News, Boost, Updates
31 July sum-up climate news and events, Faiths4Future, Climate Cafe Multifaith, JustCreation
Conversation Bookstart! A conversation around an uplifting book read, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation by Paul Hawken. Barak Gale will lead the conversation. Read some or part of the book if you can. More info here. Thursday, August 10th 11:00am Pacific / 2:00pm Eastern Time. Register.
New Follow ups! It took me far too long to get these up on the site, but the info could not be more important.
When your neighbor says no: green colonialism and Indigenous consent In Goldendale, WA, the Yakama Nation raised a clear ‘no’ when the land they use for first-food gathering, life practice, and ceremony was sited for construction of a hydroelectric pumped-storage energy project. Journalist B. Toastie Oaster joined us for an in-depth discussion.
Sacred Sanctuary: The Fight to Save Oak Flat. Sarah Augustine will lead our conversation as we talk about Oak Flat, in the Tonto National Forest, and the efforts of the San Carlos Apache and other tribal leaders to stop a proposed open pit copper mine. (Shout out to UM-Insight who picked up this article!)
Our conversation with Jorge Rodríquez, Guatemalan environmental science journalist and storyteller, up soon.
Boost - Events
Reparations Webinar. Reparations in Action, from the Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan, is sponsored by the Episcopal and UCC Churches, National Council of Churches, Church World Service and more. Learn more about how Reparatory Justice is unfolding in Lansing, and how to engage these justice tools. August 2nd.
Interfaith Power and Light & Rewiring America. A webinar looking at electrification, IRA Resources to help you electrify your home. Info: how you can swap out your gas appliances for electric, and the scale we need to move to get there. As of right now, for example, only 1% of US homes have electric heat pump water heaters. By 2050, the hope is to get to 100%. The webinar will address financial incentives to get us there. September 7th
Jewish Climate Rally. Dayenu is organizing a Jewish Rally for Climate Pollution Solutions, TODAY July 31st. This virtual rally will include song, study, and steps for action. Learn more and register.
March to End Fossil Fuels. People vs Fossil Fuels is organizing a March on September 17th in New York City. GreenFaith has promoted this March…online details are few, check with your local GreenFaith circle and see more information here.
United Methodist Movement Cafe. The next Movement Cafe from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement will feature worship materials and offerings and conversation with those who created the latest Seasons of Creation worship liturgy for the UMCJM and more. August 16th Register.
Be a UM Earthkeeper! Global Ministries seeks U.S.-based United Methodists to lead grassroots environmental projects that are action-oriented, antiracist, bold and entrepreneurial. Is this you? Find the application and more information here. The next training begins in October.
If you missed it:
Solar for Congregations. Interfaith Power and Light webinar was July 18th, if you missed it, find the recording here: Climate and Energy Resources for Faith Communities: A Briefing with the U.S. Department of Energy. Slides are here. Read a follow up article also from Earthbeat 'Game changer': Energy secretary touts tax incentives to power faith communities with renewables
Extreme Heat: How Congregations Can Respond. This Creation Justice Ministries webinar was June 29th, but as it just keeps getting hotter, it’s still so timely. View the recording here, speakers represent the NRDC, NOAA, and more.
Disaster Response and Just Resilience. The July offering from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement Cafe. Find the recording here, and more info here.
Resources
A Multifaith Climate songbook from GreenFaith.
Liturgy - Season of Creation. As the Season approaches, expect more resources to pop up. New from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement worship team is a full liturgical resource including prayers, communion, sermon starters, hymns and children’s ministry. The series is available through United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, and the UMcreationjustice.org. Download here. Register also for the August 16th Movement Cafe, where the authors of this resource will share more about it (more information on the Cafe upcoming).
Season of Creation. Season of Creation began as an Orthodox and Catholic effort and is now celebrated across the world and in many denominations. The Season begins September 1, find the central movement page here.
Reports
Find more reports on the reports page.
Nature Positive Solutions - Start Now. A report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) written together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development delves into Nature Positive solutions for food production and food systems. Read about the report from WWF here Life at the speed of change. Read the report.
Pace of Electrification - A Progress Report. Basically? We have a long way to go, so we better get moving. Read an article from Grist about the report, To reach net-zero emissions, American homes need an electric makeover, A new report says U.S. households need to buy 14 million extra heat pumps, induction stoves, and other electric alternatives in the next three years. Read about the report from Rewiring America, Pick up the pace. Read the report.
Plastic Overshoot Day. When did we all the plastic earth can manage per year? On July 28, when upwards of 68 thousand tons of the stuff had been produced. (My feeling is any day of plastic is one too many…) Read an article from Common Dreams, Plastic Overshoot Day Spotlights Growing 'Climate Nightmare' of Global Waste - "Simply praying that we can recycle our way out of this problem will not cut it." Read an info summary Plastic Overshoot Day: Report 2023 Read the Report.
Coal at All Time High. Despite tremendous efforts of so many, the recent coal report from the IEA brings bad news indeed. From CNBC IEA says coal use hit an all-time high last year — and global demand will persist near record levels. Read also the report.
Deep Dive - Goldendale, Yakama & Christian Youth
This, the necessary work of restoration of communities and collaboration for a true society of well-being is all about Relationship. Relationship. Relationship. Across cultural contexts and experiences, the voices of Indigenous people are being heard. The stories are needed. This last month, youth from the Greater Northwest Area of the United Methodist Church went for an immersive experience to Goldendale, WA, home of the Yakama Nation. Their story: Youth and youth workers experience Yáych’unal (Courage) in Yakama. The Yakama are currently fighting a proposed hydro-electric storage project that threatens their ceremonies and food practices. Read more When your neighbor says no: green colonialism and Indigenous consent
Action
I don’t exactly have a spot for this. It’s not a call for a sign-on or a march. This is a justice issue, though, that intersects with one that is already a huge justice concern in the US: the rate of incarceration and the disproportional incarceration rates of brown people and the poor. The Texas Tribune has begun to shout about this, and rightly so. The fact is that our infrastructure is ill-designed to meet the needs of human beings in a changed climate. This includes in prisons. Please, whatever state you are in, start shouting. From the Tribune yesterday: Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death. From last year: “It’s a living hell”: Scorching heat in Texas prisons revives air-conditioning debate. From last week: Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons. And from The Appeal, a first hand account, Facing the climate crisis from a Texas prison cell.
Good News
Find our news archive (including the good news!) here.
Endangered Species Win! Climate change causes and worsens endangerment of animal (and all) species. Even as humans hope to stop the worsening effects, the reality is that adaptation must occur right now. New rules for how endangered species means ‘saving’ these animals has a better chance. From the Wildlife Society USFWS finalizes rule allowing endangered species release outside historical range. From the Denver Gazette Climate change driving expansion of Endangered Species Act From the Southern Environmental Law Center New rule from U.S. Fish and Wildlife helps conserve Southern species from climate change
US Environmental Policy Win! - The question of what will happen with NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) has been answered—and it’s good news. NEPA had historically included provisions to protect—or at least listen to—communities when citing energy and other projects. NEPA had come under attack, but now those protections are back. Read about it from Earthjustice, Earthjustice Hails Biden Administration’s NEPA Phase II Proposed Rule and The Wilderness Society The Wilderness Society pleased with release of long-awaited NEPA rule
Worker Heat Protections. The Biden Administration announced support for workers who are laboring in a climate-heated world, often with out protections required for the ‘new abnormal.’ From CNBC ‘The era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN boss, as White House announces provisions to protect workers from extreme heat. The moral work of addressing worker protections is also coming from voices of faith, including this op-ed from Baptist News Global I was thirsty and you made me work in the heat without water
Renewables! Innovation, sustainable tech and essential electrification efforts, a run-up of some good news: From CleanTechnica Solar Energy Desalination Plants Increasingly Provide Water For Africa. From DeBrief Forget solar panels, here come rain panels. From Maritime Executive Japanese Team Develops “Game Changer” Floating Vertical Axis Wind Turbines And two from Electrek The first US utility-scale offshore wind farm just got the first US-built offshore substation and In a ‘watershed moment,’ interconnecting the US grid just got a lot more efficient
Restoration! A great story of reclamation and restoration from AP Mangrove forest thrives around what was once Latin America’s largest landfill.
Not-good News
Coal at All Time High. Despite tremendous efforts of so many, the recent coal report from the IEA brings bad news indeed. From CNBC IEA says coal use hit an all-time high last year — and global demand will persist near record levels. Read also the report.
Gulf Stream Collapse. Another scary study, as the studies pile up. Gulf Stream could collapse as early as 2025, study suggests. A note of reassurance, this study is good because scientists are doing their job to investigate, learn and communicate. This is one study, there are other factors also to consider. Keep hope ahead.
Mountain Valley Pipeline. Really awful news with the Mountain Valley Pipeline this week. From Politico Supreme Court clears path for Mountain Valley Pipeline construction to resume. Keep watch on Appalachian Voices and 7 Directions of Service for what responses to this ruling might be the next steps to stop this project. Read an earlier article, also, about people of faith and resistance to the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipeline. Community Resistance: A Tale of Two Pipelines
Yes, the heat is climate change. A key part of learning about what we face with climate change is being able to see the effect. Scientists have worked to show the attribution, how extreme events can be directly attributed to climate change. From Inside Climate News: This Summer’s Heatwaves Would Have Been ‘Almost Impossible’ Without Human-Caused Warming, a New Analysis Shows. Read also the analysis from World Weather Attribution Extreme heat in North America, Europe and China in July 2023 made much more likely by climate change.
Even Cactuses are suffering in this heat. From the Weather Channel, Iconic Saguaro Cactus Can’t Take The Phoenix Heat, and Reuters, Saguaro cacti collapsing in Arizona extreme heat, scientist says
Find the news archive here.
Prayer this week - Prayers for those in incarceration settings. Prayers for the legacy of harm the US incarceration system has caused. Prayers for the new threats to incarcerated people from climate change.
Richenda