ELCA NEWS SERVICE
December 13, 2007
ELCA Advocacy Offices Purchase Carbon Offset Credits
07-205-AL
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) Washington Office, ELCA Corporate Social
Responsibility, Pittsburgh, and Lutheran Office for World
Community, New York, have purchased carbon offset credits to
mitigate their carbon emissions accumulated through air travel.
"Our offices have been working to reduce our carbon
footprints by turning off lights and power strips when we're not
in our offices, for example. But short of turning off all
electricity and ceasing to travel, it's very difficult to
eliminate your carbon emissions entirely," said Mary Minette,
ELCA director for environmental education and advocacy.
"Since the advocacy staff travels extensively, we've
purchased offset credits to balance those carbon emissions. The
credits will go toward renewable energy projects, thus reducing
the overall amount of power generated by burning fossil fuels,"
said Minette.
The specific projects funded by the carbon offsets purchased
by the advocacy offices will support the use of anaerobic
digesters, machines that dramatically reduce the amount of
methane that escapes into the atmosphere while simultaneously
generating renewable energy for the dairy farms that run them.
Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a major contributor to global
warming.
To determine the amount of the offices' carbon emissions
that needed to be offset, Minette surveyed the staff about their
air travel. She used that information with a carbon emissions
calculator on the Internet and then purchased the appropriate
amount of credits needed to compensate for the travel.
Minette hopes this move by the advocacy office will start a
trend in the ELCA. "Imagine the amount of carbon emissions we'd
save if the entire churchwide organization, every synod office,
and every congregation were to reduce their energy use and budget
for the purchase of offset credits for the remaining energy
consumption," she said.
"Our social statement, 'Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope
and Justice,' commits us as individuals, as a worship community,
and as a public church, to address the threat of global warming.
I encourage all Lutherans to calculate their carbon footprints,
reduce their energy consumption, and purchase carbon offset
credits where appropriate," Minette said.
- - -
Information about global warming is at
http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy/environment/globalwarming.html on
the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
