The Green Sanctuary process pushes us to assess our environmental impact and take positive steps to make our church and congregational practices more sustainable. While sustainability is an issue of stewardship, ethics, health, and spirituality, it is also absolutely an issue of social justice. The US has less than five percent of the world’s population, but produces 21 percent of carbon emissions. The US agricultural system generates 20 to 25 percent of our greenhouse gasses. Meanwhile, climate change is projected to disrupt global food production and expose 75 to 125 million more people to hunger. Over one billion tons of pesticide products are used annually in the United States, including 380 million pounds of known carcinogens. And children, pregnant women, and Latinos carry more pesticides in their bodies than the general population.

For these reasons and more, Green Sanctuary falls under the social justice umbrella at UUC.