Sr. Phil ready to go.

Sr. Phil calculated that her car averaged 26 mpg for town driving, and that every gallon of gas added about 20 lbs of CO2 into the environment.  By riding her electric scooter even three days a week to work, she saved almost $12 in gasoline costs and reduced her carbon footprint by 60 lbs.  She happily reports that the scooter costs less than 10 cents to fully recharge.

Riding a scooter in heavy traffic takes a bit of moxie, and she's had to overcome "tons of fears," but this 63-year-old Sister shares her motivation: "I'm madly in love with the universe and I don't want it destroyed!"

We applaud Sr. Phil's efforts to reduce her carbon footprint.  While it may not be practical for everybody to ride electric scooters, there are dozens of small steps we can all take to make a difference from running errands with a neighbor to washing clothes in cold water to buying locally grown food.

While most of us in the U.S. can't totally avoid leaving a carbon footprint, we can choose to offset the damage and promote sustainable living.  Here's one idea: Set aside $1.00 every time you fill up your car with gas.  When you have a few dollars together donate it towards the Sisters of Notre Dame fund for Africa and Latin America where the Sisters are teaching people to live environmentally friendly, sustainable lives.

Ideas for next steps:

• Visit the Do Your Part website for ideas.
• Visit the Carbon Footprint website for news, calculators and tons for information.
• Donate to our Sisters in Africa and Latin America who teach sustainable living.  (If donating by check put "Offset" in the memo area. If donating online, put "offset" in the prayer area.)