News, Boost, Updates
7 August 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.
Quick nav links:
JustCreation prior weeks of this Weekly and other articles.
Link to the News Archive and Reports/Resources Archive for prior weeks.
Faiths4Future articles, and the Climate Cafe Multifaith info page.
Boost - Events
Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change. This online event is designed to amplify the voices of Indigenous youth globally. A great explainer in Nature: Indigenous youth must be at the forefront of climate diplomacy, “Holistic approaches to water and land management practised by Indigenous communities worldwide hold the key to a more sustainable future, say co-organizers of the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change.” The event page is here. August 9th.
Parliament of World Religions. August 14-16 faith leaders from across the world will gather in Chicago. The Parliament this year in general will address climate change, including an Interfaith Call for Climate Action. Rachel Scott reached out to share a meet-and-greet for those attending—or who are local and are interested—you are invited! The event is co-sponsored by Climate Reality Project, GreenFaith and Faith In Place. From Rachel: “Our pre-conference event will be held on Sunday, August 13 from 3-6pm at Venue Six10 in Chicago. We will have a few local speakers talking about their work, as well as a lot of time for folks to mingle and network. Each of the three sponsoring organizations will have a table with info about our work. There will be food! The event is free to attend, and open to folks who will be attending the Parliament conference, as well as anyone in the area who would like to attend. We do need people to RSVP here.”
School for Food Justice, Faith, and Storytelling. Application period is now for a virtual 8 week program for clergy, faith leaders, and non-faith affiliated folks “The School for Food Justice, Faith, and Storytelling will bring together a national group of faith leaders virtually to learn, grow, and sharpen their abilities to offer new and creative solutions to the issue of hunger within their communities.
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.
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.
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
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
Resource archive is on the Reports Page (scroll down).
Plastics - A Rocha Resources. Following my links last week about ‘Plastics Overshoot Day’ here is a fantastic Plastics Toolbox of resources addressing plastic from A Rocha International. It’s got so much, from basic info to videos on action and ‘A biblical overview’, and bible studies as well as one sheets on effects of plastics and microplastics in different languages.
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).
Reports
Find more reports on the reports page.
Yes, July 2023 was Hottest Because Climate Change. Yet another report to show how the extreme heat is because of climate change. This type of research is called ‘attribution’ and the study involves the work ‘finding out’ if and how climate impacts such as heat are caused by a changing climate. Good news is we are finding studies like these is very mainstream news outlets now, such as USA Today 6.5 billion people endured climate-change-driven heat in July, report says—(sad, tho, that this day has come). Read about the report from Climate Central which authored the report Fingerprints of climate change during Earth’s hottest month. Read the report.
These are from last week but worth resharing:
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.
Action
(Is it okay for people of faith to sign-on to general petitions? I put together a quick page to think about this Sign-ons & Petitions, are they faithful?)
Water Conservation LDS. I loved this sign-on letter that somehow made it to my feed! If you are LDS or have friend who is (or want to support this effort) check out this letter in the Salt Lake Tribune Letter: Let’s come together to urge the LDS Church to prioritize water conservation and sustainable practices which links to a sign-on from Karie Jo Loutensock LDS Church: Stop Wasteful Water Practices - Water Conservation over Green Properties Only 99 sign-ons, can we share and amplify this?
By August 8th! Let your utility provider know you want them to align with clean electricity and leave fossil fuels behind. To power a vibrant future, clean electricity is worth investing in. One way or another, we as a nation must deal with the question of how to meet our energy needs. Let it be the way of clean electricity, and leave the harms to air, water, and climate behind us. Read the excellent letter sent by Evergreen Action Dear CEO of EEI Member Utility to learn what this is about. Then, find your Utility and Let them know you want them to Electrify.
EPA Power Plants and Climate Pollution. A sign-on from Interfaith Power and Light asking for proposed federally mandated limits to climate pollution from power plants. This sign on asks for the strongest protections possible.
Get moving on the Clean Grid. This petition through Earth Justice asks FERC—the agency tasked by the federal government to oversee and greenlight energy projects—to get moving on permitting and building the necessary infrastructure for a clean electrical grid. Build a clean and equitable electricity grid now.
Faith Voices - Global Reach
Faith & Climate in Indonesia. A deep dive by photojournalist Paul Jeffrey who works globally at the intersection of faith and justice. From World Council of Churches, Faith communities respond to climate crisis in Indonesia, “In crowded urban neighborhoods and drought-plagued rural villages, Indonesians from all religious backgrounds are putting their faith into action.”
Enriching life in Kenya and Uganda. A video conversation from the Bahá’í World News Service, exploring The Impact of Houses of Worship on Community Life.
Good News
Find more news in our news archive (including the good news!) here.
Renewing Waterways! Dam removal is working, and bringing hope. This article from The Guardian is from April, Dam fine work: record number of barrier removals helps restore rivers across Europe “More than 300 barriers were taken down last year, boosting the health of waterways and the wildlife they support, say experts.” And this week from The Mercury News As work begins on the largest US dam removal project on the California-Oregon border, tribes look to a future of growth.
Conservation and Restoration in Brazil - Two from Mongabay. There are a few avenues to achieve conservation of essential habitat. One is to work the system, and gain property rights in order to protect: To safeguard a rare Brazilian woodpecker, an NGO bought out its habitat. This is a good mechanism that has been leveraged other places. The other is more lasting, bringing the old way together to a new way, respecting the restoration of life itself, How seed networks across Brazil are helping to restore biomes
Plovers! Restoring Nature. Three stories connected to plovers to give you hope. From UC Santa Barbara’s The Current, a resilience project to mitigate sea level rise and support species such as the Snowy Plover, Dune restoration could increase the resilience of Southern California's urban beaches to sea level rise. And in the UK, a nature recovery project connects 176,000 hectares for wildlife recovery, Nature recovery projects to boost wildlife and access to nature, “Curlews, short-snouted seahorses and natterjack toads [and Ringed Plovers!] set to be benefit as six nature recovery projects are launched.” Not to be left out, in news from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Piping Plovers—four of them!—have been reintroduced at Illinois Beach State Park to help with species recovery.
Renewables! Wind and solar news! Wind gains ground in the coal-state of Wyoming, with the Governor at the podium - Wyoming, long known as a top coal producing state, makes a big move into wind energy. A big green-light for an offshore project in the Atlantic from Electrek, The US announces 4-8 GW of new offshore wind areas in the Atlantic, and closing the loop to ensure real sustainable solar panels from the AP The first generation of solar panels will wear out. A recycling industry is taking shape.
Find the news archive here.
Prayer this week - I’m sticking with good news this week. I think we all know all too well what we are up against. Prayers for the positive, for the joy, for the hope, the restoration, and for the surety of knowing that we can and will bring the work of justice to the challenges we face.
Richenda