Michigan Interfaith Power & Light's annual Sustainability Conference

Sustainability Conference Reflection 

(article written by Kelly Gauthier)

Members of the St. Francis Sustainability Team attended Michigan Interfaith Power & Light's annual Sustainability Conference, which was held at Madonna University on 10/4.  Workshop topics were diverse.  For example:  "greening" our homes and buildings, integrating sustainability into the school curriculum; using solar power for both on-grid and off-grid power solutions; creating rain gardens; and the ability for organic farming techniques to produce healthier soil and greater year-over-year yields in DTE's "urban farms".  We hope to apply what we learned in upcoming projects at St. Francis.

Most importantly, the afternoon keynote speaker, Dr. Thomas Gladwin from the UM Business School's Erb Institute, reminded attendees of our potential to create a better world.  Governments and the business community will not solve the earth's environmental problems, he said.  But education, science, and faith communities (who are called to protect God's creation) might.  He challenged all of us to ponder three critical moral questions:

·         What do we owe to future generations?

·         What do we owe to the currently deprived?

·         What do we owe to the rest of life on earth?