How to have a sustainable Valentine’s Day

How to have a sustainable Valentine's Day

By Naomi Yaeger

Commissioned Earthkeeper in the United Methodist Church

I took a photo of Valentine's Day at my house about a year ago. The glass jar contains dried mint for our tea. My husband grew the mint in his garden. 

I took these photos the last couple of years on Valentine's Day. Instead of purchasing something new that would go to waste, I served tea. My husband had grown mint in our garden the previous summer. It is dried and in a glass jar on the right.

Valentine's Day is approaching. Is this a day you celebrate? If you are a child, maybe you have a party at school. My husband has fond memories of Valentine's Day parties during elementary school. For me, it has always been a fun day. My mother made it fun. Examples of how she made it fun are heart-shaped cookies frosted with pink or red icing, a heart-shaped cake, or some memorable food. Sometimes she gave me a unique pair of panties or tights even after I married.

The American Retailers Federation probably loves Valentine's Day because last year, Americans spent $23.9 Billion on gifts for partners, friends, and pets. Pets! Oh my! I think that's a little ridiculous. But it goes along with my point of making it a fun day even if you don't have a sweetheart.

The top five gifts consumers give are candy, greeting cards, flowers, an evening out, and jewelry.

Make your Valentine's Day fun. But, make sure you are showing love to the earth also.

Can you make something like a homemade card, cookies, or treat?

If you do purchase candy, look for candy that is wrapped most sustainably. Can you recycle or compost the wrapper? How much plastic is used to wrap the candy? With chocolate, look for Fair Trade chocolate. The industry has a history of using slave labor. If purchasing flowers, look for fair trade flowers. Who grows the flowers? Are they paid a fair wage? Are they exposed to toxic sprays while working?

I have included some Fair Trade logos in this column for you to check before purchasing.

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9

Book Review on The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

I am including this book in my blog because of how important land, water, and plants are to the story. It is a novel taking place in southwest Minnesota

Though the main characters in this book were not exactly exciting; one might even say they suffered from dysthymia, I felt compelled to keep reading to learn more about them, especially the main character, Rosalie Iron Wing. Rosalie is a descendant of the Dakota tribe and was raised by her father at the beginning of her life and by white foster families. She marries a white farmer. It's a marriage of convenience, and the two have a son. The book may have had a particular interest to me because I have ancestors from the area of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. (I was especially interested when her white husband took her to New Ulm, and Rosie saw a monument to the whites who had died in the Dakota conflict looking very similar to the monument located at Lake Shetek, where my parents spent recreational time. <br>How Rosalie navigates living her life, the joy she finds in planting the seeds her deceased mother-in-law had saved, and how those seeds connect her to her Dakota heritage is intriguing. This book helps a reader understand the history, attitudes, and struggles of whites and Native Americans in the area. I read it through Audible. I liked the narrator's voice and style. Diane Wilson (Author), Kyla García (Narrator)

View all my reviews at </www.goodreads.com/review/list/49031377-naomi-yaeger">

How our clothes affect workers and the world

 By Naomi Yaeger

I love learning about why styles and fabrics received their names because my mother sewed most of our clothing. Mom’s sewing skills were a financial asset. Nowadays, sewing costs more than clothes from a store because labor and fabric have become so cheap.

Besides preventing you from being naked, keeping you warm, and looking fashionable, here are some other reasons you should care about your clothes:

Christians should know about our clothing because it impacts the environment. As we observe Labor Day, we should “see” the hands that produce our clothes.

Here are some points to ponder:

Labor

           The clothing industry is behind only sex trafficking and agriculture in the use of forced labor (slaves).

According to FashionUnited. Approximately 40 million people around the world are living in modern slavery, 71 percent of them female -- and the fashion industry is the second biggest contributor to this situation, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, published by nonprofit organization Walk Free Foundation. The study was based on data from 167 countries and face-to-face interviews with more than 71,000 people in 52 languages.

Pollution

Toxic chemicals are used in the dying of textiles which is the biggest contributor to water pollution.

Plastic

Polyester is a form of plastic. Between 1980 and 2007, the amount of polyester produced annually increased from 5.8 million tons to 34 million tons. By 2025, that number is projected to nearly triple to 99.8 million tons.

When your polyester clothes reach the end of their life, they take much more time to decompose than natural fibers.

Sheer Amount

• People buy 60% more clothes than 15 years ago!

• We are producing ever-increasing amounts while wearing clothes for a shorter amount of time and trashing them sooner.

As I write, I’m wearing a polyester shirt, pants, and socks, so I understand our love affair with polyester. 

Five things you can do now

1. Ask questions: #whomademyclothes? 

2. Wear/repair what you have

3. Build a personal style; use accessories you already own, a signature color, or an accessory like a belt, tie, scarf, or even shoelaces. You don’t have to purchase as many new clothes if your accessory is your signature. 

4. Find alternative ways to be fashionable, be proud of what you already own, and be comfortable with what you have.  

5. Support ethical producers  

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 Pull out Bible verse: Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:20

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Alternative Bible verse:

those who work deserve their pay.

Luke 10:7b

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(Naomi Yaeger is a commissioned United Methodist Earthkeeper. Contact her at sun_dog_press@yahoo.com, phone or text (218) 591-5277. For more information, visit https://umcmission.org/EarthKeepers/)

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For further reading:

Links on forced labor

https://www.walkfree.org/

http://www.invisiblehandsmovie.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Human-Trafficking-Around-World-Hidden/dp/023116145X

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/fast-fashion

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/fast-fashion

https://www.walkfree.org/making-modern-slavery-socially-unacceptable/

https://progressive.org/op-eds/questions-to-ask-clothing-brands-kashyap-190501/

https://progressive.org/latest/disposable-fashion-is-growing-exponentially-190315/

https://www.unboundnow.org/blog/fast-fashion-amp-labor-trafficking

https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/fashion-is-one-of-the-key-industries-contributing-to-modern-slavery/2018072730992

https://fashionista.com/2015/05/the-true-cost

https://youtu.be/OaGp5_Sfbss

 

Environmental costs

https://riverbluethemovie.eco/

https://earth.org/fast-fashion-pollution-and-climate-change/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/12/03/making-climate-change-fashionable-the-garment-industry-takes-on-global-warming/?sh=5feb8bb479e4

Book Review "Walking the Old Road: A People's History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe"

Hi, I'm adding this book review because many of the stories in this book were done the old way, which is to say, in a natural, sustainable way. The book is more about the lives of the people (Anishinaabeg and White settlers) in the Arrowhead region of northern Minnesota, but it does show how things were done before modern times. 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4827079960

Take the Plastic-free July Challenge

By Naomi Yaeger

UMC Earthkeeper

I challenge you to make two new changes this month regarding your personal use of one-time-use plastic.

The month of July includes a challenge. It’s named Plastic-free July. The motto for 2022 is  ‘Turn the tide on plastic waste, one choice at a time. '' Plastic-Free July is a registered not-for-profit in Australia, but plastic pollution knows no boundaries, especially in the ocean.

I was dismayed when I read that plastic production, consumption, and pollution levels have increased exponentially since the 1950s. I’ve seen that. 

If you’ve ever seen those Facebook memes that say “Tell us how old you are without telling us how old you are I could say, “When I was a kid, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, ketchup and mustard, and juices were packaged in glass jars.” Not only that, but my parents' generation purchased meat wrapped in butcher paper.

We can’t recycle our way out of this problem because plastic can be recycled only about one time before it’s no longer useful and we are using plastic packaging exponentially. 

Here are some changes I successfully made this year.

• I started using toilet paper that isn’t wrapped in a plastic film. It’s called “Who Gives a Crap.”

• Use bar shampoos and containers rather than those packaged in plastic bottles.

• Use deodorant made by a local cosmetic company where I can return the glass and metal containers.

• Rather than take the sample dental floss contained in plastic, I tell my dental hygienist, “Thank you, but I’m going to purchase dental floss packaged in cardboard or glass.”

• Terry and I like to host parties; I strive to find decorations not made of plastic. 

The Bible warns us not to be wasteful, isn’t using a one-time use of plastic a form of waste?

If you drink Pepsi products, see Greenpeace's World Refill Challenge.

Visit PlasticFreeJuly.org 

(Do you feel a call to care for creation? Join the FUMC sustainability committee, or learn more 

about becoming an Earthkeeper https://umcmission.org/EarthKeepers/, contact Naomi at sun_dog_press@yahoo.com, (218) 591-5277))

The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

​​Isaiah Chapter 24

Let nothing be wasted

A plate of food during a feast at the
 Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College,
 this plate has venison rather than walleye. 

By Naomi Yaeger,

Commissioned EarthKeeper, United Methodist Church

The Environmental Institute at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (Cloquet, Minn.) studies promotes sustainable agriculture, and other topics through the use of a medicinal garden, beehives, and a greenhouse. I am fortunate to work for the Institute as a part-time student.

Recently we celebrated Sustainability Awareness Week. We kicked off with a feast of Indigenous foods: fried walleye, maple roasted squash, manoomin (wild rice), cranberry bread, and Baby Cakes (cupcakes baked with wild rice flour and maple syrup made by an Ojibwe mother/daughter team).

 

Before feasts, tobacco and prayers are offered. At one of our feasts, we all stood waiting patiently. I was anxious, however, as no one knew who was going to offer the prayer. One young woman was asked to give the prayer. She said she couldn’t because she didn’t know Ojibwe well enough. Someone replied, “If you didn’t have a voice do you think the Great Spirit wouldn’t know when you were praying.”

Cupcakes made with wild rice flour  and maple syrup by Baby Cakes 

Wild Rice Bakery/Savage Girls Salads

I particularly liked it when she asked, “If you didn’t have a voice would the Great Spirit hear you.” The answer is, “Of course, the Great Spirit would hear you!”
 

My role at the feast was to facilitate composting. I collaborated with other team members to make sure we had compostable dinnerware and contacted Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) to reserve a party kit (which included special bins, compostable liners, and signage) and transport it. At the college, I cheerfully informed people that their dinnerware and all food waste were compostable and showed them exactly where they could dispose of their waste. I’ve found that many people want to do the right thing but are confused. This is true at church. People are often unsure of what they need to dispose of is recyclable or compostable.

                           A coworker and fellow student, Haley, poses beside he composting and recycling station. The large green bags in nearest to her are compostable plasticand are used to collect the dinnerware and leftovers.

I suggest you think of God when you recycle or compost. Unlike, humans God doesn’t waste anything. I think composting is actually a miracle. Make it into an act of conscious gratefulness to the Lord. (God will hear you if even you don’t vocalize it.) Consider when Jesus fed the multitude with 5 loaves and 2 fish in John 6:12, after the meal he said, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

(Naomi Yaeger is a commissioned United Methodist Earthkeeper. Contact her at sun_dog_press@yahoo.com, phone or text (218) 591-5277. For more information visit https://umcmission.org/EarthKeepers/)

The author, Naomi, acknowledges that many hurtful events aimed at Native Americans that have and continue to take place in the name of Christianity. Her writings are an attempt to see commonalities with what she believes within the teachings of John Wesley and what she has learned from her Native American coworkers, classmates and friends.

“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

John 6:12

This venison stew was actually served at another feast than the one the other writes about in this post.
It included cranberry and maple syrup.

Short trip teaches campers about the environment

This post is a guest post by my friend, Wendy Grethen. Wendy is a fellow environmentalist and enjoys learning about the environment and environmentally-friendly practices. 

Wendy and her husband pitched a tent in what had
 been a neighborhood full of houses.

By Wendy Grethen

As a person who loves to travel, I appreciate that there are places to go and things to do that aren’t that far.  My husband and I don’t always have a full weekend free together.  But, we did have time for a 24-hour getaway in early September.   We packed a tent and our bikes and headed to Hibbing on the Iron Range.  We tented at Historic North Hibbing Campground, a municipal campground with a half dozen sites on the actual building and house sites of the town that once stood there.  

Old street signs are up on the end of the roads.  Displays show what was in the town and how many buildings were relocated two miles south to accommodate for mining activity that came in and dug up most of the former town.  With the announcement to move the town, the community members figured out how to move the buildings.  Some moves were a success and some weren’t and the buildings collapsed.  The will of people can be very strong and the town was rebuilt in its new location.  Reuse of materials is one of the top ways to reduce impact on the environment. 

I’m thankful to fit in outdoor-time

in the tail end of summer

to enjoy a mix of cycling, site visiting

and non-highway driving

 

My husband and I woke up the next day to the call of a loon and mining equipment sounds. We went into town to eat an outdoor breakfast from a local bar-restaurant.  
We then hopped on our bicycles and rode on the Mesabi Trail to the town of Keewatin.  The bike trail had other cyclists and walkers using the trail and viewing the scenery of the filled-in mine pits that looked quite beautiful and trees growing up through the mine tailings.  
One pit had a group of swans on the water. The bike route was mostly on a trail but part of the route was through very small towns. It also crossed railroad tracks a few times which were loaded with spilled taconite. After we made the round-trip bike ride we did a little sightseeing and located Bob Dylan’s boyhood home near the high school and the new large sign announcing his receiving a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 for his poetic expressions within the Great American song traditions.

The remote spot where the Wellstone plane crashed.

Then, we drove on toward Duluth via a side trip to the Wellstone Memorial site with a short hiking trail near where the plane crashed in October 2002 and all 8 passengers died. Sen. Paul Wellstone was a 58 years old liberal politician and social science teacher. He developed outstanding skills in community organizing and had passion for making the country a better place for all. His successes included limiting international sex trafficking, investing in workforce, and mental health parity act. A quote of his is “We all do better when we all do better.”  The rest of our 24-hour trip involved driving through rural roads toward Duluth.  A bit more needed rain fell. We stopped at a gravel pit and looked for (but didn’t find) agates but enjoyed the time viewing the various colors of the stones. I’m thankful to fit in outdoor time in the tail end of summer season to enjoy a mix of cycling, site visiting and non-highway driving to slow down a bit and see many, many trees.  

Learn more about Wendy at WendyUpNorth.com