Green Lent Daily Activities

We invite you to use this time of Lent to change some of your habits as you pay attention to your consumption of the Earth’s resources, God’s gift to us all.  Please use the days of Lent to rethink your lifestyle and how it impacts impoverished communities around the world.  85% of the world’s population practices a faith.  Imagine if all of those people stewarded the earth.  You and your congregation are a good place to start!

Download our Green Lent 2012 Daily Activity Guide and share it with your congregation!

Get a daily reminder at facebook.com/greenlentideas.

2012

Day 1: Wednesday, February 22

Decrease your thermostat by a few degrees to reduce the amount of energy used to heat your house, and to serve as a reminder of the commitment you are making for Lent.

 

Day 2: Thursday, February 23

Think about what areas of your life are causing the greatest emissions.  Use the emissions calculator at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html.

 

Day 3: Friday, February 24

Make your shower a little cooler and shorter than usual, and continue shortening it slightly throughout Lent.

 

Day 4: Saturday, February 25

Order your Palm Sunday palms through www.ecopalms.org to support sustainable harvesting practices and fair labor.

 

Sunday, February 26

Read the first chapter of Genesis and consider the relationship God creates between himself, humanity and nature. Pray that humanity fills its role as steward of the earth.

 

Day 5: Monday, February 27

Purchase recycled paper products for your printer and restroom. If every household in the United States bought just one four-pack of 260-sheet recycled bath tissue, instead of the typical tissue made from virgin fiber, it would eliminate 60,600 pounds of chlorine pollution, preserve 356 million gallons (1.35 billion liters) of fresh water and save nearly 1 million trees.

 

Day 6: Tuesday, February 28

Add a brick to a toilet tank to reduce water usage, since most regular toilets use far more water than is actually necessary.

 

Day 7: Wednesday, February 29

Try an alternate protein. Meat production has a large environmental impact compared to plant products, so eating less meat can reduce your carbon footprint.

 

Day 8: Thursday, March 1

Put a reusable shopping bag in an obvious place in your car or, if possible, in your purse or bag to be sure you’ll actually use it when you’re at the store. Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year!

 

Day 9: Friday, March 2

Hunt down “energy vampires,” electronic devices like cell phone chargers that continue to suck power while not in use, in your household. By unplugging these items when not in use, you can cut down on unnecessary energy consumption.

 

Day 10: Saturday, March 3

Sit down and plan out your meals for the week. By planning ahead, you can reduce gas-consuming extra trips to the grocery store and reduce food waste.

 

Sunday, March 4

Read Job 12:7-10 and reflect on it. Is humanity listening properly to God’s messages seen in his creation? Pray for the people and animals affected by global environmental problems.

Day 11: Monday, March 5

Don’t eat any processed foods today. These foods often require more energy to process and have far more packaging.

 

Day 12: Tuesday, March 6

Start saving comic pages, magazines, paper bags, old calendars, or other suitable substances in your house for wrapping paper. Using alternative packaging materials (even reusable fabric bags!) can prevent the wasteful purchase of wrapping paper.

 

Day 13: Wednesday, March 7

Turn down your water heater to 120 degrees, which is sufficient and safe to cover most household needs.  If every household in America made this simple change, the carbon savings would be equivalent to the entire annual emissions of Libya!

 

Day 14: Thursday, March 8

Google environmental issues in your area, and write a letter to some of your elected representatives to show that you care. The government will only respond if the public makes its desires clear.

 

Day 15: Friday, March 9

Make sure the fish you eat is sustainably-harvested.  Review fish recommendations at http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/seafoodguide/. 

 

Day 16: Saturday, March 10

Try out a new craft or activity. By making gifts yourself, you can cut down on the waste of purchased store gifts.

 

Sunday, March 11

Read Numbers 35:33-34 and consider its applications to contemporary  pollution issue. Pray that our society curb its pollution in years to come.

 

Day 17: Monday, March 12

Switch to an online newspaper. A half million trees must be cut down to produce one week’s Sunday newspapers.

 

Day 18: Tuesday, March 13

Use a reusable bottle rather than buying a beverage in a plastic bottle (or bring a ceramic mug for the coffee machine).  25 liters of groundwater are polluted to produce a one-liter bottle of water!

 

Day 19: Wednesday, March 14

Try carrying a handkerchief rather than using endless paper tissues.

 

Day 20: Thursday, March 15

Make your own household cleaning solutions. Homemade window cleaners or simple surface cleaners are less harsh on the environment and need less energy to create. http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

 

Day 21: Friday, March 16

Freeze a couple meals for a busy week, such as soup or a casserole. By having a couple dinners in the freezer, you will find it easier to resist highly packaged pre-made meals.

 

Day 22: Saturday, March 17

Buy some food at a local farmer’s market. If you want to take an extra step, start planning a small food garden as the weather grows warmer. Homegrown, native foods require far less energy to grow or transport than foods from more distant climates.

 

Sunday, March 18

Read Psalm 104:10-30. Since God cares so much for his creation; how can humanity best emulate his example?

 

Day 23: Monday, March 19

Consider talking to your neighbors about making a recycling co-op that can run everyone’s recycling over to a center once every couple of weeks. This will make

recycling more convenient for both you and your neighbors.

 

Day 24: Tuesday, March 20

Rather than throwing away gently used items, look for a local charity or thrift store that could use them. Start a box for such items someplace convenient.

 

Day 25: Wednesday, March 21

Research electronics recycling near you. While it isn’t universally available, some companies can take useless, broken electronics and find a use for the raw materials rather than putting them in the dump.

 

Day 26: Thursday, March 22

Today, try to find something you would normally have thrown away and reuse it instead. What do you throw away that you could repurpose elsewhere in your home?

 

Day 27: Friday, March 23

Have some low-carbon fun today. Instead of driving to a movie or buying something new at the mall, go for a walk or play a board game. Fun does not require consumption.

 

Day 28: Saturday, March 24

Reduce your driving this weekend. Look for ways to do multiple chores on one trip or find ways to carpool to social events.

 

Sunday, March 25

Read Matthew 25:34-45, and discuss how environmental problems like global warming harm the global poor.

 

Day 29: Monday, March 25

Bring your own to-go containers this week, whether it’s Tupperware for take-out Chinese or a travel mug for your daily coffee. Bringing your own container will help keep Styrofoam, paper, and plastic out of landfills.

 

Day 30: Tuesday, March 26

Slow down a couple miles per hour while driving. Cars get better mileage at slower speeds, so going a couple miles below the speed limit can help reduce your car’s emissions.

 

Day 31: Wednesday, March 27

Catalogs require more than 53 million trees

and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to

produce.  Gather all your catalogs and go to www.catalogchoice.org to discontinue unwanted catalogs.

 

Day 32: Thursday, March 28

Start saving a small amount of money weekly toward an environmentally friendly investment and you will make your next major household purchase a more environmentally friendly one.

 

Day 33: Friday, March 29

Check your car tires and make sure they have adequate pressure. Inadequate pressure results in cars consuming far more energy.

 

Day 34: Saturday, March 30

Work with your church to plan a pollinator garden on either the church grounds, at a community center or at your home.

Pollinators  contribute to 85% of our food (an estimated one out of every three bites!) yet they are endangered due to pesticides and disease.  www.thetributaryfund.org can help you get started!

 

Sunday, April 1 (Palm Sunday)

Read Isaiah 65: 17-23. How can caring for the environment contribute to creating the type of world described here?

 

Day 35: Monday, April 2

Get some fabric napkins to replace paper ones. This move can reduce the amount of paper thrown away.

 

Day 36: Tuesday, April 3

If the weather is warm enough, dry your next load of laundry outside. Dryers suck up unnecessary mount of energy every year.

 

Day 37: Wednesday, April 4

As you begin spring planting, look for native plants, which usually require less water and have been transported a shorter distance.

 

Day 38: Thursday, April 5

Take public transport or ride your bike someplace today.

 

Day 39: Friday, April 6

As the weather warms, make sure your sprinkler is set to water the lawn as little as possible. Watering infrequently but deeply will have a better effect on the grass then frequent, shallow watering.

 

Day 40: Saturday, April 7

Find a nearby area littered with trash and clean it up, recycling what you can.

This Carbon Fast is adapted and in some cases directly copied from the following sources: Tearfund’s Carbon Fast UK, Saint John’s Cathedral Carbon Fast Denver CO, Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light Carbon Fast, Minnesota Episcopal Environmental Stewardship Commission’s Green Congregations Program, Going Green DC 10 Tips for a Greener 2010.