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January 19, 2011
During the past 12 months the American Bahai' comunity has taken a variety
of actions in support of programs to slow down the effects of global warming
including:
* Restore redwood groves and stream banks, educate younger children on
environmental stewardship, and participate in eco-camps. (All of these
efforts have been mounted by enterprising junior youth groups.
* Hold devotional gatherings and firesides focusing on the environment.
* Join interfaith efforts to encourage recycling, composting, and the
purchase of locally grown produce.
* Conduct energy audits and implement conservation measures of all kinds.
Some communities have eliminated disposable cups, dishes, and cutlery in
favor of reusables.
* Participate in local municipal global-warming task forces, join efforts to
cut back on or eliminate dependence on fossil fuels, and help to found
interfaith initiatives to foster environmental stewardship education.
* Support annual community-wide environmental cleanup initiatives, such as
one organized by Earthkeepers in Marquette, Michigan, and annual tree
planting initiatives, such as Replant Day in College Station, Texas.
* Serve on the state boards of at least five chapters of Interfaith Power
and Light-a program that helps faith-based groups to reduce their energy
consumption and purchase clean energy to minimize their carbon footprint.
At the national level, the American Bahá'í community is also making progress
on the environmental front. For example, the three permanent Bahá'í schools
have established regular programs to green their operations in areas such as
buildings and grounds, hospitality, food services, purchasing, and waste
management. And each of the schools has held several well-attended weekend
programs on topics such as environmental stewardship and justice and climate
change.
At the Bahá'í House of Worship, recently installed equipment now provides
both heating and air conditioning for what it formerly cost just for
heating. A massive underground cistern collects both rainwater and "grey
water" from sinks for reuse in garden irrigation. And the Temple's new
Visitors' Center, under construction, will include numerous environmentally
friendly features.
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