EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Nine, Number Five July/August 2000 INTERFAITH COALITION ON ENERGY: A RESOURCE FOR CHURCHES This September, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia will host a national conference, sponsored by the Interfaith Coalition on Energy (ICE), to train people from other communities to form similar coalitions, and to form a network of local, independent consultants in energy conservation. Since its founding in 1980 by representatives of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia, ICE has conducted on-site energy surveys for over 500 of the 4,200 religious congregations in and around Philadelphia. It has also negotiated rates with utilities and conducted hundreds of training programs in energy management. Supported exclusively by those it serves, ICE receives no financing from utilities, governments, or foundations. Support for research and the quarterly newsletter comes from denominational and individual contributions. ICE consultants help congregations to use measurably less energy, to purchase energy at lower cost and to anticipate and prevent problems with mechanical and electrical systems within their buildings. ICE analyzes energy consumption data and measures performance by a reduction in the bills. ICE estimates that it saves congregations over a million dollars per year. The ICE Advisory Board, which sets the major priorities for its services, is a group of volunteer denominational leaders, engineers, clergy, architectural consultants and energy consultants. From Andrew Rudin ICE Project Coordinator 7217 Oak Ave., Melrose Park, PA 19027 215/ 635-1122 andrewrudin@earthlink.net Home     Table of Contents