P&SC Looks at Ecological Integrity
The Peace and Social
Concerns Committee discussed the New Haven Friends’ Minute on Ecological Integrity, printed below, at its May
meeting. We believe that the Mt Toby community
shares in the values expressed in the minute and related queries. Beyond agreeing with these values, we could
benefit from continuing to examine our practices and behaviors, both as a
corporate body and as individuals, and recommitting ourselves to taking
specific and tangible steps toward living with greater ecological integrity.
We see this commitment as a
continuing process that involves our entire Meeting Community, both in our
Committee and Meeting for Business working structure and in our worship. We can educate, encourage, and inspire ourselves
and influence the larger community by action and example.
P&SC identified a few
examples of possible constructive responses by
· We could improve our performance in car-pooling and
related means of reducing fuel consumption as we join together for worship and
other Meeting activities.
·
We could consider
an energy audit of our meeting house. This Old House of Worship, a program of
the Connecticut’s Interfaith Power and Light, conducts a 15 hour energy
education program on all aspects of a religious organization’s buildings and
the human behavior that affect energy consumption, efficiency, and
conservation. They work with a group of
people from several congregations in a region providing “hands on” training. Working with other congregations shares the
cost, spreads the knowledge and skills needed, and promotes building bridges
within the region’s spiritual community.
New Haven Friends Meeting recently participated in the program and found
substantial improvements and savings for their 12 year old meeting house. It
may be that good efforts already taken or planned (new refrigerator, new
windows, on-demand water heater, etc.) have already located many of the
potential improvements and savings available at Mt Toby.
·
We could inject
more ecological awareness and sensitivity into our
Minute on Ecological Integrity
We recognize that our
current pattern and rate of consumption of environmental resources are damaging
our planet and that conflicts over scarce resources are aggravating the
conditions for war.
We recognize that we have a
responsibility to care for God’s creation, which is glorious and complex beyond
our understanding or imagining. It is
not right for us to leave the world poorer than we found it in either beauty or
the rich diversity of life forms. It is
not right for us to leave the next generation with severely limited resources
and options as a result of our careless consumption. Nor is it right that poor people of the world
will suffer disproportionately from changes in climate and lack of resources as
a result of our way of life.
We seek to recognize and
decrease our individual and corporate consumption so that the Earth’s resources
may be sustained, replenished and equitably shared by all. We know this will entail major adjustments in
what we purchase, what we eat, our transportation, and many other aspects of
the way we live now. By joining with and
helping each other, we hope to build sustainable communities that reflect right
relationship with Earth and all Creation.
Queries:
∞ Do you continually examine your way of life to find alternatives that would reduce your consumption of resources and your damage to the environment?
∞ In considering purchases, do you seek to understand the whole life cycle of the item – extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal – and the extent to which these processes are damaging to the environment and people involved in each step?
∞ Do
you work with others in your Meeting and
in the larger community to find ways to escape the wasteful patterns of
consumption prevalent in our society and
to lead lives together that are rich in spirit, beauty, and meaning even if
they are not rich in material resources?
Adopted by
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