All Saints will celebrate Earth Day on the lawn on Sunday, April 23. This event has added importance this year because the Church and the Climate Change Task Force, through the passage of a vestry resolution, committed to efforts to go carbon-neutral, and to encourage and assist with the All Saints Community becoming carbon-neutral as well. The first step in that effort is nearly complete with the conversion of all Church lighting to efficient LEDs, partially using a Pasadena Water and Power rebate of close to $47,000. Progress is also being made in updating our heating/air conditioning system, getting bids for the installation of solar panels, and purchasing carbon offsets to compensate for any carbon emissions that we cannot yet eliminate.
We are using Earth Day as a first step in educating the congregation on how each of us can and must combat climate change. We will be distributing a flyer on “Calculating Your Personal Carbon Footprint” at the Climate Change Task Force table on the lawn. Your participation in completing the flyer will provide us with some baseline information on your carbon emissions in kg of CO2/year in the areas of cars, planes, electricity, natural gas, and food. We will also be distributing a longer flyer on “Reducing Your Personal Carbon Footprint” that reflects the same efforts that are being made by the Church itself.
Many of the recommendations in the aforementioned flyer are reflected in the nine tables that are planned for the Earth Day celebration on the lawn. We will have information on the City of Pasadena’s water and power conservation and waste reduction efforts. The environmental ministry EDEN will have a sewing demonstration on how to repair clothing and will attempt to repair clothes you bring, as the time allows. The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition will discuss their efforts to promote more bicycle, pedestrian and transit-friendly street designs.
Muir Ranch, a Pasadena high school farm, will promote its weekly or bi-weekly boxes of pesticide-free fruits and vegetables. The Theodore Payne Foundation will make available native plants and seeds that help reduce our water usage and complement the efforts at the Pasadena Audubon table to create a bird-friendly landscape.
Most directly, the Citizens Climate Lobby will discuss its efforts at a comprehensive climate solution through a rising national carbon fee returned to the public as a dividend. And, Altadena Energy and Solar will display its cost-effective solar panels.
We hope you can make time to visit these tables, say hello to the chickens, and complete the carbon footprint calculator on Sunday, April 23, beginning at 10 a.m. If you have any questions, contact Tom Brady, the chair of EDEN, at brady818@gmail.com.
