07188
March 28, 2007

Northern Michigan Presbyterians in a ‘clean sweep’

Third annual Earth Day clean-up targets unwanted medicines

by Greg Peterson
Earth Keepers

Presbyterians at First Presbyterian Church of Marquette, MI, helped gather more than 320 tons of discarded electronics for proper disposal during the 2006 "Clean Sweep" in northern Michigan. Photo courtesy of Earth Keepers

MARQUETTE, MI — For the third year in a row, thousands of northern Michigan Presbyterians are expected to drop off hazardous waste on Earth Day 2007, April 21. This year the target is old and unwanted pharmaceuticals.

          Northern Michigan Presbyterians are a vital part of an environmental army — comprised of the vast majority of the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) religious and environmental groups, university students an American Indian tribe — participating in Earth Keeper annual “Clean Sweep.”

     Last year’s Clean Sweep netted more than 320 tons of electronic waste — computers, cell phones and other discarded devices. The inaugural Clean Sweep in 2005 focused on household poisons and other toxic materials.

     “This year’s collection of unwanted medicines is one symbol of a commitment to being stewards of the earth in behalf of the Lord of the earth,” said the Rev. David Van Dam, executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Mackinac.

     “Please be joyfully serious as you participate in passing on a world to those who will come after you,” the Rev. Van Dam told Mackinac Presbyterians.

     Thousands of U.P. Presbyterians participated in the two previous Earth Day clean sweeps that collected almost 400 tons of hazardous waste for recycling or proper disposal.

     Citing Psalm 24, Van Dam reminded Presbyterians that “the earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, the world and all those who dwell in it,” adding that “if humanity takes those words seriously, they know that stewardship of the earth is a mandate for all who dwell on the earth — the human family has been called to be instruments of stewardship in behalf of the one to whom it all belongs."

     Pastor Dave Anderson of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sagola, MI, believes “the church should be one of the forerunners in terms of prevention and education towards a healthy environment, and for cleaning it up as well.”

     Anderson, who also serves as chaplain for the Dickinson County Health Care System, added that “God created the Earth and asked us to be good stewards of it.”

     “I am realizing that through the Earth Keepers, a much higher awareness is being brought to communities throughout the U.P. than every before,” said Anderson. “As an individual congregation, Grace is very committed to our surrounding communities in ministry, and this will give us one more opportunity to create a ministry opportunity with them in mind.”

     Anderson said “a collaborative effort with different faith communities” is one reason for the success of the Earth Keeper clean sweeps. “As Presbyterians we are proud to be a part of this ongoing education and effort to help preserve this Earth.”

     Presbyterian Earth Keeper team member Lynnea Kuzak, 28, said she is fortunate to have been born and raised in Marquette “surrounded by the natural beauty of God's creation.”

     “To think of anything like prescription drugs polluting our precious water supply is disheartening,” said Kuzak, the director of Christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Marquette.

     “The Earth Keeper group is making people aware of the potential and current dangers and has organized this clean-up to help the community dispose of their prescription/over-the-counter drugs in a safe way,” Kuzak said. “We all enjoy the beauty that surrounds us and now we all can take action to keep it beautiful.”

     The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep is targeting out-of-date and unwanted medications of all kinds, according to Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership.

     New Presbyterian Earth Keeper team member Sue Piasini of Sagola said she joined because “I have always been an environmentalist” and “it’s a wonderful feeling to do something I believe in so strongly.”

     One of Piasini’s pet peeves is the use of Styrofoam cups and other disposable items. “Styrofoam grinds at me,” said Pisaini, who has two grandchildren and is the mother of four grown children.

     Piasini encourages her Presbyterian youth group and fellow Head Start staff members to respect the environment, practice conservation and not to use disposable cups, plates and utensils.

     “I bring the same philosophy into the homes” of Head Start children and remind them about the effects of “drugs and chemicals in the water,” Piasini said.

     A member of Grace church, Piasini said she taught her children to recycle and respect the environment, but recalls her own childhood in Racine, WI, when the effect of improperly disposed pharmaceuticals was not known.

     “My mom used to say flush old pills down the toilet … hopefully we can reverse that,” Piasini said, adding, “It turns my stomach to think about all those pills” that were flushed.

     Piasini is now very active in warning people about humankind’s impact on the environment and says it’s not just pharmaceuticals that should not end up in the sewer systems.

     “When you think about all the chemicals that go into our water like lotions on the body, the lotion is on our arms and legs and we are washing that off,” Piasini said. “I was always thinking about the chemicals in the air not in the water.”

     Piasini said U.P. residents are “lucky to live in a place with beautiful water.” However, she believes “smaller communities don’t get the same (latest environmental) information as big cities.”

     The Clean Sweep involves 120 congregations representing nine faith communities — Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha’i, Jewish, and Zen Buddhist.

     Prescription medication and over-the-counter medicines will be collected at about two dozen northern Michigan drop-off sites during the sweep. There is no charge to drop off pharmaceuticals.

     The EPA and Lindquist say the reason for the clean sweep targeting medicines is that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are turning up in America’s drinking water because most treatment plants are not designed to filter out these medications.

     When pills or liquid medicines are poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet they remain diluted in the water supply after treatment and these trace amounts are suspected of causing a range of health problems, according to the EPA.

     “As leftover and waste pharmaceuticals get flushed down drains, research is showing that they are increasingly being detected in our lakes and rivers at levels that could be causing harm to the environment and ecosystem,” said Elizabeth LaPlante, senior manager for the EPA Great Lakes National Programs Office in Chicago, IL

     “Specifically, reproductive and development problems in aquatic species, hormonal disruption and antibiotic resistance are some concerns associated with pharmaceuticals in our wastewater,” LaPlante said.

     Lindquist said that recent national studies have documented that over 80 percent of the rivers sampled “tested positive for a range of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, birth control hormones, antidepressants, veterinary drugs and other medications.”

     Lindquist said some urban centers have even detected “traces of pharmaceuticals in their tap water.” Pharmaceuticals in some rivers have also been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in species of fish, amphibians and birds, according to EPA studies. Pharmaceutical compounds known as endocrine disruptors have even been linked to neurological problems in children and increased incidence of some cancers, according to EPA studies.

     The Rev. Jon Magnuson, Earth Keeper founder and co-organizer of the clean sweeps, said that combining religion and environmental protection is a perfect fit.

     “This will be another step of a deepening connection between the traditions of faith and the critical challenges of the environment,” said Magnuson. “The clean sweep is one of many signs of a new awakening, an historic shift of consciousness into the mystery of God and a gentle love for the planet.”

     Susan LaFernier, leader of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community said she’s pleased that the tribe and the KBIC Department of Natural Resources is supporting the clean sweep for the third year in a row. “We are all responsible for taking care of the precious environment that has been given to us from our Creator,” she said.
 
Northern Michigan University Earth Keeper Student Team project director Jennifer Simula said “this year's Clean Sweep is going to be revolutionary — a collection like this is, as far as I know, unprecedented.”

     Simula, an NMU graduate student and a Lutheran, said, “I’m really excited, not only about the energy I’m feeling from everyone involved so far, but about the education that’s happening through all of the NMU EarthKeepers talking to everyone they know about the dangers of improperly-discarded pharmaceuticals and what they’re doing to our waterways.”

     Bishop Alexander K. Sample of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette said he is “proud that the Catholic community in the Upper Peninsula can be part of this continuing effort to care for God’s creation, which has been entrusted to our good stewardship.”

     "Now that we know more about the harmful effects this has on our water systems and how certain compounds cannot be removed by purification techniques currently in use, I hope this will raise awareness of how to properly dispose of them,” said Sample. Catholic

     Catholic Earth Keeper team member Kelly Mathews of Big Bay said she and her husband, Chis Mathews, 45, recently cleaned out their medicine cabinets and found one bottle of prescription sinus medication that was 18 years old.

     The U.P. Jewish community is turning its commitment to Tikkun Olam and Passover from a traditional observance to social action during April by participating in the clean sweep and other activities to protect the environment.

     "This year’s Clean Sweep of outdated and no longer used medication demonstrates how comprehensive our commitment is to keeping our water pure and our people healthy," said Earth Keeper team member Jacob Silver, of  Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming.