Bill McKibben describes a program run by Vineyard Boise -- the Garden O'Feedin -- in a recent edition of Plenty Magazine, and it reminded me of some of the research we did for our green sunday school class. I love to see examples of churches that are living as if they actually believe that the creation is good and that we are called to serve "the least of these."

McKibben: "Here’s the first thing I like about Bill Meeker, head gardener at the Garden O’ Feedin’, which provides free, fresh, organic food for poor people all over the greater Boise, Idaho, area: When I ask him how his one-third acre of raised beds could possibly have produced 20,776 pounds of vegetables last year, he answers, 'Well, God’s involved.'"

I filled up with biodiesel after work today and on my way out the door this morning I saw the local community paper on the lawn with a front page article about the biodiesel co-op. I had been under the assumption that the biodiesel we were getting currently came from soybeans (which, while not ideal, still seems better than conventional fossil fuels and other high cost food-based fuels like ethanol from corn). I learned the other day and confirmed today that it is actually coming from animal fats, so it's coming from a by-product and not a raw food source* -- which is good. So I guess my car is a meat-eater while we wait for the long-term goal of producing our own biodiesel from waste veggie oil salvaged from restaurant friers. And in the meantime I'll try not to wonder too hard whether that animal fat is coming from factory farms.

I just came across this video. It's an entertaining journey through the life cycle of "stuff" and worth the watch. It is 20 minutes long, but it's fascinating and very well done. Click here to watch.

From the intro on their site:

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.