UMW: role models and leaders in protecting our environment

Captions: Naomi Yaeger, UMW Green Team Representative, asking trivia questions of the audience. (The winners got organic fair trade chocolate pieces). Some of the women in the audience.

Yesterday was Just Cap It Day and International Day of Climate Change Action or 350.org Day. In conjunction with this I gave a UMW Green Team presentation for the Minnesota UMW district officers training event held at the Koinonia Retreat Center in South Haven (which is about 15 miles south of St. Cloud). What a beautiful place to meet, especially with the colorful autumn leaves. I did have be to extra careful driving because of a few large slow-moving farm vehicles on the road. Fall is a beautiful season.

This event was attended by 83 women. I was excited to meet so many active leaders; women who are involved and working for social justice through their faith. I am pleased at their level of commitment to the environment.

I talked about why the Women's Division started a Green Team: because so many of the vulnerable are paying the price for environmental degradation. Instead of putting a bandage on the problem we need to get on the front end of the problem. Let's solve the issue instead of mopping up the mess.

We reviewed the UMW policies:

• Don't use bottled water. (If this is necessary consider larger containers and filters.)
• Avoid Styrofoam
• Use Chlorine-free paper
• Sign your Countdown to Copenhagen postcard, or do it online here. We want our president to attend this summit with the rest of the world leaders.

Remember, you are a role model for others and you DO have power. Every time you use or purchase something you are exercising that power. Choose wisely.

(Would you like me to speak at your UMW meeting, church event or a non-faith oriented event. I can tailor the presentation to your interests and can meet with large or small groups.

Popular topics include:

• making your own cleaning supplies
• food
• planning an environmentally-friendly event
• request your own topic

Contact me at naomi AT sundogpress DOT com

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Reducing CO2 with a Green Midday Lunch

Caption: James Merle and Tressa Erickson are members of the College of St. Scholastica's Earth Action club. The club provided a locally procured meal and encouraged students to compost food waste in their dorms with these tiny buckets. (See below.)

Three-hundred fifty, that's an important number. It is the number of the upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that our earth can sustain before we have damaging effects. Right now we are at 390 parts per million. But it IS POSSIBLE for us to reduce this. There are many things you can do. For example, did you know that the biggest culprit of fossil fuel usage in agriculture is fertilizers and pesticides? (Learn more at Sustainable Table.)

Today my daughter, Rebecca, was visiting, and we decided to participate in the Earth Action Green Midday Lunch at the College of St. Scholastica. Everything that the students provided for this lunch was locally grown or raised.

The lunch, held in Tower Hall at the Multicultural Center, was served on ceramic plates, and tumblers were provided for people to get water from the drinking fountain. We got there a little late, so we missed out on the lasagna, but we did get the vegetarian rotellini and blue corn chips. Our dessert, the apple crisp, was great.

Learn more about the International Day of Climate Action which is Oct. 24 at 350.org.

See more photos of the Green Midday Lunch here.

See the Twin Ports 350 blog here.

Learn about 350 Day of Action

350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

Learn more about what people of faith can do here.

This is taken from the the 350 International Day of Climate Action

So here’s the plan. On October 24, we need you to organize an action in the place where you live, something that will make that most important number visible to everyone. People in more than 1000 communities around the globe have already announced plans—they’ll be school children planting 350 trees in Bangledesh, scientists hanging banners saying 350 on the statues on Easter Island, 350 scuba divers diving underwater at the Great Barrier Reef, and a thousand more creative actions like these. At each event, people will gather for a big group photo that somehow depicts 350--and upload that photo to the web 350.org. As actions take place around the world, we'll link all the pictures together electronically via the web--by the end of the day, we'll have a powerful visual petition linking together the entire planet that we can deliver to the media and world leaders.

So far more than 100 nations are taking part—it's shaping up to be to be the biggest day of grassroots action on global warming ever. But we need it to be much larger—we need you, in your village or town or city, to take part. It’s not hard—we can help you with materials and ideas. But you need to take the first step, by registering an action and starting to let your friends and neighbors know about it.

If you want to be environmentally-friendly, stay organized

I have found that the key to having an environmentally-friendly life is to be organized.

I subscribe to Flylady.net and to the Organizer Lady and they help me with organizational skills.

I found this message from the Organizer Lady very helpful:

1. New Message of the Day - DEADLY WORDS

Seven words that will kill the order in your
home are these, "I'm going to take care of that
soon." When they are often used, these are the
words of a procrastinator and procrastination is
poisonous to living an orderly life. It has two
traps that will snare us.

Leaching car battery

This battery was left on the couch and and the whitish trail is what leaked out.

Batteries need to be disposed of properly.

Making a tri-fold display

Hello,

Yesterday I worked on making a new tri-fold display for my talk in the Twin Cities for the Twin Cities District annual business meeting. I will be speaking at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19 Yes, my little doggie, Prof. Cricket, did get a walk before I started on this project.

Here is the blurb that appeared in their "Twin Cities Connection":

TWIN CITIES DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING

Naomi Yaeger, the Minnesota UMW Green Team representative, to speak on Green Team projects! Naomi lives in Duluth

and attends First United Methodist Church. She is a freelance photographer and writer and edits a community monthly

newspaper, “The Hillsider”. She started as a Green Team member while living in Grand Forks, N.D. and serving as co-

president of UMW. As a reporter in Grand Forks she covered a community fighting the relocation of a landfill near their

town. The Green Team and environmentally consciousness has changed her life. She now thinks twice when shopping for

everyday little things likes soap, clothing and food. If having a cup of coffee means using a Styrofoam cup, she goes

without. Purchases are no longer just about the product, but about how much waste will need to be disposed after the

product is brought home.

The annual meeting for the Twin Cities District, United Methodist Women, will be held at Brooklyn United Methodist

Church on Saturday, September 19.

Registration and morning coffee will open at 9 a.m., with gathering for singing in the sanctuary at 9:30. The

worship service will follow, with the Emma Norton Tea (coffee break) following. The checks and cash given

at this time help us make our goal for support of Emma Norton Services for the year, so plan to give

generously.

The business meeting will complete the rest of the morning session. Following lunch, our speaker will be

Naomi Yaeger. She will discuss with us the direction the Green Team is taking concerning global warming,

clean energy and other environmental issues of concern to all women. You won’t want to miss her.

The Resource Room and other displays will be available for your browsing during free times.

Registrations may be made with Carol Foster, either by calling her at 763-537-3678 or emailing to GRUMPYTF@aol.com.

Please include the following information:

Name ________________________________

Church ________________________________

Need child care? ______ If yes, name and age of child. Please bring a bag lunch for each child. Snacks will be provided.

Deadline for registering is Tuesday, September 14. Cost is $8.00, payable at the door.

Directions to Brooklyn UMC: Take 694 W to Brooklyn Blvd exit; turn right on Noble Ave. Parking lot is across street from

church.

Preparing for presentation

I am preparing for an UMW talk in Brooklyn Park area of the Twin Cities. Currently I am trying to preparing a nice tri-fold. I am planning to talk about the Countdown to Copenhagen and how our food choices affect our environment.

This weekend my daughter and I took a trip and along the way we purposely stopped at a natural food store and a consignment shop. We like to support these storse. I think they are gentler on the environment.

We also shopped at a farmers market. I bought some homemade laundry soap.

Experimenting with video

Here is Prof. Cricket at the beach. She had a lot of fun trying to bite those waves.

The dog days of summer

Prof. Cricket get trapped in some rocks at Canal Park.


Youth squealed as they jumped of the cement structure into the cold lake. I stuff my feet in the lake...yeap 43 degrees!

74°F

Current: Clear
Wind: S at 0 mph
Humidity: 70%

Wed

86°F | 63°F

Thu

85°F | 65°F

Fri

83°F | 65°F

Sat

81°F | 63°F

It is almost the middle of August. Time to get serious about the content of the September Hillsider. Today I phoned some advertisers and worked on the layout a bit.

It was really, really hot today. I had a picnic lunch at Canal Park. I found out it is really hard to access the beach with all the boulders there. Those rocks were hot enough to fry an egg! My little doggie got trapped between a couple rocks, but she wormed her way out. Finally we went down near the canal and there is an easier access to the water there. Lots of kids were throwing rock and feeding seagull.

Later we went to Brighton Beach, were Prof. Cricket chased the waves. She likes to try to bite them. She go all the way in the water and believe it or not she did get cold. I had to put her in the car to warm her up.

Anyway, I got my laptop out and worked on the design, made some phone calls and looked at the photos I now have. We want to have a candidate questionnaire and it is looking very tight for space unless I sell some more adds to make a 16 pager rather than a 12 pager.

Water photo

For the past four years I have taken photos of public drinking water access. These might not be the best ones to start off with, but they are my most recent.

Public drinking water is very important. United Methodist Women believe that water is a human right. Not a commodity to by bought and sold.

Usually when I am out and about I will take a drink at a public fountain, not because I am thirsty, but because I want to see if the fountain works. And to exercise what I believe is a right.

Bulk shopping and plastic bags

I am usually aware of packaging as I am shopping. My favorite place to shop is Whole Foods Co-op so I can get natural and/or organic food and purchase in bulk. It does bother me that I use a lot of plastic bags. I have been trying to save them and reuse them. Washing them is kinda a hassle. Right now I have a whole bunch of used plastic bags.

I save them to pick up Prof. Cricket's dog doo. I don't know if this is a good reuse or not because I don't like the fact that it takes forever for these bags to break down (decompose). Picking up dog doo is important though. If we don't pick it up it all goes into our water supply. Here in Duluth that would be Lake Superior. So I am protecting the lake when I pick it up, even if it is being preserved in the plastic bag which ends up in a landfill.

I have started to use the little brown paper bags for my dry bulk goods, especially treats like nuts, chocolate drops and my peanut butter covered pretzels.

Recently I purchased BYO* Bags. They are a cloth mesh. The tag line is “*Bring Your Own. An Earth Friendly Alternative to plastic produce bags.”

I keep forgetting to put them in my car or purse to try them out.

Check out their website: www.coohatz.biz

UMW starts the Countdown to Copenhagen: Time to ensure enough for all

By Naomi Yaeger

UMW Green Team Dakotas Rep

Greetings! The UMW Green Team encourages you to get involved in environmental issues. As a Green Team representative, I attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. this March. The theme year was “Enough for All Creation”. After the event we all spoke to our congresspeople and senators on Capital Hill.

Please study the issues and encourage President Obama to attend the Copenhagen, Denmark summit with other world leaders this December. UMW is working with the National Council of Churches and Church World Service in a postcard campaign. I have 1,000 of these postcards and would be happy to send you some. It is important that our president personally attend this event to show that the U.S. is committed to the environment. Caring about the environment is not just about trees and exotic animals. It is about caring for God’s children. The world’s poorest people are disproportionately affected by environmental derogation. Diseases and poverty go hand-in-hand with environmental racism. In our own country our poorest people have the most environmentally caused illnesses and diseases.

Please visit the websites www.churchworldservice.org and www.nccecojustice.org

You may join an environmental Internet group or learn more about UMW at www.umwonline.org.

Also please read your June issue of “Response”, I wrote an article on page 22 titled, “Loving God, people and the earth”. The article profiles other Green Team members and what they are doing within their districts. The Rev. Pat Watkins has founded Caretakers of God’s Creation ministry and another member, Kyung Yu, talks about her role as a Green Team representative and as a scientist.

I would be happy to consult with you or visit your church as a speaker. You may email me at sun_dog_press AT yahoo.com.

Organic hair care

Hello,
Last week I meet another woman who has an organic beauty shop. Have you ever stopped to think what a permanent does to your hair? Or some of the other chemicals that are common in a beauty shop?

There are ways to be kind to yourself, your beautician and the environment.
Naomi

House Passes Comprehensive Clean Energy Bill

I received this letter from Repower American. I also received emails from other environmental groups. The clean energy bill passed the house yesterday.
Dear Repower America Member,

The House of Representatives has just passed a landmark bill that will propel our nation toward a clean energy future.

The vote was close. Know that all of your efforts -- whether a signed petition, a donation, or a call -- made a difference in the outcome. Together, we are truly showing the power of government by the people and for the people.

It's not over though. The debate moves on to the Senate where our opponents will redouble their efforts. There will be more distortions and foot dragging, but the momentum is on our side.

Today, we have something to celebrate. For the first time in decades, we have taken bold action to help solve the climate crisis. I look forward to working with you in the days ahead.

Thanks for all that you do,

Steve Bouchard
Campaign Manager
www.RepowerAmerica.org

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now, you to keep the pressure on the senate. The United Methodist Women's Green Team urges you to contact your senator and let him or her know we need a comprehensive clean energy bill.

In Minnesota, we still only have one senator: Amy Klobuchar. Contact her at:

Klobuchar, Amy - (D - MN)
302 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3244
Web Form: klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm

If you live in another state please click this link to contact your senator: U.S. Senate

Dulcimer Day organizer returns with Woman-Made | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

Dulcimer Day organizer returns with Woman-Made | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

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Organic cotton, hemp and bamboo clothes

So a couple weeks ago I purchased organic clothes at the Green Mercantile which is in downtown Duluth.

The clothes I purchased had these brand names: Of the Earth, Indigenous, and Blue Canoe. I suppose I should have someone take a photo of me in my new clothes.

My jeans are made of hemp and they fit perfectly. Right now there website is down www.oftheearth.com so I will have to check back to see if they have photos of my jeans online. I also got a black jacket and a skirt made of cotton and silk.

I selected two shirts from Blue Canoe.
The one shown here, which I got in sapphire blue or what Blue Canoe calls cornflower and another black tank top with lace around the arms.

In the past I had only purchased organic cotton socks at the Green Mercantile because I told myself it was too expensive. When I found myself tempted by some new clothes at an upscale boutique I decided, "If I can buy these, I can buy the ones at Green Mercantile." So I went right over to the Green Mercantile and tried on some clothes. I am very pleased.

(The address is 209 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802. And the phone number is (218) 722-1771.)

If you are living in another location in Minnesota visit this websearch page to find other stores with organic clothing.

Second hand clothing saves on the environment

Hi,

I had been on a contest with myself to see if I could purchase all my clothing second hand so as not to place a demand for new products on the environment.

I have had very good luck with this. I often get compliments on my clothes.

This spring while at a Ecumenical Advocacy Days I told another UMW member about this. She didn't like the idea because she had to wear second hand clothes as a child. She said they didn't fit right and often were smelly.

Well, I do have rules about purchasing second hand.

• The must fit and be comfortable

• There can't be anything wrong with them. No spots, stains and certainly not smelly

Wow, that certainly got this off on a sour note.

Another rule is that I know designer tags when I see them. I always look at the tag and see who made the clothing and what the fabric is made of. Usually a well made designer piece of clothing will last a long time. And you will feel proud to wear it.

Yesterday I purchased some new clothing for the first time in about three years. The only other new items I had purchased was two hats. (I am a hat lady.)

In the U.S., African Amercans are the hardest hit by climate change

Captions: left Prof. Cricket with her Christmas scarf. Right: the Rev. Michael McClain of the National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs.(Photos by Naomi)











By Naomi Yaeger UMW Green Team Rep and Prof. Cricket, her determined little dog.


Prof. Cricket and I live in a northern city, Duluth, MN. We go for lots of walks and this keeps us in contact with the people of the neighborhood. While Duluth doesn't have a large population of African Americans, we live in a part of the city that has a larger population of minorities than other parts of this city of 80,000 people.


One thing my little doggie and I have noticed is that of our environmentally minded friends we do not see many African Americans. I serve as the editor of "The Hillsider". It is a newspaper for the core neighborhoods in Duluth and we work hard to cover issues that affect minority people. One of the people on the board of directors of this non-profit newspaper, an African American woman, also had noticed that not many of her African American friends and acquaintances were as interested in environmental issues. She lived only a block away and I used to stop by with Prof. Cricket when we went for walks. (Prof. Cricket was fascinated with her cat.)

Anyway, we would talk about many things and one day she phoned me to tell me about an African American man she had just met. He was interested in the environment and trying to get people to recycle and participate in other environmental programs. She said this was the first African American that she had met who was "into" the environment. To her environmentalism was low on her priority scale. She thought she had more pressing issues to worry about.

Well, anyway the above story illustrates my personal experience with minorities interest in green issues. Here is an article I wrote for our newspaper:

Baptist minister says impacts of global warming fall harder on African-Americans than others

In March I attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. as part of my role as a member of the United Methodist Women’s Green Team for the state of Minnesota. Over 700 people of faith from across the nation attended this conference. The theme was “Enough for all.” On the last day we visited our representatives and senators on Capitol Hill
We learned about environmental racism, in which the people who are already living in poverty are often dealing with the effects of environmental degradation.

I met Baptist minister Michael McClain, a staff-member of the National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs. He spoke about how minority people have often felt left out of the environmental movement when in fact they are the ones who are hardest hit by environmental degradation.

He said, “The worst impacts of global warming fall harder on African-Americans than on anyone else in the United States.” He cited asthma rates are often higher in minority communities, and minorities will pay a higher percentage of their incomes to increasing energy costs.
McClain works to reach out to historic black churches, explain the ways in which climate change is impacting poor people and people of color, and invite them to sign the National Council of Churches’ Faith Principles on Global Warming.
He is also working on home insulation programs, which help people lower energy costs as well as lower their carbon footprint.
If you would like to learn more email McClain at mmclain AT nccecojustice.org or visit nccecojustice.org

Eat fair trade chocolate at Easter time, urge Cadbury's to go fair trade in America

Many people eat lots of chocolate at Easter time.

Make sure you buy fair trade chocolate.

In England Cadbury's has made a commitment to selling fair trade chocolate.

Here is what Green America has to say:
he significance of this fantastic news is that Cadbury is the first major chocolate brand to go Fair Trade with one of its main product lines, one of the goals Green America has been striving towards. Cadbury's announcement proves what Green America has been saying for years: it is viable for a major chocolate bar to go Fair Trade without passing a significant cost increase to consumers. Congratulations on this important victory to all of you who have taken action by buying a Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate bar or writing a letter to bring us to this moment!

Read more here.