tagged w/ United States Environmental Protection Agency
-
-
Marquette, Michigan - The Upper Peninsula Earth Keepers announced several projects for the next year on Thursday night (Nov. 13, 2008) as they received the Michigan Sierra Club prestigious White Pine Award for past projects that included recycling hundreds of tons of hazardous waste, energy conservation programs and the protection of Lake Superior.
Numerous Earth Keeper Initiative (EKI) faith leaders, volunteers and student members accepted the award on Nov. 13 at a meeting of the Sierra Club U.P. Group.
The White Pine Award recognizes "a group outside of the Sierra Club which has been doing things to help protect the environment," said Dr. Jon Rebers, chair of the Sierra Club Central U.P. Group.
The U.P. Earth Keepers, involving the congregations of over 150 U.P. churches and temples, held three annual Earth Day collections at dozens of sites across northern Michigan that removed almost 370 tons of household hazardous waste from the environment.
Earth Keepers collected one ton of pharmaceuticals & $500,000 in narcotics in 2007; 320 tons of computers, televisions & electronics in 2006; and 45 tons of household hazardous waste like pesticides, herbicides, oil-based paint and car batteries. Most of the waste turned in by the public.
Earth Keepers held a 2007 energy summit that helped hundreds of Michigan homes and businesses become energy efficient & helped organize classical musicians to form the Boreal Chamber Symphony for a Lake Superior Day 2007 concert in Marquette that raised funds to protect the world's largest body of freshwater.
"We are moving into our fifth year," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) ex. Dir.
Sponsors: CTI, Superior Water Shed Partnership (SWP), Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and 10 faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Quakers & Zen Buddhist.
Partners include the EPA, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Earth Keepers are "trying to honor the creation by preserving it," said Dr. Rodney Clarken, a Bahá'í. "One of the Bahá'í principles is that each human being is entrusted and is in some way the image of God. We can't be pure and holy unless...the environment is pure and holy."
The leader of a Marquette Zen Buddhist temple said "your environment is in trouble right now."
"Zen Buddhists tend to believe in the oneness of all - you are part of your environment - that is absolutely inescapable," said Rev. Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, head priest of Lake Superior Zendo.
Member Nancy Irish said her favorite EKI project is the "Adopt a Watershed" program.
"We've had a number of campouts for kids," said Irish of the Marquette Unitarian Universalist church. "There is nothing more wonderful than facilitating the meeting of the natural world with children .. children protect what they love & they love what they know.""
"One of the Quaker basic testimonies is the simplicity of living and of course this ties well into that (the Earth Keeper Covenant)," said David McCowen of Lake Superior Friends (Quakers).
The SWP and the CTI "facilitate what happens with the Earth Keepers," said watershed partnership representative Natasha Koss.
The Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper Student Team goals include an "Eco-Christmas Initiative," said Sarah Swanson, project director. "We are going to encourage people to be more eco-conscious when they are purchasing gifts for family and friends over the holidays."
Students will recycle televisions in February, now that they are switching to high definition television, she said. And "planting a bunch of trees on Earth Day" plus "organize some community gardens."
People have "an inescapable relationship with their environment," said Ben Scheelk, NMU EK student team project coor. from the Student Leader Fellowship Program.
Rev. Jon Magnuson
906-228-5494
Greg
906-401-0109
earthkeeper@charter.netMarquette, Michigan - The Upper Peninsula Earth Keepers announced several projects for... more
-
-
PCBs used in insulation for electrical equipment
HIDALGO COUNTY - Federal officials warn everyone not to eat fish caught in Donna Lake or the irrigation canals, because they contain high levels of chemicals known to cause cancer.
The government has yet to figure where the chemicals are coming from. But they have designated the area as a Superfund area. This means finding financing for the cleanup is a top priority.
The chemicals, called PCBs or Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls, are used as insulation for electrical equipment.
Fish in the canal have tested positive for PCB levels more than 1,500 times higher than the concentration thought to pose a health risk to an adult. That's according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Signs have been posted to warn people not to eat the fish, but it doesn't stop most people.
PCBs used in insulation for electrical equipment
HIDALGO COUNTY - Federal officials... more
-
-
AxeRFJ
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
The Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program and the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) provide an environmentally and economically sound solution to disposing of household electronic waste.
Residents of Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties may bring their items to e-waste collection sites on the specified collection dates in their area.
The initiative received grants and other assistance from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.
More than a dozen previous collections since 2005 have garnered nearly 48 tons of e-waste from over 850 participants.
2005: 8 collections, 26.5 tons
2006: 4 collections, 15 tons
2007: 1 collection, 6.25 tons
Called e-waste, electronics waste includes old /broken computers, cell phones, and TVs.
The collection for Houghton and Keweenaw counties will be June 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at the health department in Hancock.
An e-waste collection will be held in Baraga County on July 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at a site to be announced.
Collection events for other Copper Country counties will be announced in the future.
The cost to drop off e-waste is 10 cents per pound.
The collection will accept a wide range of e-waste including cell phones, computer and related equipment like laptops, monitors, towers aka central processing units, printers, scanners, keyboards and computer mice
Other e-waste accepted includes stereo equipment, televisions, VCR and DVD players, copiers, cordless telephones, fax machines, fluorescent light bulbs that are 4 to 8 feet in length, microwave ovens and batteries including alkaline, nickel cadmium, lead acid, lithium, mercury.
It's estimate that between 1997 and 2007, nearly 500 million personal computers became obsolete. That's almost 2 computers for every person in the United States.
TV's and computer monitors contain an average of 4 pounds of lead and other toxins.
According to Closing the Circle News, the manufacture of one computer consumes 529 pounds of fossil fuels, 49 pounds of chemicals, and 3,307 pounds of water.
The EPA says nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete nationwide in the next five years.
For additional info contact the Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program or RSVP at 906-482-7382.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent.
The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers with interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on the projects in the EPA Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency; the EPA's Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago, with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
I’m Greg Peterson, Earth Healing TV
---
Western U.P. District Health Department
http://www.wupdhd.org/rsvp/e-waste.html
RSVP
http://www.wupdhd.org/rsvp/index.html
EPA Region 5 Office Chicago
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559The Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program and the Retired & Senior... more
-
-
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.
Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.
The event is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.
The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.
Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.
Items that will be accepted include:
Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin
Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine
Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos
Veterinary medications
Items that will not be accepted include:
Medical waste like sharps and syringes and products containing mercury like thermometers.
The collection is free to southwest Michigan households.
Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes/streams like Arcadia Creek.
An investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.
Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.
The pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.
For more info call 269-373-5211.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was collecting/recycling of one million pounds of e-waste plus the collection/proper disposal of a million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent..
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) offered interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on EPA Challenge projects was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago with the non-profit Interfaith EHI in Marquette MI
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
I’m Greg Peterson Earth Healing TV
---
Related Links
---
Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs
Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm
Kalamazoo County
http://www.kalcounty.com
---
EPA Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
---
EPA Region 5 Office
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm
Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website
http://www.central-city.net
Wikimedia
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan
Kalamazoo River
www.kalamazooriver.net
Loy Norrix High School
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/school.php?sectionid=24
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect... more
-
-
Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
Marquette, Michigan - A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said.
"Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Congratulations Earth Healers - you've done it, it has been a success," Bishop Skrenes said. "The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a great success."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said. "Congratulations to those members of the faith communities and others who have been a part of this."
"We are all environmentalists," said Skrenes of Marquette, MI. "All of us want clean air to breathe, all of us want clean drinking water. We all enjoy the outdoors and nature."
"No matter our political understandings are, no matter where we are on the liberal and conservative line - no matter what we think of any of the big issues facing thee one of us - world today - all of us can agree that it is in all of our interests."
"We can all certainly conserve and save and bring back and then give to the next generation what has been given to us."
Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the challenge ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency for their help and assistance in all of this work," Bishop Skrenes said. The EPA challenge "has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
"It is a wonderful opportunity to begin to look at what it is that we hold in common," Skrenes said. "What we hold in common is this wonderful Great Lakes basin."
"This is a wonderful place with lakes and streams and forests everywhere in the Midwest, and the great plains and the great fields," Skrenes said. "We have been a part of saving some of this and making a difference."
"Sometimes we become so focused on what divides us, what disconnects us, what separates us - and there are important things that sometimes do that - but yet we can all have loyalty and allegiance to this world that has been our home and this of the world that we have been blessed with by God."
"God has given us the privilege of living here in the midst of these lakes and all of this beautiful nature," Skrenes said.
"When people of faith, whether they be of Christian traditions or of other traditions, gather together to work on what connects us. One of those things that connects us is respect and awe for the creation that surrounds us."
"We are part of a movement together in these early years of the Twenty-first Century to save what has been given to us by the generations before us and what God has provided to us," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes is one of nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in northern Michigan in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects.
The Cedar Tree Institute co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
The EHI is developing the same relationship with faith communities across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, the Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
"Everyday is Earth Day," Skrenes said.Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge... more
-
-
(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
This is the second of several videos explaining the numerous MITW projects including teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture, cleaning up the reservation, and replacing gang symbols with Native American art.
In part two, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the sturgeon education classes.
The tribe was creative as it added other facets to the challenge like teaching the children about their culture and the close relationship to the earth and its many lakes and streams.
All classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee legend and heritage, said Joe Awanahopay, language arts instructor at the Menominee tribal school.
Earth Week tribal school classes applied subjects like math, history and others to different aspects of the life cycle, biology, habitat, legends, spawning grounds and the cultural and practical value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee people since the dawn of their tribe.
“The sturgeon are a historic importance to our people,” he said. “Since the beginning of time, our people have relied upon the sturgeons for various reasons including for food and scraping hides.”
“In our legends, the sturgeon are the protectors of our wild rice,” said Awanahopay of the slow-growing giant fish known for its thick hide and rubbery snout whose uses and related regulations have sometimes pitted white fishermen against American Indians. “We have been engaging the students in the culture, language, science and the social studies of what the sturgeon mean to our people.”
“They've been studying the anatomy and the physiology of the sturgeon and the students are looking at the sturgeon habitats and what the effects of pollution are.”
“They are looking at the different migrations, the geography, the path the sturgeon used to take to come to their home here - their traditional spawning grounds on the Menoninee Indian reservation,” he said. “Because of two dams that are here now south of our reservation, sturgeon are no longer able to come home here to their ancestral spawning grounds.”
“We are so fortunate to have so many elders that we still work with that are able to give us this knowledge and pass it from one generation to the next, despite all of the forced assimilation and the changes in our youth, who are trying to make their way in modern society yet integrate the traditions with the technology in today’s world," Awanahopay said.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program (Maehnowesekiyah), Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department, EarthHealing.org and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
This video is possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office (both in Chicago); in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
---
Menominee Indian Tribe of WI:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
MITW Tribal School:
http://mts.bia.edu/
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community) of Interfaith Resources Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons... more
-
-
(Chicago, Illinois) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade celebrated Earth Day 2008 with crowds gathered at Daley Plaza in Chicago.
Gade encouraged everyone to participate in the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge that runs through the end of April.
While some events were held last weekend, many of the challenge electronic and pharmaceutical collections are this Saturday, April 26 across eight states.
During the event, Gade and other EPA officials dropped their unwanted medications into a collection barrel. Based on early results, the EPA says the challenge is a big success and they expect to reach the goal of one million pounds of electronics recycled and one million pills properly disposed.
Gade noted how far the fight to protect the environment in America has come over the past 40 years - reminding Chicago residents there was a time when it was necessary to turn on their car headlights to navigate through steel mill pollution that hung thickly in the air on the south side of Lake Michigan.
Gade reminded those gathered of the times when American rivers caught fire from industrial pollution in big cities like the infamous blazes on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio.
Gade thanked the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. Post Office, the state of Illinois, the Illinois EPA and many others for working with the USEPA to make the challenge possible and for helping to ensure the busy collection sites operate without a problem.
The city of Chicago has another pharmaceutical collection scheduled this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 pm on Goose Island at the Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility, 1150 N. North Branch St.(Goose Island), Chicago.
In addition to serving as EPA Region 5 Administrator, Gade is the EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager.
---
Related Links:
---
Flow of the River EPA Blog on Chicago Earth Day event:
http://flowoftheriver.epa.gov/greatlakeschallenge/2008/04/earth-day-in-re.html
---
The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
---(Chicago, Illinois) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Mary... more
-
-
(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 challenge to collect one million pounds of electronics and more than one million pills because trust is needed between all people to stop “an environmental crisis.”
The U.S. EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in high gear with more than 100 projects involving hundreds of communities collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons.
An EPA grant to the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is mobilizing religious communities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in numerous interfaith Earth Day recycling projects hopes people of all faiths will help protect the environment.
“We are in an environmental crisis in many ways,” said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). “The Great Lakes watershed is really kind of a mother to all of us" in the Midwest.
Interfaith environment projects like the challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans, Skrenes said, adding “sometimes it's trusting each other that really counts in environmental work.”
“The culture, the society and the environment are now connecting in some fantastic new ways to build relationships between people,” Skrenes said. “We are building trust along and across denominational lines.”
The EHI is a coalition of American Indian tribes and a "partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment,” said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
Saying “it’s not your grandfather’s environment movement anymore,” Skrenes said that environmental work is now more mainstream and no longer “an obscure thing for a certain group of people” unlike 40 years ago when he was in high school “and I dare say some of my relatives said it was kind of a hippie movement.”
“The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing,” Skrenes said. “This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us."
Interfaith organizations assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Arrowhead Interfaith Council in Duluth, the Marquette University Ministry outlets in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation and Inter-Religious Relations.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers, who removed more than 370 tons of e-Waste, pharmaceuticals and household poisons during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keeper project involves the congregations of over 150 churches and temples representing ten faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Religious Society of Friends commonly known as the Quakers.
The EHI is coordinating the same interfaith relationships. For more info call 906-401-0109(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their... more
-
-
Of the 241 MILLION motor vehicles are registered in the US. Transportation is the fastest-growing source of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the largest end-use source of C02, the most prevalent greenhouse gas. [Source: DOT – Federal Highway Administration, October 2006]
Based on current GHG emission reporting guidelines, the transportation sector directly accounted for 33 percent of total US GHG emissions in 2006, the most recent year of published documentation. This represents a 14% increase from 1990. [Source: EPA – 2008 Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2006, March 2008]
The average greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) resulting from energy released by one automobile per year is 12,100 POUNDS or 12.1 TONS from driving an average of 231 miles per week. [Source: EPA – Climate Change – Greenhouse Gas Emissions, February 2008]
Ridesharing just one day a week for one year would result in saving the planet 1.7 TONS of C02. Now imagine 10 people saving 17 TONS, 100 people saving 170 TONS, 1,000 people saving 1,700 TONS, 10,000 people saving 17,000 TONS, 100,000 people saving 171,000 TONS, 1 million people saving 1.7 MILLION TONS.
About GOHOV
GOHOV.com is a social networking tool that allows registered users the ability to create and share rides with friends and the GOHOV community. Whether you’re seeking a lift to a concert or sporting event, a ride back home for the holidays from college, a designated driver for the night, or a way to save money on gas, GOHOV.com will help you safely and easily find the right ride.
GOHOV.com provides today’s savvy internet user an easy way to connect through ridesharing. The site features viewable user profiles and a user ride-rating system, giving the GOHOV community the ability to review potential passengers or drivers and decide on whom it’s best to ride with.
Of the 241 MILLION motor vehicles are registered in the US. Transportation is the... more
-
-
(Marquette, Michigan) - The new non-profit Earth Healing Initiative, based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is honoring faith-based and Native American environmental projects across the Great Lakes.
The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is currently collaborating with the USEPA to promote the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge iacross eight states including providing faith community volunteers and spreading the word in churches and temples.
The EHI is one of several faith-based environment projects created by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan.
Rev. Jon Magnuson said it's important for people of faith to protect the environment because the Christian church is at a “tipping point” in its relationship with itself and the Earth.
Quoting nineteenth century theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, Magnuson said “if a man or woman wants to be a Christian - she or he - must stand over and against things as they are and condemn them in the name of a higher conception of life revealed by Jesus.”
“I believe the environmental crisis that we are now involved in is a great tipping point in the church’s own evolution of its self-understanding,” Magnuson.
Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Berry “talks about three rivers converging at this time in human history,” said Magnuson, Cedar Tree Institute/Earth Healing Initiative founder.
“The first river is an avalanche and explosion of scientific knowledge that is pointing to the interconnectedness of everything,” Magnuson said. “The greatest polluter of Lake Superior (is) a major factory in China."
“We have atmospheric loading here where contaminants are carried over by wind currents and then deposited in rainfall,” said Magnuson. “The second stream is the health crisis that is facing us - the CDC (reports) 80 percent of all cancers are environmentally triggered."
“The third river Thomas Berry calls ‘Indigenous wisdom” - wisdom from the native communities around the world that is resurging,” Magnuson said. “For instance, their protection and use of plants both in Latin and South America as well in parts of north America - the protection of sacred sites."
“We realize now these are connected to protection of plants, animals and an ecosystem that holds great medicinal qualities for communities and individuals,” Magnuson explained.
“So these rivers are coming together,” said Magnuson. “It is an historic time - it is a tipping moment, a tipping point - the church needs to be here."
Magnuson recognized the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin that has three projects connected to the Earth Day Challenge and thanked the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and other tribes that participated in Cedar Tree Institute events like the four-year restoration of Upper Peninsula wild rice beds by at-risk teens and tribal elders called the Manoomin Project.
The KBIC participated in the three Earth Keeper Clean Sweeps that saw the public turn in over 370 tons of hazardous waste, pharmaceuticals and electronics across northern Michigan. The annual Earth Day (2005-2007) collections were part of the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative.
“The Native American community has been a partner with us from the very beginning on everyone of our projects,” Magnuson said. “They sent volunteers (and) provided several trucks to be able to haul polluted materials and hazardous waste.
“So we are thankful to many of the tribes here in northern Michigan for being partners and we look forward to working with tribes in the Earth healing Initiative,” Magnuson said.
The Cedar Tree Institute co-founded the Earth Keepers who work closely with ten faith traditions on environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
.
The CTI Earth healing Initiative is developing the same relationship with these faith communities in northern Michigan and others across the Great lakes.
The faith communities: Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist
(Marquette, Michigan) - The new non-profit Earth Healing Initiative, based in... more
-
-
Youth and adults at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin plan three events as part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
(Keshena, Wisconsin) - As the students of all ages plan a major hands-on clean up of a tribal community and the recycling of electronics and proper disposal of unwanted medications to honor Earth Day 2008, adult members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin in Keshena, WI have already turned in several thousand pounds of electronic waste as part of a national Earth Day Project.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is collecting e-Waste all month including during the tribe's regular curbside bulk items Spring Cleaning collection on April 21-24 (Monday thru Thursday).
"We are getting lots of electronics right now," said Diana Wolf, the MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator.
The projects are part of the eight-state Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge sponsored by the USEPA. The events are being promoted by the interfaith Earth Healing Initiative that teams numerous faith communities and American Indian tribes with local challenge organizers to be volunteers and participants in the projects spread across the Great Lakes basin.
During the first week of April, the tribe’s drop-off sites collected several thousand pounds of electronics including 919 pounds of "low-grade circuit boards" removed from TV sets, stereos, high quality computers, cassette players and other electronics.
Wolf estimated that about two tons (4,000 pounds) of electronics will be turned in by the end of the month.
“We will do whatever it takes to do cradle to grave recycling,” Wolf said. "We are not making a profit off of it but it is the right thing to do."
On April 25 students at the Menominee Tribal School (k-8) will be cleaning the area around the school of litter and recyclables and other downtown areas of Neopit. The tribe's 234,000-acre reservation includes the communities of Keshena, Zoar and South Branch.
"The students will be picking up litter and recyclables - and anything that's on the roads or sidewalks or the yards," Wolf said, adding the students will be planting 50 saplings.
"We are inviting the parents to bring a potluck and there will likely be wild rice and other Native American dishes," Wolf said.
The lunch will include a drama performance and include Native Music involving the "Wind Eagle Drum" or the "high school drum" consisting of students who are learning the music of the Menominee tribe's history.
"Our school is very much a cultural-motivated school," Wolf said. "The school teaches about the Menominee culture and language. The students learn about our Menominee history and our language amongst the non-native teaching."
"My children speak fluent Menominee because they have been in the school for three years," Wolf said.
Menominee tribal college students are doing their part to protect the planet with e-Waste and pharmaceutical collections.
The College of Menominee Nation (State Hwy. 47/55) in Keshena, is accepting e-waste and unwanted medicines on April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon and accepting e-Waste from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the commons building.
The college’s Implementing Sustainable Development class is hosting the collection with help from the tribe's solid waste coordinator.
The e-Waste collection will accept electronics including old/broken computers, cell phones and batteries.
The pharmaceutical collection is accepting old and unwanted medications that must be in their original bottle or container.
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/keshena.html
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
http://www.menominee.edu
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/earthWeekFlyer.pdfYouth and adults at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin plan three events as part... more
-
-
An Introduction: The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative and Earth Day 2008
Numerous faith communities, American Indian tribes and many others being encouraged to volunteer or participate in a large eight-state Earth Day 2008 project with events across the Great Lakes Basin through mid-May.
The new Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is organizing faith communities. The EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan.
Collection sites will accept old/broken computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics to be recycled, and old/unwanted medicines to be properly disposed during the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
The EPA is awarding grants to some of the collection sites where residents can drop off e-waste and old/unwanted pharmaceuticals.
The Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative, co-founded by the Cedar Tree Institute, have alliances with ten faith traditions across the Upper Peninsula, and the EHI is coordinating the same relationships with religious communities across the Great Lakes and beyond.
---
Earth Healing official website::
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
EPA GLNPO Official challenge link:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
---
EPA Press Release on challenge:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D48F2AD96EC624E38525740B003AEE57
---
The co-founder of the Michigan Earth Keepers, ELCA Lutheran Rev. Jon Magnuson created the Earth Healing Initiative in March 2008 to spread the word about interfaith and Native American environment projects.
The EHI is offering free media assistance to environment projects including press releases, press contacts, internet and high definition digital videos, podcasts and vast internet postings.
For more details call Greg at 906-401-0109.
---
An Introduction: The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative and Earth Day 2008... more
-
-
EPA's Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge: a prescription for healthy Great Lakes
Release date: 03/13/2008
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon 312 353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov
Chicago (March 12, 2008) -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes region invites the public to join the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge to collect at least 1 million pounds of electronic waste and 1 million pills.
EPA is encouraging organizations, businesses and communities in the Great Lakes region to protect the environment by sponsoring collections of unwanted medicines and electronic waste around Earth Day, April 22.
The Great Lakes are an irreplaceable treasure.
They are the largest source of fresh drinking water on earth and are vital to commerce and recreation in the upper Midwest.
Responsible recycling and disposal of unwanted electronics and medicines will prevent contaminants from polluting the Great Lakes basin.
"Last summer, there was an outpouring of support from thousands of people in the Great Lakes area to protect this national treasure," said EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager Mary A. Gade.
"Participating in the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is a simple way for individuals to take action to protect the lakes. I'm asking people to clear out their desk drawers, medicine cabinets and basements and properly recycle or dispose of their old and unwanted cellphones, computers, TVs, and medicines at a local collection."
EPA has partnered with the nonprofit group Earth 911 to launch an online clearinghouse of collection events that will be held between April 19 and 27.
As dates and locations for events are confirmed they will be added to the clearinghouse at:
http://www.earth911.org
"EPA is pleased that Earth 911 volunteered to work with us on this important project and we welcome other organizations that may wish to join us by sponsoring or publicizing collection events," said Gade.
Participating organizations should register their events at:
http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/earthday2008
The Web site includes a "Plug-In to E-cycling" tool kit to help plan collection events.
For more information or technical assistance on planning an event, call EPA's toll-free Earth Day Challenge Hotline at 866-575-8543.
EPA's Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge: a prescription for healthy Great... more
-
-
Numerous faith communities, American Indians tribes and many others being recruited to volunteer or participate in large eight-state Earth Day 2008 events across the Great Lakes Basin.
Collections sites will accept old/broken computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics to be recycled, and old/unwanted medicines to be properly disposed during the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
The EPA is awarding grants to some of the collection sites where residents can drop off e-waste and old/unwanted pharmaceuticals. The new Earth Healing Initiative will be organizing faith communities
For more details read the article or check out these links: Or call Greg at 906-401-0109.
Earth Healing official website::
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
EPA Press Release on challenge:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D48F2AD96EC624E38525740B003AEE57
EPA GLNPO Official challenge link:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.htmlNumerous faith communities, American Indians tribes and many others being recruited to... more
-
-
The Michigan Earth Keepers are protecting the environment with hands-on projects that prove one person can make a difference.
During 2007, the Earth Keepers:
Continued annual Earth Day clean sweeps that have removed 370 tons of hazardous waste from the environment aross a 400-mile area.
Held the the fourth planting of a wild rice restoration project that teams at-risk teens with American Indian guides teaching respect for nature and battling racism.
Sponsored an energy summit that convinced 500 businesses, churches/temples and homeowners to reduce power consumption.
Helped midwest musicians form the Boreal Chamber Symphony for a classical music concert that raised money for the Lake Superior Defense Fund.
The Earth Keepers include members and bishops/leaders of nine faith traditions with 140 participating churches/temples, American Indian tribes, several environment non-profits, university students, teenagers, a 20-member core team plus a 400 person volunteer army.
The Earth Keepers have been funded by grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans plus donations from the public.
The Earth Keepers have broken federal hazardous waste collection records for three years in a row and the EPA says the group is an example for others on how to form an effective coalition that accomplishes its goals.
Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson looks back at 2007 and four years of environment protection.
The Michigan Earth Keepers are protecting the environment with hands-on projects that... more
-
