We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Season of Creation

Season of Creation 2023 – a retrospective

The image shows the challenges and work to improve the environment in the darker areas with the light areas, the work we are doing now and a promise for the future.

We did fewer projects and concentrated on the beauty of creation and the need for renewal.  The Season of Creation was present in these areas:

  1. Five Sundays readings in the Season of Creation and highlighted a specific environmental area which we covered weekly.- Earth, water, energy, food (waste), deforestation. Link
  1. We began a new Christian Ed for Children ages 5-9 and they covered water

  2. The services during the month had the following different sections

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Season of Creation – Forests (Deforestation)

This week we look at ground level to consider deforestation

Deforestation

Forests in our memories – From Michelle Cook, Intergen. “How do you think of forests? In your imagination are they places of peace and quiet? Are they places that scare you? Are you more at home in a eucalypt forest than in a mangrove forest? Sometimes forests can be places of fear. Think of all the old stories from Europe, the folk tales some of us may have grown up hearing. Stories like Hansel and Gretel, where children get lost in the forest. Stories like Snow White, where the beautiful young girl gets taken to the forest by the hunter so that he may kill her far away from witnesses. Forests in these stories are seen as places of secrecy, of unknown dangers and mysterious powers.”

“In Psalm 139 it is our bodies being knit together in our mother’s wombs that becomes known. God, the creator of everything, knows our bodies, and hear the Psalmist says to us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even the workings of the womb, hidden from us, and felt by mothers, are known by God. The story of creation is retold in Genesis 2:4b-22. Adam is created from earth and is set in a garden – a forest of fruit trees – a garden of food. Here is a forest, where again, all is known. The chaos and desperation of the land, where nothing is yet growing, is contrasted with the richness and safety of the garden.”

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Climate Change – and you – the big items

Home owners

Renters

  • A house with a furnace is like a car that idles all day. Swap your furnace for a heat pump, which works by extracting heat from one location and transferring it to another (Tax Credit : 30% of the cost paid by the consumer, up to $2,000/year,)
  • Swap your gas stove for an electric stove, which will also lower indoor air pollution (rebate amount has not been publicized year)
  • Install a programmable thermostat model to turn off the heat/air conditioning when you’re not home.
  • Get a home or workplace energy audit to identify where you can make the most energy-saving gains.  ( Tax credit – 30% of the cost paid by the consumer, up to $150)
  • Consider Solar- This is  a significant expense but can vary depending on the company you choose.

30% federal tax credit via Inflation reduction act. State – – A property tax exemption for the increase in home value after going solar.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECS), which are financial incentives for generating clean electricity.  You gain one SREC for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours generated by your solar panels, and you can sell the credits to local electricity providers and other organizations that are subject to renewable energy mandates. As of 2023, each SREC can be sold for around $45 to $70.

Solar alternative – Even if you can’t install solar panels, you can still be a part of the clean-energy economy. Check out – Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) odec.com. ODEC has entered several long-term purchase power agreements for energy generated by wind, solar, and landfill gas resources. .

Your home – other

  • Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when you’re not using them
  • Turn off lights you’re not using and when you leave the room. Change to energy-efficient LED bulbs
  • Wash clothes in cold water. Hang-dry your clothes when you can
  • Draft proof.
    Drafts waste five to 30 per cent of energy. Those from basements and roofs cool the most. Seal doors, windows and chimneys in those areas first. Try testing with incense. Where the smoke wavers, a draft is blowing in.To seal leaks, make or buy a “door snake” and caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows. Look for non-toxic, eco-friendly caulks. You can also add small insulating covers underneath electric outlet wall plates on outside walls or beside cold basements and crawl spaces.
  • Insulate windows.
    Hang heavy curtains to keep the cold out and the cozy in. A cheaper solution: insulation film, available at most hardware stores. This plastic shrink film is easy to apply and keeps in much of the heat that would otherwise escape.
  • Reverse ceiling fans.
    Many ceiling fans have a reverse mode. When they turn clockwise, they push down warm air that pools near the ceiling and circulates it through the room.
  • Change furnace filters.
    Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase your furnace’s energy demand by making it work harder. Replace filters at least every three months during the heating season.Better indoor air quality is a nice side benefit of this energy-saving tip. Consider switching to a washable filter, which reduces waste and is more effective.
  • Check your thermostat.
    Every degree you turn it down can save between 1.5 and five per cent of your heating bill. A programmable thermostat will help you get efficient and consistent.Turn down the thermostat when you’re sleeping or out. It’s is the most efficient way to reduce your heating bill — and your eco-footprint.

Transportation

                Carpooling

  • Combine errands to make fewer trips. Remove excess weight from your car. Use cruise control.

                Consider electric or hybrid or low carbon vehicle for your next car

Speeding and unnecessary acceleration reduce mileage by up to 33%, waste gas and money, and increase your carbon footprint.

  • Properly inflated tires improve your gas mileage by up to 3%. It also helps to use the correct grade of motor oil, and to keep your engine tuned

                Fly less and take alternate transportation

 

Climate Change, More Book, Part 3 Reduce, Sept. 24

The first two chapters of the MORE book were required material to get to Part 3 – Reduce.

Understanding the significance of our need to reduce greenhouse gases from Part 1, led to calculate our carbon footprint in Part 2. We meet to strive towards net zero emissions by 2050. Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance. Part 2 focuses on reduction to get to net zero.

How much do we need to reduce our carbon footprints? For Americans, that number is about 90 percent.The United Nations’ intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that if we don’t act now, we’ll be facing the severe effects of a warming planet as early as 2040.  One example? 50 million people around the world, will be affected by coastal flooding.

This chapter lists 26+ ways for us to act.

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