News, Boost, Updates
18th March Weekly(ish) Climate Cafe Multifaith, Faiths4Future, More...
Continued blessings for Ramadan, Ramadan Kareem! Blessings for Lent, Holy Week, and the coming Easter. Blessings for a joyful upcoming Holi!
Scroll for info and links in this week’s weekly(ish):
JustCreation prior weeks of this Weekly and other articles.
Faith voices this week.
I took a deep dive into Waterways, find that here: Restoring Polluted Waterways, Stepping up as People of Faith.
Reports and Studies
There is Good News, too!
Easter Resources: Highlighting a three week Eastertide worship series from United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and UM Discipleship Ministries: How Shall We Live
Boost
Science and Faith Seminary Grant. Please share, the intersection between science and faith is so important. From the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, has a grant for Seminarians, apply by April 1. Apply for a Climate Science in Theological Education Grant.
Please Sign-On! The UMC is still investing (a lot) in fossil fuels. This is heartbreaking especially from a faith institution. Hundreds of faith groups have divested, and I am asking, please support the Fossil Free UMC effort. Please sign on to this Letter. You can sign as an individual or as a group, church, or organization. You can sign if you are a United Methodist, or if you aren’t. If you aren’t please consider signing on in support, we need your voice to show the power of witness outside the denomination.
Reports & Studies
Find more reports on the reports page.
Methane—tracking leaks. Thank goodness for accountability mechanisms such as the Methane Tracker. The 2024 report was just released and the findings are…well literally damning. The good news is, with accountability in place, something can be done about it. Read about the report from The Guardian, US energy industry gas leaks are triple the official figures, study finds. Read the report.
Plastics Subsidies, Plastics Pollution and Taxpayers. A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project lays out the awful truth that the plastic plants that are causing tremendous health issues are getting billions in subsidies. Read about the report from the authors, Billions in Taxpayer Subsidies to U.S. Plastics Plants Support Illegal Air Pollution in Communities of Color. Read about the report from Inside Climate News, Gulf Coast Petrochemical Buildout Draws Billions in Tax Breaks Despite Pollution Violations. And from Grist, Your tax dollars may be funding the expansion of the plastics industry. Read the report.
Hitting Home. The latest Climate Risk Report from Realtor.com and First Street have an unhappy story to tell about how climate change is amplifying the risks for Americans in their own homes. Read about the report from CBS News, Nearly half of U.S. homes face severe threat from climate change, study finds. Read also from Realtor.com, Climate Risks Threaten Nearly Half of All Homes in the U.S.: What Buyers and Sellers Need To Know. Read the report.
Changes are happening fast. A couple of news stories that speak to the loss we are already experiencing from climate change, as well as the observations that climate effects are happening more rapidly than expected. From The Columbus Dispatch, Native plant update: Of Ohio's 1,800 native plants species, 271 are endangered, 93 are gone. And from Bangor Daily News, Effects of climate change progressing faster than expected in Maine, state planners find.
Chemical Dumping & Water Contamination. According to this week’s U.S. Waterways in Crisis: A Toxic Report, industry and agriculture are dumping millions of tons of chemicals into rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands… Quick number: the three worst states combined, Indiana, Texas, and Louisiana dumped 465 million lbs. of chemicals into their waterways between 2013 and 2022. Find your state. This information is from only what is reported each year to the EPA—the Toxics Release Inventory—and lists only what chemicals come under their regulations.
Water and Planetary Boundaries. From Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, a research group that studies the climate crisis and planetary boundaries. For these studies, ‘planetary boundaries’ means the lines we must not cross if we want to keep the stable climate God gifted us with thousands of years ago, and in which humans have flourished. The study shows we are pushing the planetary freshwater system over the line. Read about the study, Earth’s freshwater cycle out of stable state, then read the study, published in Nature.
Deep Dive
My Deep Dive became a special focus and post this week: Restoring Polluted Waterways, Stepping up as People of Faith.
Faith Voices in the News This Week
As people of faith sometimes we feel like we have to hide our lamp under a basket. We do not always know the ‘right’ way to share our love of God and our hope for our neighbor and this earth. Yet it is so important that we continue to prayerfully reflect and be courageous as we step forward with our light. Our voices matter. For an article that reflects the imperatives we face, a recent multifaith dialogue spoke to the crises of this moment, addressing the tragedy in Gaza and climate change. From Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska, Climate change can be contentious. Can our faith help lower the temperature?
Racial Equity is Climate Justice. Self reflection, good work, and a name change for the Lutheran group. From Living Lutheran, White Lutherans organize for racial justice.
The climate crisis & the Pacific Islands. An essay highlighting the work of faith, community, identity and land from the World Council of Churches, Advocacy and prophetic witness for metanoia.
Ramadan as a time for Good. The festival and celebration of Ramadan is not just about the delicious Iftar. From Time, Why Ramadan Is a Time of Activism for Many Muslims.
World Environment Day was March 14! This day of Sikh celebration around the world drew the faithful out doors to make a difference. From The Tribune, India, World Sikh Environment Day: Over 1,100 saplings planted on banks of ‘Buddha Dariya’
Lent and Climate Finance. A sacred Lent addressing Climate Finance continues in the UK where Christians took action in witness to the flow of money to projects that harm nature and communities. From Christianity Today, UK Christians Asked to Give Up Their Banks for Lent. In coming alongside that effort, a reflection from Earthbeat of a Catholic alongside British Quakers, I prayed with Quakers to urge Vanguard to invest more responsibly
Wild Rivers. When the Indigenous Peoples stewarded the lands of the Pacific Northwest, the rivers were free, wild, and filled with fish including the keystone species, Salmon. Earthbeat offers us a deeper dive to the need to restore rivers and riverlife, with mention of the All our Relations Campaign over these last few years including the prayers and witness of Earth Ministry, WAIPL, and Pacific Northwest nations. Indigenous leaders gain support of Washington Catholics for dam removal.
Church Garden as Sacred! Congratulations to Grace Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they restored 3 acres of manicured lawn to native garden and habitat. Absolutely fabulous! From IPL Cool Congregations, 2024 Sacred Grounds Winner – Three Acres from Lawn to Native Habitat.
Mandalas and Prayers. A joyful and prayerful time at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee! From the Tallahassee Democrat, Tibetan Buddhist monks bring message of peace to Tallahassee with mandala.
An Arctic prayer for safekeeping. A prayerful reflection on the Arctic wildlife, ecosystems and ways of life in this heartstirring call to people of faith to respond. Written by Stuart Cohen of Alaska Interfaith Power and Light, Action Rooted in Faith: Our Obligations to Protect America’s Arctic.
Good News
Lots of good news this week!! Find more news in the news archive here.
Small Town Sustainability. Sustainability is possible and it is happening. A great story from Alaska KTUU, Spotlight on sustainability shines on quiet, coastal Alaska town. Cordova is so far ahead in renewable energy efforts, it’s hitting the limits of what current technology can offer.
Starting to drop! Yes, a long way to go, but let’s celebrate this good news as a mile marker on the way! From Phy.org, German greenhouse gas emissions dropped sharply last year, raising hopes of meeting 2030 target. The UK is looking even better! From Carbon Brief, Analysis: UK emissions in 2023 fell to lowest level since 1879.
Rewilding. Y’all have probably noticed that I love rewilding stories. This one from Ireland last week (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!), from Mongabay, Rewilding Ireland: ‘Undoing the damage’ from a history of deforestation, and this week a lovely look at rewilding in Japan. From Inside Climate News, Rewilding Japan With Clearings in the Forest and Crowdfunding Campaigns. Preserving the nation’s biodiversity requires opening up meadows in its vast cedar plantations. Conservationists are making headway, but progress depends on reconnecting youth with nature.
Clean Energy on the Seas. A couple of good-news stories as shipping transport looks to go green. From Popular Science, A cargo ship’s ‘WindWing’ sails saved it up to 12 tons of fuel per day. After six months sailing around the world, the numbers are in for the retrofitted ‘Pyxis Ocean.’ And from Electrek, World’s cleanest lake is getting a new flying electric hydrofoil ferry.
Solving for Sustainability. Cemeteries are sacred spaces. As a pastor, I shared those spaces with families in the most humbling, quieting and holy ways. At first, I wasn’t too sure about this news. I have been mulling it, and I have come to think of how good this idea is done respectfully and well. This project was more than just sticking solar panels up. This was about a creative way to address community needs, enriching all. From Euronews.green, ‘A beautiful idea’: This French town is making its cemetery a source of solar energy.
Prayers up!
Richenda
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