize that you’ve been stuck in this psychological rut. It’s only human! If you truly don’t have the bandwidth to do more than one thing, no judgment. But what you can do is focus on an effort that has the biggest impact. According to the climate research group Project Drawdown, this includes reducing food waste, eating less meat, supporting organizations that fight deforestation and buying or voting for renewable energy measures (like wind and solar power). You can also vote with your wallet by purchasing items from ecologically minded companies, since their carbon footprint is larger than yours.

BEST YOUR BRAIN
But there are ways that you can work around-if not overcome- single-action bias.

First, try expanding on what you’re already doing. Consider Meatless Monday: “Surveys show that about half the people who have done Meatless Monday are able to reduce meat beyond that one day in one way or another.”says Becky Ramsing, M.P.H.,R.D.H., senior program officer with the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. How can you put yourself in the group that keeps going, as opposed to those who don’t? The difference may be confidence. Research has found that a key component of building a habit, one that continues to grow, is feeling capable of actually doing it. “We hear people who started with Meatless Monday say, “Now that I know what this tempeh or tofu is and know how to prepare it, I’ll try in again,” says Ramsing. So take what you’ve learned by going meatless one day and carry it in the rest of your week. The more you do it, the easier it’ll become.

Also effective: adding other behaviors that are related to your current one. According to a review of studies published in the journal Global Environmental Change, humans innately want to be consistent, which may make us more likely to pick up other behaviors that are in the same pro-environmental view. If you’re a recycler, for instance, use those sorting skills to put coffee grounds and food scraps into the compost bin instead of your trash. The researchers say other behaviors that cluster with recycling are conserving energy and water, reducing the amount of packaging you buy and shopping with reusable bags.

Finally, try using a climate checklist. Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions says that prominently posting a list of eco-friendly steps to take reminds you to go beyond a single thing. Better yet, jot down why each action is important to you. Studies show that personalized prompts help people stick to new habits. Check out the United Nations’ Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the Planet website for ideas (un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction). Because while doing one thing can be a good thing, doing more to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle - to the best of our abilities - is worth striving for.
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-Submitted by Carol Campbell for the Green Team

Plastic bags raise questions for the environmentally concerned consumer.  First, we are trying to reduce using plastic bags. However, when we don’t have a choice we need to understand the finer points for recycling them.  The basic rule is that plastic bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or 2 plastic or low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or 4 plastic are recyclable when they are empty, clean and dry with all receipts removed.  These include the bags shown above, plastic dry cleaning bags with the staples and receipts removed, case wrapping from juice or canned dog food cases, stretch wrap from furniture or electronics and cereal or cracker bags that are opaque, but not silver.  These bags are recyclable in grocery or retail stores and here they are made into TREX composite lumber. If put into general recyclables, the bags can damage machinery used to process other recyclables.  
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Some plastic bags are not recyclable.  These include pet food bags, chip bags, prepackaged food or salad bags, garbage bags, saran or cling wrap, other retail bags, cat litter bags, potting soil or mulch bags and other plastic food packaging unless labelled 2 or 4.  Cling wraps have added chemicals to make them cling that would contaminate the recyclable batch.  
Interestingly, some manufacturers are developing recycling programs for their plastic packaging.  See the Terracycle website https://www.terracycle.com/en-US .  Terracycle develops and promotes programs with manufacturers to collect and reuse their specific packaging.  For example, I just bought Open Farm dog food at the Greenfield Farmers Cooperative Exchange and checking on Terracycle found that Open Farm has a bag recycling program. 
We’ve all seen plastic bags polluting our neighborhoods, rivers and ultimately the ocean.  Greenfield’s ban on plastic grocery bags is a positive step to reduce this pollution. Our efforts to further reduce using plastic packaging and recycling packaging whenever possible will also help reduce pollution.  As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in his videotalk last year: “Love the world that God loves. ... Help God love God’s world.”   
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-Ella Ingraham, for the Green Team

How can we incorporate Creation Care into our celebrations of Christ’s birth?  There is so much packaging involved in our cultural celebration of Christmas - plastic and cardboard, decorative papers and many types of ribbon and decorations for packages.  At this point in our preparations, we’re getting ready for our families to unwrap presents. If we set up bags or boxes to separate recyclables from trash when we’re unwrapping presents, we can make the process easier.  A container for recyclable plastic, one for recyclable paper and cardboard and one for trash. Some of the better papers and ribbons are really good for reuse.  If a present with a good paper is opened carefully, the paper may be folded or rolled on a cardboard tube and used next Christmas.  So add provision for reusable wrappings.    
Regular and glossy wrapping paper is recyclable unless it has non-paper additives like metallic flakes, colored shapes, glitter and plastics. Foil, metallic and heavily laminated wrapping paper should also be thrown away instead of recycled.  Please do not recycle foil, plastic coating, ribbon, bows and glitter. They go into the trash. Prior years’ Christmas cards make great labels for presents. Cut off the front of the card, use tape and put it on a package. If you’re a rabid declutterer, cards may be donated.  If you don’t have a local place to give them, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children accepts most greeting cards. The address for their Recycled Cards Program is available online.  

May the light of Christmas and the love for God’s creation be with us throughout the year.

Is zero waste a new idea and how does reducing trash relate to our climate crisis?  Zero waste means reducing our final trash as much as possible. All the things we consume and then throw out as trash such as disposable straws, to-go coffee cups or, in this Christmas season, plastic packaging materials and sparkling papers are generally made with plastics made from fossil fuels.  They are not recyclable. According to the Plastics Ocean Foundation, we are producing over 300 million tons of plastic every year.  Fifty percent (50%) or 150 million tons is for single-use purposes, used for just a few moments, but on the planet for at least several hundred years. Even when burned plastics leave a toxic ash that has to be stored in our environment.  Reducing trash is good for our environment and also good for our wallets. It may mean less direct cost to put out our trash and/or less cost for our towns for trash disposal.  WIn Win!
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Kathryn Kellogg in her book 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste recommends a simple process for reducing waste.  The process is useful no matter where we are in our environmental journey.  She says “Get to know your trash.” How often do you throw away single-use containers, paper towels, straws, cups, plastic food packaging?  Say NO to plastic straws or paper straws coated with plastic, plastic cup lids for coffee or soda and plastic water bottles. Get reusable grocery bags and use them for other purchases, something we are very familiar with.  When we evaluate what we throw away, we can look for alternatives that help our environment. Then before buying, evaluate whether you need it and will use it or perhaps just want it. Consider how and where its made and the resources required to make it.  And the idea of reducing waste is not new. Calvin Coolidge, born in Vermont, Governor of Massachusetts and President of the United States, had a saying that is applicable now: “Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, do without!” 

-Ella Ingraham, for the Green Team

Most of the time I live day-to-day, thinking about what must be done or where I have to be.  Setting aside time to think about the bigger picture is difficult and, in periods of uncertainty, really anxiety producing. My favored response has been to make trips to the library to check out several English style mysteries that I read back-to-back.  However, in the face of our climate crisis, I am moved to action. As part of making changes I am reading Andrea Cohen-Kiener’s book Claiming Earth as Common Ground published in 2009.  Andrea Cohen-Kiener is currently rabbi of Temple Israel in Greenfield.  She is an environmental activist and her book is about addressing the climate crisis by working together through our faith traditions.  In the introduction she writes:

“Humanity is facing a collective brush with mortality.  It is time for us to reflect, as Noah did before the cataclysm in his time, on what we truly need.  In the face of this sobering challenge, we must look toward a new beginning and make it a reality.

Environmental problem solving usually encompasses some element of self-denial, of less.  I believe that if we rebalance our spiritual and material hungers, our environmental repair may yield a time of more--much more: more connections, more wisdom, and more abundance.  I invite all hands on deck to steer the ship around this iceberg and set sail for a safer harbor.” 
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The Green Team is grateful to share the voyage toward a more sustainable environment with you and proud of the changes we are making as individuals and as a parish.  We are at the beginning; grant us strength and courage to love and serve God with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.   
-Ella Ingraham, for the Green Team