From the Diocesan Social Justice and Outreach Committee:
- Plastic in the oceans kills over a million sea birds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish every year, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
- Plastic chemicals can be absorbed in our bodies-93 per cent of Americans age six or older test positive for BPA, which can cause cancer and birth defects, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
- Our tap and bottled water are both loaded with microplastics.
Following up on the Diocesan Convention resolution which recommends that “each parish encourage its parishioners to recycle, reuse and reduce their uses of water, electricity, gasoline and other fossil fuels, and plastics, which are polluting the ocean,” the Social Justice and Outreach Committee encourages all parishes in the diocese to take part in the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Challenge, to reduce the reliance on single use plastics such as plastic grocery bags and Styrofoam cups and plates.
The Committee is collaborating on a project, known as the What’s SUP Challenge, with committees of the Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House and the First Unitarian Church. We encourage all members of the diocese to a kickoff event on Sunday, January 20, at 1:30 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
This event will involve education about the dangers of plastics and possibilities for alternatives, forming teams of people pursuing similar goals, watching the movie “Bag It” together, and refreshments. In future months we hope to tour a recycling facility and learn the limitations of recycling, share our successes and what we’re all learning, and hold a SUP-less supper to celebrate.
Marianne Novy (mnovy@pitt.edu)
Diocesan Social Justice and Outreach Committee