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What You Can Do....In Your Community It may be easier than you think for schools and retail stores, churches and synagogues, small businesses and hospitals to make greater use of efficiency and renewables to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. There are success stories you can learn from and get inspired by. There are also step-by-step guides for how to do it. All you need is the will--and a few people to help. Check out "How Green Is My Congregation" below. For other guides, click here. How Green is My Congregation? The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula in Carmel, California, generates 100 percent of its electricity from 180 solar panels installed on the church's property. Congregant Greg Wolfson, an expert in solar energy, oversaw the project, which cost $250,000, offset by a state rebate of $110,000. Wolfson said that the new system would eventually save the congregation $5,000 a year in electricity bills. Read more. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Amherst, New York, is the first church in the state to purchase 100 percent wind energy for its church buildings. And the Wilton Bible Church in Sacramento, pictured at right, boasts a 24 kilowatt solar system installed as part of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's PV Pioneer Program. How green is your church, temple, or mosque? And how can you help make it greener? The Energy Star web site, a program of the U.S. EPA, has devoted a number of pages to helping congregations get started on saving energy. Some projects are simple, like changing lightbulbs or installing occupancy sensors in light switches so lights turn off when no one is present. And then there are the more involved projects, like upgrading heaing and ventilation and landscaping with plants native to your climate. Most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30 percent with strategic investments in efficient equipment, facility upgrades, and maintenance. Find out more in Energy Star's Guide for Congregations. (Also available as a pdf.) Go For It! Guides to Get Your World Green If you'd rather focus on getting your school, business, hospital or other community site to be more efficient, use renewable energy, and save money, check out these excellent step-by-step guides from the Energy Star program. Small Businesses K-12 Schools Healthcare Organizations Higher Education If you want to work on greening your local government, you'll find all the resources you need--and a supportive network of others who are doing the same thing--on our Cool Cities website. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use