Action Center
Serve God, Save the Planet
Act on Your Faith
Invite Dr. Sleeth to speak
About five years ago Dr. Sleeth resigned his position as an emergency room director so he could spend more time writing, lecturing and preaching about creation care and the environment. To invite him to speak at your church or college, e-mail the tour organizer.
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Five years ago Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth and his family lived in a big house, had two luxury cars, loads of money, and lots of stuff. As chief of the medical staff at a large hospital, Sleeth was living the American dream—until he realized that something was terribly wrong. As he saw patient after patient suffering from cancer, asthma, and other chronic diseases, he began to understand that the Earth and its inhabitants were in trouble. Feeling helpless, he turned to his faith for guidance. He discovered how the timeless lessons of personal responsibility, simplicity, and stewardship taught in the Bible could be applied to modern life.
The Sleeths have since sold their big home and given away more than half of what they once owned. Sleeth shares how material downscaling led his family to healthier lifestyles, stronger relationships, and richer spiritual lives. Serve God, Save the Planet is more than a book: it is a prescription for taking personal responsibility for global survival.
Find out more at www.servegodsavetheplanet.org.
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Conduct an Energy Audit of Your Home
What is your "environmental weight"? If we assign weights to the amount of energy used, the average person in China weighs 100 pounds. The average Swiss person weighs 450 pounds, the Italian 400 pounds and the Brit 500 pounds. On average, Americans weigh in at a hefty 1000 pounds. We are energy gluttons. Use Dr. Sleeth's energy audit form to help you reduce your energy "weight".
Practical Steps You Can Take
In Serve God, Save the Planet, Dr. Sleeth give some specific instruction on cutting your family's electric bill to $20 a month. Below are a few easy steps you can take right now. See What You Can Do for a complete list.
Lighting
The second biggest user of electricity in the typical home is lighting. The payoff time for replacing an incandescent bulb averages only about one year; if you buy compact fluorescent lightbulbs on sale or with a rebate, the payback is extremely short. Compact fluorescent bulbs have the added bonus of being safer because they are cooler, which presents far less fire hazard. The typical incandescent wastes 90 percent of the energy it uses by converting it to heat instead of light. In the summer, cooler-running bulbs can have a significant effect on the overall cooling costs of a home or business.
Microwaves
Although microwaves draw a large current, they do so for a short period of time. Overall, microwaving is one of the most efficient ways to cook. Buy the smallest unit that you can and get one with analog controls (no key pad or clock) so that it is not constantly drawing current. Whenever possible, use your microwave to precook food so that you can cut back on the use of bigger appliances, such as your oven.
Computers
Computer ownership and usage continues to grow rapidly. Energy Star units that place computers in sleep mode when unattended are preferable to non-Energy Star models; however, try to get out of the habit of leaving a computer (or any appliance) on and unattended. In general, laptop models will draw about half the current of desktop models. All desktop models should be plugged into an outlet strip so that the phantom load can be completely turned off. Be sure to turn off printers when they are not in use.
See a more comprehensive list of steps you can take.
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