Earth Care at Northside
What are we doing?
- Reduce - providing car pools, reducing paper usage, proper disposal of batteries, printers, copiers, and computers
- Reuse - email church bulletins and newsletters
- Recycle - both standard Blacksburg items and specialty larger items at a different facility
- Use environmentally friendly products - chlorine free paper, envelopes, safe cleaning products
- Energy efficient - lights, thermostat timers, HVAC
- Grounds - no herbicides, pesticides, mulch, bike rack
- Other - We use an environmentally friendly approach to coffee hour, receptions, congregational meals, communion and food use. We use fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate. We share leftover food, and contribute donations to the inter-faith food bank. We plant trees on the grounds and created a memorial garden for a portion of the grounds with the capability to bury ashes instead of the more environmentally impactful embalming/caskets of the past. We worked with the NRV Glean Team to grow over 2,000 pounds of squash on 0.3 acres to help provide fresh food to food-insecure people of the New River Valley. The garden has been planted again in the summer of 2024 and has been expanded to included a watermelon patch.Northside provides a good model of Earth Care friendly actions, please do what you can at home.
Earth Care Newsletter - Summer 2025
Large US and international energy projects being developed
Tidal Farm: underwater turbines off the coast of France; underwater kites: Sweden; tidal screw type generator: English channel.
7.3 square mile Mojave Desert (CA) Solar and Battery storage plant.
China -onshore wind turbine farm and 1.8 billion KW solar plant.
Kenya has geothermal resources and plans to cover over 90% of their power needs by 2030 and export power to neighboring countries.
Google's new geothermal plant could provide for 8% of US energy by 2050. Walmart is planning 31 new solar projects in 5 states in the US.
Giant solar farms in Australia, Denmark and India, export energy to other countries using under-sea transmission cables.
5,000 acre solar panel and battery storage site is on line outside of Las Vegas NV. Wind farm coming for S. Mass- 800,000 homes.
Iceland geothermal - Krafla volcanic caldera- wells going in.
High speed trains between major cities in different countries reduces the use of routine airplane flights and is fast and energy efficient.
Sustainable Things you can do at home
Support energy projects in your area; vote with your dollars.
Source: The Cool Down.com website
Earth Care Newsletter - Summer 2024
New Sustainable Technologies being developed
Truck transport - a new electric powered semi tractor motor and battery system has been developed by Tesla for tractor trailers (18 wheelers). In a video that has gone viral you can see the Tesla unit easily passing diesel trucks going up a steep road in Donner Pass. It has been shown to handle cold and icy conditions in recent testing. This will make it possible to replace motors in existing trucks when they wear out with electric models. New vehicles can also be electrically powered.
Sustainable Things you can do at home
Liquid laundry detergent comes in very large plastic containers. By not using more than the manufacturer’s instructions, you can make the amount last longer. You can often get by with less than recommended. If you purchase powdered detergent in a cardboard box, you are refusing that giant plastic jug. You can also buy detergent sheets that dissolve in water.
Source: The Cool Down.com website