UUCR Environment Group

The pictures above are of the UUCR grounds and sanctuary on a spring morning in May. Surrounded by such beauty, how can we not want to abet creation, appreciate it, and do our utmost to preserve it, not only for ourselves, but for our fellow inhabitants on the earth, present and future? To this end, an Environment Group has formed at UUCR -- to discuss environmental issues as they relate to our personal and congregational lives, to inform ourselves, and to figure out how we can best work together to ensure that the next generation inherits the same beautiful world we enjoy today.

News

UUCR Green Market (October 28, 2007)

Gary Mummert from UUSJ brought a vanload of green products, from 100% recycled chlorine-free office paper to fair trade coffee and chocolate to UUCR for members and visitors to buy after church.

Greentalk Email List (October 22, 2007)

On the 6-month anniversary of Earth Day 2007, we got the Greentalk email list up and running, with 21 members who are interested in talking about energy issues, global warming, sustainable business, environmental practices at home and church, appropriate transportation, and more. Join us by sending a note to greentalk@uucr.org (we'll add you to the list when we receive the message).

Global Warming Workshop (October 20, 2007)

During UUCR's annual retreat, several members of UUCR and Sugarloaf UUs met for a workshop led by Charlie Braun on global warming, to discuss what is known about global warming and what we can be doing about it. More details about this discussion will be posted in the near future.

Wonderful Wednesday presentation on Global Warming (October 10, 2007)

Allison Fisher of GWIPL came to give a followup to the energy survey (below), and to convince us that taking seemingly simple steps like swapping compact fluorescents for incandescent lightbulbs really can make a difference in energy consumption. She demonstrated that a string of LED holiday lights consumes 1W, while a normal string uses 36W, using a nifty device that measures electricity consumption (we plan to buy one for the church and make it available to borrow from the library). Susan Kirby from Montgomery County also spoke about the county's Clean Energy Rewards program which rewards those who either switch to clean energy or stay with their current utility company and buy Renewable Energy Certificates.

UUCR Energy Survey (March - October 2007)

In March 2007, Anne Scott arranged for an energy audit to be carried out at UUCR by the Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL) group. Allison Fisher did the survey and delivered a energy survey report (Word doc) to UUCR. Over the next several months, UUCR worked to address some of the issues and implement suggestions contained in the report. This list of steps taken so far was prepared by Sue Hedges in October 2007:

• Installed new LED exit signs in several locations.
• In locations with non-LED exit signs, we have lowered the bulbs from 7-watt to 3-watt
• Purchased a new EnergyStar refrigerator for the UUCR kitchen.
• Purchased a new EnergyStar dishwasher for the lower level kitchenette
• Moved the Hobart commercial dishwasher to the main kitchen. This is a high-efficiency dishwasher that runs 3-minute wash cycles and turns off automatically when not in use.
• Replaced gas and electric stoves in kitchen
• Planted 100 trees on the property as part of our reforestation commitment to the City of Rockville
• Moved professional and administrative staff all into Building 4, and out of Building 1, reducing week-day heating and cooling needs
• Raised funding to purchase blinds for the sunny side of our new sanctuary, to reduce daytime heat gain from sunlight. Blinds will be purchased and installed in coming months.
• Plan to purchase and install blinds in the windows of the 3 lower-level classrooms in the new building
• Working on programming thermostats to recommended settings, and restricting access to thermostats so they do not get reset by building users who do not know what they are doing.
• Rain gardens: We have members with expertise in rain gardens. We are exploring the development of rain gardens in several parts of our property.