Social Responsibility

national_volunteer_day_2009

Unitarian Universalists have a passion for championing social responsibility.  Our list of concerns includes:

…to name a few.  On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of 2009, a bunch of us met up in downtown Petaluma to pick up litter, and to distribute compact fluorescent lightbulbs in low-income neighborhoods. A great way to spend the morning, after which we all had lunch together. Photo at right —->

Projects:

Children’s Imaginarium at Mary Isaak Center
UUP is working on a new Children’s Imaginarium (playground) that will be co-created by COTS and UUP for the Mary Isaak Center.  We have already raised about $190 towards this effort, and taken a trip to Urban Ore in Berkeley to get some inspiration. Our first step was to meet with Carrie from COTS at the Mary Isaak Center and look at the space there. Photos below.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Then we took a trip to Urban Ore to get some inspiration. We would like to use recycled materials, as it’s less wasteful and spurs more creativity. Photos below.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

350 Gardens Project
 UUP will be a core part of the 350 Gardens (in one day) event on May 15th.  We are going to help organize this massive endeavor for sites in Petaluma and we hope to work together in community in the yard of one or more of our own members.  You do not have to know much about gardening to be involved – many things need doing from volunteer organizing to PR to video. If you’re new to gardening, it’s a great way to learn more.  You may even learn get to learn about greywater systems.  If you want to start an edible garden, you can register it, no matter how small it is.

News:

Environmentalism is given the same weight as religion in British employment laws
(The Economist, November 11, 2009)

Religious Groups Lobby for Poor Impacted by Climate Change
(CBS News, October 8, 2009)

Recent Volunteer Work:

A group of us helped out the the Petaluma City Hall Lawn Transformation that will result in an annual savings of 3.5 million gallons of water and $25,000 in avoided water bill costs. We also helped to fight climate change, as pumping water is one the state’s largest energy consuming activities. Furthermore, we installed community gardens and edible landscaping that means more local production of food. Photos below…
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Work With Us:

If you are interested in working with us on interfaith volunteer projects, email us

Daily Actions You Can Take to Make a Difference:

1. Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Trade

Buy local:

Energy consumption and transportation to ship from far away are serious but often-ignored aspects to what we use and buy. Buying local cuts down on the amount of fossil fuels used
in transport and thus, global warming.

Links

www.caff.org/farms/final/csas.html

http://www.lagunafarm.com/

Buy Organic:
Pesticides are poisons to critters and you and the U.S. dumps 8 lbs per American per year into our soil and water. Pesticides are a primary cause of ground water pollution and conventional farming is a major contributor to topsoil erosion. (soil being our main source of life). More energy is used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the U.S. 50 –60% of processed foods in the U.S. (non organic) contain genetically modified ingredients (you know frankenfoods, crossbreeding tomatoes with cold water fish and that sorta stuff ). Industrial agriculture and factory farms pollute the earth, air and water torturing animals and lacing our food with toxic pesticides, diseases and bacteria. All this adds up to buy organic!

Links
http://www.organicglobal.org/

http://www.storewars.org

http://www.organicconsumers.org/

http://www.truefoodnow.org/shoppersguide/guide_printable.html

Buy Fair Trade

Many of our clothes are made in sweatshops and even under conditions of forced labor or even child slave labor. Buying fair trade products will ensure that your coffee, chocolate, and even t-shirts are produced without sweatshops or forced labor.

Links
www.coopamerica.org
www.sweatshops.org
www.responsibleshopper.org
www.globalexchange.org

The “why” of it:

Factory Farming
http://www.themeatrix.com/
http://www.factoryfarm.org/

Seafood
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_regional.aspx

Genetically Engineered Food
http://www.thefutureoffood.com/
http://www.gefreesonoma.org/
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.html
http://www.monsantosucks.com/

2. Grow your own food: Choose something unique

At the beginning of the 1900’s there were over 7,000 varieties of apples in the US. Over 6,000 of those are now extinct—these same rates of loss have happened in all our food crops. When you plant something unusual that you have never grown before, you help to support biodiversity. Growing your own food also decreases the waste of packaging, as well as the fossil fuels that would otherwise be used to transport your food from a farm to a market.

Links
http://www.permacultureinstitute.com/
http://www.slowfood.com
http://www.seedsofchange.com/
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/

The “why” of it:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.html
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-background-info.html

3. Be the media

These days, the corporate media only answers to the bottom line.Investigative reporting is on the decline and many stories go unreported.There is very little accountability among politicians and corporations.If we want to know the truth, we have to find it ourselves and read independent media.Do your homework and write to your local newspapers about the issues that concern you.
Links

Periodicals
http://www.waccobb.net/
http://www.adbusters.org/
http://www.utne.com
http://www.motherjones.co
http://www.yesmagazine.org
http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com
http://www.organicstyle.com/
http://www.emagazine.com/

Newspapers
http://www.northbayprogressive.org/
http://www.bohemian.com

Online only
http://www.alternet.org/

The “why” of it:
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1406
http://www.commondreams.org/views/031600-104.htm

4. Use alternative energy

Global warming is a reality and we need to start dealing with it.Peak Oil may beat global warming to our doorstep.

Links

Biodiesel
http://www.biodieselnow.com/
http://www.veggieoilcoop.org
http://www.biodiesel.org/

Solar
http://www.solarliving.org/
http://www.ecomall.com/biz/solarcat.htm

The “why” of it:

Global Warming
http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/
http://www.climatehotmap.org/
http://magazine.audubon.org/global.html

5. Reduce Waste:Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Compost

Our society encourages waste at every turn. Our wasteful habits are so illogical that they could be qualitfied as neurotic, and yet, the mainstream media depicts a canvas bag carrying individual as somehow marginal. We kill over 100,000 sea mammals every year through the plastic bags that end up in our oceans, yet we continue to use them in abundance because remembering to bring our own is supposedly too much to ask of a consumer. Let’s all stop the madness.

Checklist to reduce waste:

  • Question disposable lifestyles
  • Bring your own bag (every time you shop, including your produce bags at the supermarket)
  • Bring your own bottle or cup
  • Bring your own container for takeout
  • Reduce packaging: Buy in bulk from bins
  • Reduce packaging: Grow your own food
  • Choose recycled products
  • Avoid Styrofoam and plastic and choose products in biodegradable packaging instead
  • Compost!It’s good for your garden

Links

Canvas Bags
http://www.ecobags.com

Bioplastics
http://www.biocorpna.com/

Recycled toilet paper
http://www.seventhgeneration.com

Composting and sustainable lifestyle products
http://www.realgoods.com

The “why” of it:

Your Ecological Footprint (your impact on the earth)
http://www.myfootprint.org/
http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm

Plastic Pollution
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-overview.html

6. Healthy Relations: Get to know your neighbors

Don’t wait until a rainy day to get to know your neighbors.Just as a spider weaves a web of support, so can we create lifelines in our social relations.There are many reasons to get to know your neighbors.Knowing who is around you makes you more aware and safer, but also could lead to business relationships, life-long friendships, and much more.You never know who might be living right next door.