Earth Day this year falls on Good Friday, April 22. While churches will probably be too busy to celebrate it that weekend, other options are available. Check out https://pittsburghearthday.org or The Green Voice, https://pittsburghearthday.org/the-green-voice/. Last year, the Washington Post ran an interesting piece about churches sponsoring a reduced-plastic Lent, https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/03/05/latest-lent-challenge-churches-give-up-plastic/.
Of course, Earth Day is only a reminder of how God wants us to live every day. As spring arrives, we can all work to avoid poisons in our world and in our homes. The New York Times recently had an article titled “The Types of Plastics Families Should Avoid,” which are phthalates and bisphenols. Here are some simple ways to avoid them:
Prioritize fresh foods with little or no packaging, and bring your own bags.
Avoid heating plastics.
Use or give baby toys made of wood or silicone toys for babies young enough to put toys in their mouths.
Swap out vinyl products (shower curtains, place mats) for safer materials.
Avoid handling store receipts printed on thermal paper.
Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
While Earth Day falls during a busy week in the Christian year, the EJT is hoping to sponsor a church-wide event later in the year, with the Center for Creative Re-use. We are hoping for an outdoor, fun-filled event for the whole family, so stay tuned!
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