Christ Church
United Methodist

Ink Cartridge Recycling

Do you use a printer or fax machine at home or work? What happens to the empty ink toner cartridges? Do you throw them in the garbage without thinking what they are doing to the environment? Or, do you actually take them to a place that says they recycle? Find out what sometimes really happens - read on.

The Rapid Refill Ink brochure reports that many of those cartridge recycling providers (like OEM) sends them on to China, India, or South America. A report from Guiyu, China indicates that e-waste is a serious hazard to the health of the people. Once the toner is swept out by fingers or paintbrushes, the cartridges are burned along with other e-waste materials or discarded along the Lianjiang River, making the drinking water not potable; many people have developed respiratory problems.

Christ Church can now recycle your toner cartridges - and make money at the same time - through Rapid Refill Ink, 1415 N. Dutton, S.R., 571-1965. We are purchasing refilled ink cartridges from this business also, at a reduced price. They work just fine. Individuals can also turn in their cartridges and get re-filled ones at their business. If you use your Community Smart card there, that will also help our church raise money!

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Energy Audit

In April 2005, the EarthKeeping Task Force initiated an energy audit of the church premises by bringing in an energy auditor from PG&E. Grace, a member of the Task Force, also did an inventory of the church’s lighting fixtures and analyzed the church’s electricity usage pattern from 2003 to 2005. Recommendations were then presented to the church’s Trustees for action and they were all adopted and implemented. We will continue to keep track of our energy usage and with a view to reducing the church's energy consumption.

Compost Bin

The EarthKeeping Task Force cooperated with the Harvest for the Hungry Garden to set aside two compost bins in the garden for members of Christ Church to deposit their vegetable kitchen scraps. This will help to reduce the amount of garbage going to the city's dump and to help improve the quality and fertility of the soil in the garden. Read more about composting at the USEPA's website.

Canvas Grocery Bags

To encourage members of the congregation to reduce the use of plastic and paper grocery bags, the EarthKeepers arranged to sell canvas grocery bags at very low cost. 

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Food & Forum

Nine Food & Forum programs were organized in the past years. Each forum started with fellowship and conversation over a free soup supper, (thus coined Food & Forum) then followed with meditation, discussion, and presentation or film show. The following are a list of the Food & Forums:

11/16/04    “The Future of Food” – a film that offered an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled US grocery store shelves for the past decade. The Future of Food examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.

11/30/04     “The Future of Water” – Christ Church member Dr. Stacy Li explored with us where our water originates; how much water we use; what the effects of our water use are; and whether water is an unlimited resource.

12/7/04       “Our Future – Food, Water, Sustainability & Community” – Dave Henson, Director of Occidental Art & Ecology Center and Campaign Director of GE-Free Sonoma County, gave a talk about how our future would be determined by our actions today with regard to our food and water, and what our choices are, as a community, in creating a sustainable future.  

1/11/05      ”Powerdown” – Richard Heinberg, an award-winning author and a member of the Core Faculty of New College, spoke frankly about the dilemmas and explore our options with regard to energy resource depletion and population pressures. He is the author of two influencial and controversial books - The Party's Over: Energy Resources and the Fate of Industrial Societies; and Powerdown: options and actions for a post-carbon world.

2/1/05   “EarthKeeping Issues Forum” – We reviewed the four Food & Forums organized four Food & Forums over past few months and brainstormed what we have learned in order to determine: What are the underlying issues? What are the pressure points in our society that will enable change? What can we do locally to build a better future? What are our next steps?

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4/5/05         “Green Buildings” – Armando Navarro, Operations Manager of the Environmental Technology Center at Sonoma State University gave a talk about: what Green Buildings and sustainable building materials are, the city’s and county’s policies regarding Green Building.

4/12/05       “Green Architectural Designs & Cohousing” – Michael Black, architect of Yulupa Cohousing spoke about what  Cohousing is, and how cohousing community can be an answer to sustainability and the growing alienation that is affecting our society. He also talked about the political and economic issues that affect cohousing and green construction.

5/31/05     “Boiling Point: the Global Climate Change” – We showed a video “Boiling Point: the Global Climate Crisis” featuring journalist and author Ross Gelbspan. In his book Boiling Point, he argues that, unchecked, climate change will swamp every other issue facing us today. It was followed with discussion.

10/30/05    “To Ban or Not To Ban: How Should I Vote on Measure M?” – To prepare residents of Sonoma County to vote on Measure M in support of, or objection to, prohibiting the cultivation and distribution of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Sonoma County for at least the next ten years, the EarthKeepers organized this information forum to find out: What are the arguments for and against? What are the facts? Why do we need Measure M? What will be the impact on our farmers and our environment? How does it affect our family’s health and future generations? Who will pay for enforcement costs? And what exactly is genetic engineering?

Media Lending Library