840 Sandwich Road
East Falmouth, MA 02536
508-457-0449

Environmental Justice

Green Sanctuary Environmental Action Plan

The Congregation approved an Environmental Action Plan to become a certified Green Sanctuary as described by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). In 2009 May we rejoiced at the news that our plan had been approved! The UUFF received formal Green Sanctuary accreditation at the Salt Lake City General Assembly in June.

Upcoming Programs

See Religious Education: Adult for programs co-sponsored by the Green Sanctuary and Adult Religious Education Committees.

UUFF Activities on Behalf of the Environment

Solar Panels

Dave Jewett, past President of the Fellowship, showing off solar panels.
Photo by Cynthia Repplier.

Our capital campaign for solar panels succeeded with flying colors. The State of Massachusetts came through with their part of the funding; the roofing work has been completed; and installation of the panels has been completed!

An array of 24 solar (photovoltaic) collectors was installed on a south-facing roof of the UUFF Meetinghouse and hooked up to the electric grid on June 18, 2008. The up-front cost of this system was $33,780, but the final cost to the Fellowship is expected to be only $18,660 after an anticipated rebate of $15,120 via the Massachusetts Technical Collaborative (MTC) small renewables initiative program.

"Our solar panel installation took place in less than a day," noted David Jewett, past president of the Falmouth fellowship. "We didn't have any problems. Because of the downward pressure on pricing for photovoltaic systems, we wound up getting much more for our money than we expected."

The system is projected to produce about 5000 kwh (kilowatt hours) of electricity annually, which represents 1/3 of the total electricity used at the meetinghouse the previous year (ending June ‘08). In addition to the direct savings on the electric bill, we can sell renewable energy certificates (RECs) generated by the PV system at a rate of about 6 cents per kwh. Dr. Marvin Grosslein, one of the Fellowship members who supervised the installation of the solar panels, says that factoring in the current cost of electricity (about 22 cents per kwh) offset by the PV system and the sale of RECs, the savings achieved in the first full year of operation are estimated to be about $1400. At that rate the system would pay for itself in about 13 years, and since electric rates are expected to increase, payback period will decline accordingly.

The PV modules are warranted for 25 years, and will likely achieve a design life at least twice that. Over the first 25 years of operation the system would be expected to offset an estimated 157 tons of carbon dioxide, 900 pounds of sulphur dioxide, and 560 pounds of nitrous oxide, assuming that the bulk of electricity continued to be generated through burning of fossil fuels in the same manner as is the case in the USA today. Of course it is hoped that greenhouse gas emissions will decline through increasing use of alternative energy sources (such as wind, solar, tides, nuclear) and cleaner burning fuel technology. But this example illustrates the contribution just one PV system can generate over time, and suggests the potential cumulative power of adding alternative energy sources to the national grid through the actions of individual citizens and non-government organizations.

Cape Light Compact "Green" electricity

At the recommendation of the Buildings and Grounds and Green Sanctuary Committees, the Governing Board voted to switch to "Cape Light Compact 100% Green" electricity for that part of our electricity that will not be generated by our new solar photovoltaic panels. Green electricity, purchased from the local utility, comes mostly from wind and small hydroelectric plants. Our conventional electricity is produced mostly from coal, gas, and nuclear sources. Green electricity will cost the UUFF a few hundred dollars extra per year.

Service Center Weatherization

A big thank you to David Jewett and a cheerful crowd of volunteers from the UUFF who helped the Falmouth Service Center add insulation to their warehouse.

Healthy Homes and Cape Cod Ground Water

Social Action Committee outreach funds generated from the sales of food certificates each Sunday benefited Silent Spring Institute's Cape Cod Breast Cancer & Environment Study. Each year SSI researchers travel to Cape Cod to inform the public about their latest research projects. This year the focus was on "healthy homes" and "contaminants of emerging concern" (CECs) in our groundwater/surface water with its health implications for our public water supply wells. SSI, the Cape Cod & the Islands Group-Sierra Club, and the UUFF Adult Religious Education and Green Sanctuary Committees will organize a meeting in the late Winter/early Spring of 2010 on wastewater treatment and CECs (details remain to be developed for this program). Details of this meeting will be posted on the UUFF Religious Education: Adult web page.

Minister's Message on Energy, Faith, and Justice

Rev. Murphy has written a sermon, published in the 2009 October 24 issue of the Cape Cod Times, on religious involvement in issues involving the environment and human needs.

UUFF Receives Award

On 2009 October 19 at the Falmouth Board of Selectmen's meeting, Joan Muller of the Falmouth Energy Committee presented an Energy Superstar award to the UUFF in recognition of all of our Green Sanctuary-related efforts. Bob Murphy, Marv Grosslein, and Jessica Mark Welch accepted the award on behalf of the congregation.

UUFF in the News

A 2007 April 21 article in the Boston Globe entitled "Pairing environmentalism, economic justice" featured Rev. Bob Murphy and members of the Fellowship involved in the Environmental Justice field.

Things Individuals and Groups Can Do

Get Help from Massachusetts

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has started a collaborative campaign called “Energy Bucks” to build awareness about fuel assistance, utility discount rates, and energy efficiency services for working families. Call 1-800-632-8175 or visit http://www.energybucks.com

Weatherization pays dividends all year! Check for drafty windows, doors, and basement and attic floor insulation. Get a door snake (cloth tube filed with sand): cheap but effective! If you don’t have storm windows, install plastic film on the inside of your windows. Use honeycomb blinds or shades closed at night and open for sunlight heat during the day in the winter.

Get Help from the U.S.

From the Union of Concerned Scientists web site: Uncle Sam wants YOU to use clean energy, and the federal tax credit of $1500 for improving your home energy efficiency is still available. You can tap into renewable energy to provide heat, hot water and electricity- and save money in the process.

As part of the federal stimulus package, the federal government is offering a 30% tax credit for the cost and installation of eligible products placed in service between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2016. Unlike the energy efficiency tax credit, there is no upper limit and you can carry forward any unclaimed portion of the tax credit to future years. You can do both tax credits!

For more specific information on environmentally friendly products see http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips; in the right column scroll down to Greentips Archive and click the down arrow to choose a topic.

Get Help from Cape Light Compact

In the meantime, consider replacing your old energy-guzzling appliances with new ones. If you have old, inefficient appliances and you sign up for a (free) energy audit from the Cape Light Compact, they will provide you with a certificate for significant rebates on new energy star-rated appliances. Check out http://myenergystar.com for extra savings.For more green tips, check out http://greentipsforyou.com.

Give or Receive Help from Our Carpool Service

The UUFF, through AlterNetRides, is offering carpooling to and from the Fellowship. We need a large pool of attenders offering and requesting rides to make this work well, so click Carpool Service; then click the Signup button!

--- When you sign up, you may indicate that you either need a ride, are offering rides to those in need, or that you are willing to share rides (carpool).
--- When they ask for "How many miles do you commute? (roundtrip)", they are asking for the round-trip distance from your home to the UUFF and back, NOT to your work and back!
--- When they ask you to give your starting point, they are asking for the intersection of two major roads close to where you live, NOT your actual address. If you post your address as the "starting point" it will appear to all who use this service.
--- when asked for "$ per trip", you may leave this blank (which leaves it at $0). This is meant for those who offer a ride as a cost-saving measure and want to get paid for the service; this is not really our purpose.

If you're curious about AlterNetRides generally, check them out.

Simple Things You Can Do to Protect the Environment

1. Switch to Green Electricity from the Cape Light Compact; it’s a great way to reduce your carbon footprint simply and easily;
2. If you eat beef, try grass-fed beef; email info[at]uuffm.org and we will get some to you.
3. Eat less meat.
4. Buy Fresh, Buy Local, Buy Organic. Why?

a) Keep chemicals of your plate
b) Protect water quality
c) Build healthy soil
d) Better taste and truer flavor
e) Assist small farmers
f) Avoid hasty and poor science in your food
g) Promote biodiversity
h) Save energy
i) Protect farm workers
j) Support a local economy

(Adapted from "Ten reasons to buy organic". More information at www.organic.org and www.semaponline.org

If You Eat Meat, Reduce Consumption of Chemicals

"Eat less meat" is one of the things listed under "Simple things you can do to protect the environment", above, as is "Keep chemicals off your plate". If you eat meat, the UUFF can help with the chemicals. We have once again obtained grass-fed beef from River Rock Farm in Westport, MA, and by the time you read this we will also have organic pasture-raised pork from Misty Brook Farm in central Massachusetts. If you are interested in trying some, please contact Jessica Mark Welch at jmarkwelch[at]mbl.edu.

If you want to know more about a vegetarian or vegan diet, here is a page of links that may help: Google search.

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

Download the Carbon Calculator. This is a pdf file, for which you will need Adobe Acrobat or a similar pdf reader. You can download Adobe Acrobat for free from the Adobe download site.

To reduce your Cape Cod footprint, we recommend: insulating your home and making your home heating more efficient; asking for a free energy audit of your home from the Cape Light Compact; purchasing green electricity; driving a fuel-efficient car; and eating locally produced food, eating less meat, and seeking out grass-fed and pasture-raised meat when you do eat meat. Support community gardening at the Falmouth Service Center! It’s organic and it helps our neighbors as well as ourselves.

Calculate Your Nitrogen Footprint

By this time all of us know something about the “Carbon Cycle,” and about the way excessive emissions of carbon dioxide contribute to global climate change. But how many of us are aware that excessive emissions of nitrogen related to human activities can disrupt the natural cycle of nitrogen through the ecosystem to create serious environmental problems? If you wish to calculate your own nitrogen footprint, you will need copies of recent gas, electric, or oil bills, and information about your automobile year, make, and miles driven per year.

Consider the Impact of Your Diet

See the UUA Congregational Study/Action Issue Guide:
"Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice"

The national Unitarian Universalist Association selects Congregational Social/Action Issues (CSAIs) for study by member congregations. In 2008, the CSAI selected was "Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice." It was proposed by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth and by Rev. Bob Murphy.

"The Falmouth fellowship has been involved with human rights issues for many years, notes Rev. Murphy, "and our congregation has long been concerned about environmental protection. The Ethical Eating discussion has developed from Unitarian Universalist principles and from our fellowship's involvement with community organizing for environmental justice."

The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh of the Winchester Unitarian Society says "An amazing team representing many different UU groups working on justice issues just posted the beautiful, photograph-laden Resource Guide for 'Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice'....

"Take one look at the Guide, and I think you may be blown away—visually, and in terms of usefulness for congregations. The UUA Washington Office says that the Resource Guide sets a very high bar for any future Resource Guide. The Guide provides a suggested “Menu Plan” that maps out almost two years worth of options for congregational programming, with easy descriptions for how to organize them. The format allows each congregation to tailor its study to its particular interests and needs. It uses a highly personal topic—eating—as a way of engaging and empowering people in global issues like labor and immigration, climate change and ecosystem destruction, immigration, hunger, animal welfare, and trade."

Participate in a Community Garden

Watch a 2009 April 25 Earth Day Video created by one of our members!

Fellowship members prepare for spring planting

Photo by Dorene Sykes

2009 will be our sixth year at the sixty-plot, organic Community Garden at the Falmouth Service Center on Gifford Street. The UUFF gives vegetables it raises to the Community Pantry for distribution to those who need a helping hand.

Garden plots are offered on a first come basis for a nominal annual fee of $10, to anyone in the community who wants to try their hand at growing organic vegetables. Gardeners are not alowed to use synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. Each gardener agrees to give 50% of their vegetable crop to the Center for free distribution to people in need at the Center's Food Pantry.

Experience varies from beginning gardeners (what's a garden rake?) to master gardeners (use diluted tabasco sauce to control aphids). Monthly community work days and pot-luck suppers provide opportunities for the gardeners to share ideas. The Center provides tools as well as compost, mulch, manure and acceptable environmentally sensitive fertilizers.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth gardens two plots. The Fellowship contributes about two bushels of vegetables -- 95% of our crop -- to the Food Pantry yearly. Considering the magnitude of world-wide hunger and malnutrition, two bushels isn't much. But it is our way of working locally to do our part. The annual Rachel Carson Harvest Dinner in October celebrates 'earth friendly' community gardening, landscaping, and agriculture on Cape Cod.