SECOND THURSDAYS, 6:30–7:30 P.M. (NOTE NEW DAY), online via Zoom

Looking for practical ways to reduce your impact on the environment? Saint Mark’s Creation Care Ministry is hosting Climate Conversations about everyday things in our lives. These monthly conversations will be held on environmentally-friendly Zoom on the second Tuesday Thursday evening of each month (starting in May).

Register to participate using this link (same Zoom link each month).

Scroll down on this page to find materials, slides, and videos of past conversations in this series. 

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS

JUNE 8, 2023: Practical Ideas to Use Renewable Energy

Talk of renewable energy such as wind and solar or reducing energy usage with heat pumps or other technology is all around us. Actually tapping into these solutions can seem hard. However, state and national initiatives have made it easier to access renewable power and use less energy. We’ll discuss practical solutions for solar panels in homes, accessing community solar, installing heat pumps, driving EVs and more. We’ll include information about grants and rebates for renewable energy too. Participants will have opportunities to share their experience and ideas.

JULY 13, 2023: Changing our Daily Routine to Save the Planet

From the time we get up in the morning until the time we go to bed, we usually follow a similar set of daily habits. Make breakfast, brush teeth, commute to school or the office, drink coffee, eat lunch, stream a video, and more. What we usually don’t do is think about the climate impact of those actions. In this discussion we’ll take a look at the climate impact of each of those things we usually do during the day. How much carbon emissions does breakfast create, for example, and how much water do we use? We’ll then look at how to be more mindful of our impact and what we can do to have less effect on the climate. Our discussion will center around how we can make changes to care for creation better.

AUGUST 10, 2023: Stay Stylish with Climate-friendly Clothing Choices

Climate-friendly clothing is surprisingly stylish and choosing better makes a difference. The fashion industry creates about 10 percent of total global carbon emissions. Choosing clothes better, caring for them well, keeping them longer and giving them away rather than trashing them can make a big difference. We’ll discuss how to choose and care for our clothes better, from buying and washing them to mending clothing and donating it. Our discussion will center around ideas from participants for choosing and caring for clothes.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023: Simple Seattle Solutions to be a Voice for Conservation and Creation Care

Climate change and solutions for it are constantly being discussed all around Seattle at meetings for the city council, city departments, the Port of Seattle and other public bodies. Writing a letter or even just simply showing up to support conservation and reduction of climate change can make a big difference. Learn how to find out about these meetings and provide your input, whether you’re an introvert who wants to stay behind the scenes or an extrovert who is happy to talk to anyone.  

OCTOBER 12, 2023: Save Money by Caring for Creation

It seems like buying climate-friendly food and clothing, installing devices to use less carbon-spewing energy and doing more to care for creation would be costly. In reality, the opposite is true. You can save money by consciously caring for creation. We’ll discuss how to buy groceries and clothes in ways that save money. We’ll look at alternatives that can save energy or use less water. And we’ll take advantage of the insights on the St Mark’s Carbon Tracker to learn to do more. Our discussion will focus around how to spend less while caring for creation more.  

NOVEMBER 9, 2023: Celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with a Creation Care Mindset

Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful times for getting together with family, meeting friends and celebrating a special season. There’s about 25 percent more trash in December, however, and homeowners produce 22 percent more light with their Christmas decorations. We can care for creation and still have a great time. From shopping and traveling better to enjoying climate-friendly meals and travel, small changes we make can have a big impact. We’ll show how to care for creation better around the holidays and we’ll center discussion around actions participants take for climate-friendly holiday celebrations.

DECEMBER 14, 2023: Find Great Deals for Local Foods and Plant-Based Meals 

While many of us think first of going to farmers markets to buy produce from local farms that is far fresher and tastes better, there are other places to purchase products. For people considering a switch to plant-based meals and who don’t find products such as Impossible Burgers that cost too much, there are alternatives. We’ll discuss where to buy local produce, where to find plant-based products, and alternatives to better-known plant-based foods such as Impossible that taste great and cost less.