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The Green Corner by Gordon Bates

As part of the "Green Calendar" effort of the religious congregations in Glastonbury (called Gaining a Greener Glastonbury), First Church’s Green Committee volunteered to be responsible for June and July to highlight Green Vacations and Water Conservation respectively. In the last Reminder, we listed some actions we can all take if we take a vacation over the next twelve months. This month a pamphlet is being prepared by Laura Wildman and Gordon Bates on water conservation that will be shared with all the congregations. Below is a part of what will be in the pamphlet. Water, along with air, food and shelter, is one of the four indispensable survival needs of humans and almost all other creatures. Keeping in mind that less than one percent of all the water on earth is accessible and drinkable, and that more than 2 billion people lack safe and readily available water for drinking, eating, bathing and irrigation, what follows are some Tips for summertime water conservation:

Water your lawn and plants sparingly

• Water in the cool part of the day

• Know your plants’ water needs

• Check your sprinkler coverage

• Perform annual maintenance of your

  automatic sprinkler system

• Know your soil type to prevent run-off

• Deep-soak your shrubs

• Aerate your lawn and only water when your lawn is dry

• Ask yourself: Do we really need all the lawn we are watering?

What alternatives might be available?

When using Water Indoors

• Check for leaks - one drip a second wastes 2,000 gals. per year

• Install water-conserving toilets, shower heads, faucets, etc.

• Showers use 17 % of home water. Restrict them to five minutes or less

• Turn water on and off when shaving, rinsing dishes or brushing your teeth

• Reject the temptation to buy or store bottled water

• Run the dishwasher or washing machine only when completely full.
  Clothes washers use 22 % of home water consumption

• Toilet use averages 25% of home water consumption (use common
   sense in deciding when to flush)

• Place a bucket in the shower to catch excess water to later water
   plants. This also works when washing dishes or vegetables in the sink.

Rev. Gordon Bates is an Associate Pastor here at First Church. His regular column, The Green Corner, appears in The Reminder, the newsletter of First Church. Rev. Bates is also serves at a representative of Connecticut Conference and was the Convener of the United Church of Christ EcoAction Environment & Energy Task Force.

United Church of Christ EcoAction, is an organization formed for providing resources, networking and guidance for environmental programming in the congregations and conferences of the United Church of Christ.
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