Rain Barrels - What a deal - Protect our Huron Watershed

Protect our Huron Watershed AND Save $$$ – Install a Rain Barrel!

What's a watershed? What's a rain barrel??

Watershed – land within which water flows down into a specified body of water. We live in the Huron River watershed.

Rain Barrel – a container used to collect and store rain water runoff from rooftops via gutters and downspouts.

Why install a rain barrel? The Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) explains that rain barrels "…save homeowners water, energy and money by reducing summer tap water needs. The stored water can be used by homeowners to irrigate gardens and lawns where the water will slowly infiltrate into the soil and plants. In addition, rain barrels also slow the rapid flow of water entering the stormwater system—storm drains, culverts, rivers and lakes—and help reduce soil erosion and flooding."

For a VERY limited time, the HRWC and other local entities "…are teaming up to host a public sale of discount rain barrels. Purchasers can go online now through May 13 to order their rain barrels in advance for pick up Saturday, May 18, 9am-2pm at the Washtenaw County Road Commission, 555 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor. Rain barrels are priced at $75 for a 65-gallon 85% recycled content model in charcoal or $85 for a classic edition barrel in granite. These prices are at least 20% off regular retail prices, and without shipping charges homeowners save even more. Go to www.hrwc.org/rainbarrels to get the promotional code and purchase a rain barrel."

As an added incentive, Ann Arbor residents qualify for a quarterly stormwater credit of $1.96 simply by installing at least one rain barrel on their property. Go to www.a2gov.org/storm and click Residential credits under Stormwater Rates and Credits for details.

Act quickly to support the Huron River watershed!

Ray Digby and Steve Lavender for the St. Francis Sustainability Team  

The Evils of Being Idle

The Evils of Being Idle
By Karen Digby, member of the St. Francis Sustainability Team
found on page 10 of Forum bulletin April 7th, 2013.

    The dictionary defines the word idle as something “not in use or operation”, “not working or active”. The book of Proverbs 18:9 states, “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”  Together, both this definition and quotation perfectly describe the effects that the idling of a car has on the atmosphere.  Did you know that idling your car, even for a few minutes, is destructive to your environment, the­­ very air you breathe, and ultimately to your health?  Idling is a costly and wasteful habit too.  It has been determined that more gas is lost in the idling of a car (approximately two-tenths of a gallon per half hour) than in restarting its engine. Over 27 gallons of gas are lost annually, by idling a car, for as little as even ten minutes each day.  Additionally, the wear on the engine with each restart costs approximately $10 annually, while wear from an idling engine can cost hundreds of dollars each year, due to the damage it causes to exhaust systems, spark plugs, cylinders and other parts of the car’s engine.  Although a car can ultimately be replaced, your health and atmosphere cannot. 

     The engines of cars are created to work more effectively to combust fuel at high temperatures.  However, when idle, the car engine works at a low temperature.  This causes fuel entering the car’s catalytic converter to undergo incomplete combustion, thereby, permitting the emission of harmful complex chemical components such a nitrogen oxide, benzene, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, to name a few, into the air.  When people breathe this toxic air, they suffer damaging effects to their bodies (cancer), particularly the lungs (asthma), heart and blood vessels (high blood pressure and decreased oxygen flow to heart and other tissue).  This is particularly troubling for children who breathe in more air per pound of their body weight, as compared to adults.

     So what can you do to prevent your car from being “idle”?  First and foremost, if your car will remain still (while the engine is on) for more than half a minute, turn off your engine.  Worried about a cold car when temperatures are colder?  No worries.  Cars with electronic engines are engineered to warm even more quickly when a car is being driven, compared to when it is standing still, especially if  increased speed and quick acceleration is avoided during the first three to five miles in which the car is first driven.  If waiting to pick up a passenger, use a blanket to stay warm or get out of the car and go indoors to wait.  Waiting in a running car can increase the risk of you yourself breathing in toxic fumes that can leak into your car’s interior.  As an added bonus, for every ten minutes the car engine is not idle, ten pounds of carbon dioxide will be prevented from polluting the air.

     Prevent being “slack in [your] work” to preserve your environment, fossil fuel resources, and money.  Do not let yourself become the “brother to him (fuel/carbon emissions) who destroys” the health of you and your children. You will reap what you sow both now and for generations to come.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idleness

http://www.openbible.info/topics/idleness

http://www.makealeap.org/idling_myth

http://www.greencalgary.org/take-action/campaigns/idle-free-campaign/learn-more-about-idling/health-effects-of-idling/

http://www.edf.org/transportation/reports/idling­­­­­

http://www.nutramed.com/environment/carschemicals.htm

Join your fellow parishioners as we build a Sustainability Project here at St. Francis.   

Contact Scott Wright (734-821-2121).

www.stfrancisa2.com/sustainability

AnnArbor.com Story on St. Francis Parish Protecting the Environment

St. Francis News Story in AnnArbor.com
Faith Based Sustainability Program to Protect the Environment
http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-church-creates-faith-based-program-to-protect-the-environment/