Go Green with us!
Easy Tips on Going Green |
Recycling |
Earth Consciousness Classes & Discussion Groups |
Green Team Activites |
Green Links.
Let Everyday Be EARTH Day! (Easy tips on going green!)
(Below is shortened excerpt reprinted from Living Green, Business Courier, Jan 18, 2008, article entitled on Simple Efforts Can Mean Big Results)
Making good choices for the environment does not need to be complicated. Anyone can be a good steward of the EARTH through countless efforts that add up.
Ways to get started in your home, community and workplace:
- Recycle!
- Avoid eating fast food.
- Buy recycled products.
- Close the refrigerator door to conserve energy.
- Don’t throw away all that paper. Make scratch pads with the clean side of used paper in the office. Let the kids draw on the clean side at home.
- Insulate your home. Install weather stripping. Apply caulk around the doors and windows.
- Open the blinds to let in natural light.
- Support public transportation.
- Try walking or bicycling for errands.
- Use the library for books and movies or swap with friends.
- Cut your home energy usage, turning off the lights, television, and computer when you’re not using them.
- Replace light bulbs with super efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
- Reuse things whenever possible.
- Use canvas bags at the grocery store.
- Use cloth napkins.
- Buy efficient electronics and appliances.
- Get reclaimed building products at Building Value or check Craigslist.com for other usable items.
- Re-gift! Donate usable items to a charity or organization.
- Buy locally grown food.
- Upgrade to low-flow toilets and shower heads.
- Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable.
- Bring a coffee cup to work instead of using paper cups.
- Buy a hybrid vehicle.
- Give up packaged disposable razors and use old-fashioned safety razors.
- Say goodbye to coffee filters and use a reusable or permanent filter.
- Recycle old socks as dusting mittens.
- Stop printing things you don’t need on paper.
- Encourage your office, school, or church to create and distribute newsletters and communications electronically.
- Drink tap water or invest in a filter for your faucet.
- Set your thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter.
- Make your own cleaning supplies with baking soda, soap, and vinegar.
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Recycling at BOL
BOL recycles. You can do it at home too. Check out the
links below for ideas.
At BOL, we have certain places to put trash so it may be disposed of in the most Earth-friendly way:
Inside the building---
- Clear bins found upstairs and downstairs, labeled “Recycle Paper here”, for bulletins and other paper with no food stuck to it.
- White trash cans - non-recyclables, such as paper with food stuck to it, lids of bottles,cardboard, styrofoam and plastic film.
- Tan Bins - recyclables such as plastic bottles (lids removed), aluminum cans, cardboard with no food stuck to it.
Outside the building---Paper Retriever Program
You can bring all your paper from home and place it in the big green and yellow bin in the BOL parking lot. BOL receives a small rebate from the amount of paper we collect. And mostly, it helps to make the earth a cleaner, happier place.
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Earth Consciousness Classes & Discussion Groups
Another way that we as a community and you as an individual can contribute to earth consciousness is to join one of the Cincinnati
Earth Institute discussion groups being held at Beacon of Life.
Coming soon is Global Warming: Changing CO2urse, in five weekly sessions. The first is Thursday,
Sept 18, 2008 at 7:00 pm. Explore the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate to climate
change and personal actions to curb the effects of global warming (see more info below).
Other classes/discussion groups that may be available in the future include:
Choices for Sustainable Living
is a seven-session course exploring the meaning of sustainable living and the ties between lifestyle choices and their impact
on the earth.
- To explore the meaning of sustainability.
- To consider the ties between lifestyle choices and their impact on the earth
- To learn about steps that can be taken to move toward ecologically sustainable organizations, lifestyles, and communities.
Discovering a Sense of Place
is a seven-session course focusing on knowing and protecting our place.
- To understand the meaning of a bioregional perspective, and what it would mean to develop one
- To consider the benefits of consciously developing an intimate relationship with your place
- To explore what it might mean to protect the place where you live
Global Warming: Changing CO2urse
is a five-session course exploring the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate
to climate change, and personal actions to curb the effects of global warming.
- To explore personal values and habits as they relate to climate change.
- To understand the history and science of global warming.
- To empower individuals to take action to curb global warming.
Menu for the Future
CEI's newest course, is a six-session course exploring the connection between food and sustainability.
- To explore food systems and their impacts on culture, society and ecological systems
- To gain insight into agricultural and individual practices that promote personal and ecological well-being
- To consider your role in creating or supporting sustainable food systems
Healthy Children - Healthy Planet
is a seven-session course addressing how the pervasive effects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can
influence a child's view of the world.
- To understand how the pervasive effects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can influence a child's view of the world
- To discover ways to create meaningful family times and healthful environments for children
- To explore ways to develop a child's connection to nature, and to foster creativity
Exploring Deep Ecology
is an eight-session course addressing core values and how they affect the way we view and treat the Earth.
- To clarify earth-related values through discussions about Exploring Deep Ecology
- To discover how personal values affect the way we view and treat the earth
- To understand what it means to take personal responsibility for the earth
Voluntary Simplicity
is a seven-session course addressing the distractions of modern society that keep us from caring for ourselves, our
relationships, and our environment.
- To understand the meaning of voluntary simplicity.
- To explore the material and psychological distractions that prevent us from caring for the earth.
- To acknowledge the connection between our lifestyle choices and the condition of the earth.
To find out more about joining future classes, contact Jeffry Weidner at 513.631.0051 or
jeffry@cinci.rr.com.
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Green Team Activities:
BOL HIKERS (check calendar for the next hike) -
BOL Hikers is a wonderful way to meet people while enjoying the blessings of nature. Nature is alive and filled with One
Presence. Behold the Spirit's laughter in the brook, the overhanging branches the protection of the infinite, the waving
of the grass and ferns the whispering of God's love. Join with members of the BOL family for conversation, food, and time
together on the trail.
Earth Day Ceremony (Opening Directions)
When we perform a ritual, we first form a sacred space. There are many ways to do this. Today, we use a way of the
First Nation peoples — people we often call Indigenous Americans or Indians. We will honor the energy of each of the
directions calling that energy to be part of our ritual. We do this with symbols, such as names, other words, colors,
and fire. Please stand.
East
First, please turn to the East. We honor the direction of the East and we call upon the energy of New Beginnings and Spring. The color is yellow for the rising sun. We are supported in telling the truth and planting seeds. We are willing to come fully forward with our gifts, talents, and resources. We are mindful that each of us bears a unique gift duplicated nowhere on the planet. We deliver our gifts before we go. We welcome the energy of the East.
South
We honor the direction of the South and we call upon the energy of Abundance and Growth and Summer. The color is red for the noon day sun. We are supported in paying attention to what has heart and meaning, about the power of love, which is the most potent force available to all human beings. During our time together, allow us to be open to the fullness of connection to the Universal Energy of the Creator. We are grateful for the Earth’s example of abundance. We welcome the energy of the South.
West
We honor the direction of the West and we call upon the energy of Harvest and the Teacher and Autumn. The color is black, after the sun is set. We are supported in the learning and the teaching that will occur in this place. We see our ancestors and accept their support and teaching; we are open to learning. We accept the blessings of trust and detachment. Teach us how to be open to outcomes. We welcome the energy of the West.
North
We honor the direction of the North and we call upon the energy of Wisdom and Blessing. The color is white, the color of our elders’ hair. We are supported in choosing well, being mindful that as we change our inner world, our outer world changes accordingly. Teach us to show up, to be present in our own lives. Grant us the ability to extend honor and respect to the Earth. We are mindful that honor is the capacity to confer respect to the Earth and that respect is the willingness to look again; to take a second look rather than to stay stuck in a particular view of the Earth. We welcome the direction of the North
Above
We welcome the direction of Above and we call upon the energy of inspiration and compassion and the masculine. The color is blue as the sky which surrounds the Earth and all her sentient beings. We are surrounded by the wonder of our Universe and Universal Energy into which we are immersed as we create our world. We welcome the energy of above.
Below
We welcome the direction of Below and we call upon the energy of generosity and centeredness and the feminine. We honor our Mother Earth. We call upon her energy to keep us grounded, focused and aware of her many gifts to us in her creation of nature. We thank the Earth for our food, our clothes, our shelter, and all our resources. We remain mindful of the creation of feminine energy. We welcome the direction of Below.
Copyright J. Morton Nicholson April, 2008
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Green Links
Lists of Environmental Organizations
U.S. and Canadian Parks
EPA Resources for non-profits
Environmental Organizations
http://www.cinciearth.org/
http://www.edf.org/
http://www.imagoearth.org/index.html
http://www.nature.org/
http://www.nrdc.org/
http://www.sierraclub.org/
http://ohio.sierraclub.org/miami/index.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/
www.worldwildlife.org/
Local Nature Preserves and Preservation Groups
http://www.highlandssanctuary.org/
http://millcreekrestoration.org/
Local Spiritual/Environmental Conferences
http://www.earthspiritrising.org/
Recycling and Other Environmental Information
http://www.hcdoes.org/
http://www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org/
http://www.paperretriever.com/
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