History

Photo by Janis Sutherland

Overview

The Green Sanctuary Team was founded in 2006 by Amy Lent and Thayer Heath as the Green Sanctuary Committee, a subcommittee of the Social Responsibilities Council. Early efforts were focused on making our church more sustainable, and several building changes were made. Over the years our goal has expanded to include education, activism and actions toward preservation of the global environment on which all life depends, by working to make the Earth sustainable and by addressing climate change.


Significant Mileposts

Albany UU was accredited in 2008 as a Green Sanctuary by the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth.

Earth Day Fairs at Albany UU in 2007 and 2008.

Since 2006, Albany UU sells Fair Trade coffee, cocoa and chocolate bars along with items made by women from Guatemala, Ecuador and Mexico. 

Solar panels installed in 2012-2013.

Anti-fracking Resolution of 2013-14.

The Compendium of Green Tips, 2014.

Seminar in 2016, Climate Change … and You … and Us, three sessions led by Rev. Sam on Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything.

Composting in worm bins introduced in 2016 in the Religious Education program by Anne Marie Haber and Mitch Cohen (ongoing).  For more information, contact Anne Marie at amhaber@aol.com or this Handout; worm vendor. 

Do-more survey of the congregation and Results in 2017.

Tree-planting in 2017.

Formation of SHARE, the Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy, in 2017 (ongoing, see Working With SHARE).

GST Education Outreach

Members of the Green Sanctuary Team, individually and together, undertake many educational outreach activities, including Public Forums, Film Showings with Discussion, and Letters to the Editor, Commentaries, and other newspaper articles.

GST-Sponsored Forums

Speakers who are GST members are marked with an *.  JOIN US on March 24, 2024, at 11:45 AM at 405 Washington Ave, Albany for our Forum entitled, "Embrace the Sun's Generosity: Energy Users/Energy Owners."  Our speaker is Roy Morrison, a solar energy developer, Managing Partner of SunPartnersSolar, author, social theorist, and activist. His latest e-book The New Green Republic is now available on Amazon, for kindle and in paperback.


Roy Morrison*, solar energy developer, Managing Partner of SunPartnersSolar, author of The New Green Republic, social theorist, and activist

    Embrace the Sun's Generosity: Energy Users/Energy Owners

    Flyer, Video of Forum, Slides of Forum

The Climate Conundrum

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

The 2020 Election and Where Do We Go From Here?
Flyer


GST Film Showings With Discussion

Letters to the Editor, Commentaries, and Articles by or about GST Members

Sandy Steubing

Capital Region must start building its own climate resiliency

Letter to the Editor published in the Times Union

Set an example with the Renewable Capital Act

Letter to the Editor published in the Times Union

Paul Fisk
Fossil fuel industry must hasten switch to renewables
Letter to the Editor published in the Times Union

Barbara Spink

Crypto benefits not worth the energy and pollution

Letter to the Editor published in the Times Union

Chris Bystroff

Footprints to singularity: A global population model explains late 20th century slow-down and predicts peak within ten years

PloS ONE 16(5)e0247214

Paul Fisk

Remember reality of climate crisis when casting vote
Commentary published in the Times Union