Continued blessings for Ramadan, Ramadan Kareem! Blessings for Holy Week, may we repent fully of ecocide and war, may we embrace our neighbor. Let us long for Eid and Easter. May is seek the upcoming humble remembrance of Passover and the blessing of a joyful 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, webinars and Earth Month!
I took a deep dive into Oil & Gas news this week: The Unpromises of Oil and Gas
Reports and Studies
There is Good News, too!
Reflection - Palms of Holy Week, a Reflection.
Easter Resources: Highlighting a three week Eastertide worship series from United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and UM Discipleship Ministries: How Shall We Live
Boost
Shout out to Climate Cafe! Climate Café® has been selected to exhibit at the changeNOW Exhibition of solutions for the planet. This will be held in the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris from March 25th to 27th - and Climate Café® features as one of the Seeds of Change Program. Congrats to Founder/Director, Jess Pepper, and the many Climate Cafes around the world.
Faith Climate Action Week. A number of events will happen around Earth Day, now Earth Week and Earth Month. Interfaith Power and Light has injected fresh energy into Faith Climate Action Week with an inspired new coordinator. Check out the Faith Action Week Toolkit, and connect with your state IPL affiliate for movie viewings and other events. In general, their Faith Climate Action pages are full of ideas and resources.
National Faith + Climate Forum. Blessed Tomorrow, part of EcoAmerica, is also offering opportunities to engage with Creation in April. This will be an online, livestreamed event on April 16, and there are some ideas as to how you can gather in the local place of worship together for the forum. Learn more and register.
Waterways. A webinar from Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake coming right up, Caring For Our Local Waterways. April 4th, Register. Read more about our waterways, the truth, and how people of faith are stepping up, Restoring Polluted Waterways.
Climate and Influencers. Many people get news from social media platforms such as youtube, tiktok, and more. If you are seeking online spaces, or want to know that type of information is out there and preachable/teachable, this article offers 24 Climate Creators to Watch, including youth and Indigenous voices.
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, now also in Spanish. 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.
Petrochemicals & Health. Petrochemicals are related to, but different from PFAS. (Read more about PFAS). Petrochemicals are chemicals derived from petrol/oil and gas. Of those that have had rigorous study—only 5%—they are largely toxic, disrupt our bodies, cause cancer, and lower sperm counts. From Inside Climate News, Petrochemicals Are Killing Us, a New Report Warns in the New England Journal of Medicine. It’s well known that fossil fuels are the primary driver of climate change. A dirty secret is that they’re also the source of toxic chemicals linked to rising rates of chronic and deadly diseases. Read the study.
Plastic, Food Wrap, and PFAS. New research tells us more of what we already know, that Forever Chemicals are everywhere, including food wraps and packages. Add to that plastic packaging is everywhere and there is no actual clean-up or recycling plan. From EcoWatch, 68 PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found by Scientists in Food Packaging Worldwide: the research.
Plastic Waste. In addition to the toxicity of these plastic wrappers, they are simply discarded, burned, dumped… From Grist, Amazon says its plastic packaging can be recycled. An investigation finds it usually isn’t. Trackers placed in 93 bundles of Amazon packaging marked for "store drop-off" recycling showed many of them were buried or burned. The volume of waste is hard to conceive of. Recently researchers found additional mega-deposits in the Oceans. From Newsweek, 'Worrying' Remote Ocean Plastics Study Troubles Scientists From Phys.org, Study finds large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch. Read the study.
Rising Heat & Millions of Deaths. A new study from Global Witness tells us millions of lives will be lost to rising heat. Their study focused on human lives, but we know plants and animals will die, too. Read about the study from The Guardian, Emissions connected to top oil and gas firms may cause millions of heat deaths by 2100, study finds. Global witness analysis suggests 11.5 million deaths could be caused by burning of fuel produced by 2050. Read from Global Witness, The supermajors’ plans could kill 11.5 million people. Read also from AP, a ‘red alert’ from the UN Weather agency.
How to make sense of all of this? Ten years ago it was hard to find any real news on the climate crisis. Today, that news is everywhere, including outside our own front doors. From Yale Climate Communications, The attitude-behavior gap on climate action: How can it be bridged? I appreciated this article, and also this one from Phys.org, which is a nudge to the nerds who know what’s at stake to, please, keep it simple for the rest of us: Climate change graphics are important—make them simple, say experts.
Deep Dive
My Deep Dive became a special focus and post this week: The Unpromises of Oil and Gas.
Faith Voices in the News This Week
Celebrating Ramadan, family and community. from My Mixed Heritage, A Ramadan Guide for Mixed Families/Couples Is this your first Ramadan as a mixed couple or family? Keep reading for our tips to perfectly navigate a "mixed" Ramadan.
Polycrisis, Faith in Unity. The world is coming to grips with the reality of multiple crises at once, a ‘polycrisis,’ and how to meet this difficult moment for transformative outcomes. The faith community can and will be a big part of what happens next, and engaging conversation, forming friendships, and praying together are the path to begin. From Buddhist Door Global, Buddhistdoor View: Navigating the Modern Polycrisis Through Interfaith Unity. Building community could not be more visible than in shared song, from BBC, Muslim, Jewish and Christian women bond in choir.
Connection as Healing. Engaging together is not only the way to face the polycrisis, but also the path to new communities, forming right now. From UM Insight, 'Our Kaleidoscope Community' Grows Rapidly Amid 'Scary' Circumstances. In the UMC and beyond, people of faith are focusing on what unites us. Also from UM Insight, Love Your Neighbor Coalition to Offer Hospitality, Human Rights Focus for General Conference.
Faith and the Fight to Slow Climate Change. It is not only those within faith communities who recognize the power of faith-connection and prayer. The wider community, too, recognizes the power that the faithful can bring. From Greenpeace, 5 reasons why people of faith are a powerful force in the fight against climate change and environmental crises.
Creative Partnerships. The Schools in Scotland found a great partner for creative lesson planning with leaders of the Catholic Laudato Si. From ICN Scotland: Pupils invited to get creative for all of creation
Green Ramadan. Ramadan as a month-long practice of humility and goodness, combined with the joyful generosity of a shared meal, there is no better time to reflect on food and climate justice. From Magdalene, ‘Green Ramadan’ Revives Islam’s Long Tradition of Sustainability and Care for the Planet
Engaging the Public Square. Two great stories of action from Catholic groups and leaders this week. From Florida Catholic Media, Catholic, Christian groups share faith-driven plan for 'climate adaptation' with Congress. And from the Global Sisters Report, Arizona bishop thanks Pope Francis for calling out US impacts on climate change.
Good News
Lots of good news this week! Find more news in the news archive here.
Ending Oil Pipelines. Addressing the climate crisis will finally end of oil and gas pipelines. But transforming energy systems, including pipelines, is not happening quickly and does not yet have wide public support. The good news, here tho, is that every voice makes a difference. Tribes and allies are choosing visibility and engagement. From Indian Country Today, ICT, Water protectors rally in Ohio over Enbridge pipeline. The legal fight continues in a federal appeals court over Michigan’s efforts to shut down the controversial Line 5.
Rights of Nature. How we view nature is paramount to how we behave—are we stewards and protectors or exploiters? To protect the headwaters of the Amazon, this legal fight was led by Kukama Indigenous women. From Inside Climate News, Landmark Peruvian Court Ruling Says the Marañón River Has Legal Rights To Exist, Flow and Be Free From Pollution. The ruling is the first time Peru has recognized that ecosystems possess legal rights and is based on a constellation of legal precedents in international and Peruvian law.
Defending Sacred Land. In Colombia, in the Putumayo Mountains, Indigenous people are once again the leaders in protecting sacred and precious landscapes, ecosystems, and communities. Soraida Chindoy is speaking out to save her homeland, a place water, of lagoons, where eight rivers are born, and where the Amazon rainforest and the Andes kiss. From Mongabay, Soraida Chindoy: the Indigenous guardian defending the sacred Putumayo mountains
Pollinators first! In planning anything, from a solar farm to a border along the walk, if we think of ecosystems and pollinators, we can ensure everything we do makes room for all. A little rewilding everywhere adds up. A lot of rewilding will change the world. From Better Homes and Gardens, How to design and plant a butterfly border – expert advice for a pollinator-friendly plot. From Scientific American, Pollinators Flock to Flower-Filled Solar Panel Fields
Growing the Hackmatack. As understanding of the importance of conservation and ecosystem protection grows, so do efforts around the world, in every state and community also. From WTTW, ‘Dream Realized’ as Illinois Conservation Groups Add 1,000 Acres to Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.
Goodbye Plastic Wrap. I return to plastic wrap, from the very bad news under ‘Reports’ above, is the hope that humans are seeking ways to stop the plastic scourge. Innovation is part of the transition. From Phys.org, Cellulose fibers are emerging as a sustainable option for wrapping everything from foods to electronics
Prayers up!
Richenda
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