The Wanderer

We've been really enjoying the weekly challenge we've been getting at church this month about how "God is green."  Our teaching paster, Rob Bell, has been teaching a series by that name (and inviting in outsiders to discuss the same).  We've been trying to make some changes in our lives to be more green like God.  Here's a quick list--some things implemented, other still under investigation.  Who knows, maybe you'll be inspired too:

• Changing our incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents
• More open windows, less A/C
• Signing up for a drop-off recycling program run by the county where we live
• Walking and riding our bike if we can (tough one where we live)
• Buying and eating locally produced food, primarily at the local farmers market
• We're looking into growing some of our own food
• Our next car purchase will probably be a Honda Civic Hybrid
• I'm seriously looking into vermiculture for our food waste
• We're buying more environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies and other home products
• I'm looking into our power company's green generation program where, with a 1.6 cent-per-KwH charge, all our power comes from renewable sources.  Specifically 70% wind and 30% land-fill gas.  All together, this would probably cost us an average of $15 month.
• Brooke signed us up for GreenDimes, a service that saves trees and water and reduces carbon emissions by reducing the amount of junk mail we receive...everybody wins!

I'm looking for more good ideas.  Hit me with a comment if you have any.

Sermon links (mp3):
"Serve God, Save the Planet" author Matthew Sleeth
Crackus Drivewaya Michiganus - Rob Bell
Towers and Tomatoes - Rob Bell
*UPDATE: The New Seatbelt - Rob Bell & Matt Krick

I heard an interesting and somewhat shocking interview on my local NPR station.  It blew away almost everything I thought I knew about watering my lawn.  Searching for the information I heard later lead me to an article by the same research team at MSU.  Below are some of their findings on the best way to irrigate lawns.  A lot of it is against the conventional wisdom.  No doubt this is the first time science has ever disproven conventional wisdom.

Here are some interesting out-takes:

• "Generally, lawn turf requires 0.5 to 1.5 inches of water per week"
• "That corresponds to 0.1 to 0.2 inch of water [daily]"
• "Light, frequent applications of water are much more productive than heavy applications once a week."
• "The best time of day for watering is early afternoon just before the highest temperature period of the day."

Full information at the link below.  I hope you find it as useful as I did.

Full Article: http://www.turf.msu.edu/docs/turftipsE09.pdf
MSU's Irrigation Practices to Preserve Water Quality
G.T. Lyman, P.E. Rieke & J.M. Vargas Jr.
Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University

Frontline: The Age of AIDS (Full video available online) - The topic of this "look-back" special is likely to be the defining issue of our generation, and yet it's amazing to see how far we've come in the past 20 years. It wasn't that long ago that the President went on TV and failed to assure the public that HIV wasn't spread through casual contact--not because that information wasn't known to science, just because ignorance was that wide-spread. I highly recommend this refresher on the history of the HIV/AIDS emergency.

We just got back from James (friend from Taylor) and Wendy's wedding in Pontiac, MI.  What a fun weekend!  Maybe the most fun wedding to which I've ever been.  It could be because of how important they both are to us, I don't know.   Or maybe it has something to do with their classy, quality choices in everything.  In any case, it was a whole lot of fun and very special to me to be there.  It was also fun to reconnect with Cliff and Matt (also from Taylor).  Until recently, I thought I was glad we were out of those first two post-college summers with a wedding every other weekend, but I might miss it.

James and Wendy came to visit us this weekend and we swung by the house we just bought to show it to them. I'll post more pictures in the photo albums section of jtower.com. James took this picture of Brooke, Luke, and me in front of our new home. By the way, yes, we are planning on doing something a little nicer with the lawn.

Brooke, Luke, and I are moving to Michigan--where I'm originally from--to be nearer to my family and Mars Hill, amoung other things.  I'll be working at MarketNet Services, a small technology company in Spring Lake, MI.  It's going to be a difficult and exciting transition in many ways.  We will be leaving Brooke's parents, good jobs, and good friends, but we'll now be going to an amazing church, near my family, and near Luke's cousins.

I'll email our new contact information when I know it.