Sarah Webb, Neighbor

I’m one of 8 children raised by parents who grew up during the depression here in Iowa, and we were all taught to be very careful stewards of our resources. Waste not, want not. Leave the world a better place. It’s a very Iowan attitude. Turns out its also a very green attitude!

It’s also very much in keeping with my faith. The priest at my church had long been telling us that to keep the faith we must keep the earth. So when LS Power proposed to build a 750-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Waterloo, to power Chicago, I had to do something. So out of concern for the health of my children and the earth they will inherit, a couple of friends and I started Cool Congregations, a stewardship program for congregations to engage their members in caring for the earth by pledging to reduce their carbon emissions by 10%. It puts a new twist on the traditional tithe. Cool Congregations is a program of Iowa Interfaith Power & Light. We are not a power company; we draw on a different kind of power and light! Read more at iowaipl.org