Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Carbon Fast for Lent: Washing Wait

Wednesday in the Third Week of Lent
“Only run your washing machine when you have a full load.”

Anther good reminder from the Tearfund Carbon Fast folks. Our building laundry room has coin-op machines, which does sometimes discourage me from doing small loads. But other times I think, “Hey, it’s only a few quarters, what the heck.”

Tearfund notes that in the UK (where they’re based) an average person produces 9.5 tons of carbon emissions per year. (I can only imagine how much larger that figure must be here in the U.S.) Yet in Ethiopia, the average person emits only 1/10 of one ton. This motivated their slogan for the Carbon Fast: “Your Home. Their Survival.” People in poorer countries, lacking resources, are hit harder by extreme weather and other climate change-induced problems, while those of us who are better-off create more of the problem. I’m trying to remember this during Lent when I feel like some of the more “minor” carbon reducing actions seem unimportant or not worth my time.

Today’s mitzvah:
Can you postpone a partial load of laundry? Use the extra time to visit Green Lent and Listen to the Wombat.

4 comments:

RFSJ said...

Jen,

I think we're still in the *third* week in Lent.... :-0


Bob

jen x said...

Bob,

I can see my liturgical skills are getting rusty! Thanks for the catch :-)

Jen

RFSJ said...

That's what we're here for..... :-0

I have to watch reading your blog, if I read it before I post my own thoughts. Yours are often so much better than mine I find myself copying them.....

Bob

jen x said...

Bob, what a nice thing to say. I had a lousy day so it was nice to come home and read something positive.

And of course I don't read *your* blog first for the same reason :-)