News, Boost, Updates... Visions of Guatemala
June 12th updates. Links for Faiths4Future, Climate Cafe & More
June 20th - Visions of Guatemala—People, Ceremony, and Cloud Forests share a conversation about tapirs, cloud forests and volcanic lakes—this is the world of story that Jorge Rodriguez brings to life as a Guatemalan-based photo-journalist and environmentalist. Rodriguez writes in both Spanish and English and now travels internationally to share stories of inspiration, restoration, and indigenous wisdom. June 20th, 11:00am Pacific Time / 2:00pm Eastern Time. Register.
An opportunity for action: Faith leaders make the moral case for a global just transition away from coal, oil and gas. Sign the letter asking governments to implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Past Cafes Articles, Videos + More on the Blog.
Look for upcoming articles following our conversation with Sarah Augustine and the fight for Oak Flat, and B. Toastie Oaster, with a report on Goldendale and the Yakama Nation.
Boost!
Attend COP28! The Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP) has begun accepting applications, seeking young people interested in attending the UN Climate Conference COP28, November 30 - December 12 2023. More information is available on the website, link to the Application Form. The deadline to apply is July 14. - thank you Samuel for the info!
Solar for Congregations. A webinar from Interfaith Power and Light Solar Financing for Congregations Webinar on June 21, 2:00pm Eastern Time.
Wild Church Launch Pad. This course will specifically be for anyone looking to start a wild church our outdoor community. 6 sessions starting mid-August. This course will be led by Rev. Corey Turnpenny, planter of Church in the Wild. Learn more about the course.
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.
WCC Eco-School Applications: World Council of Churches is accepting applications for this year's Eco-School. The school is open to applicants under 30 years old and will take place July 24-31 in Crete, Greece, applications are due by June 15. Learn more about the Eco-School. Download the brochure.
Movement Cafe June 21st. The next Movement Cafe from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement will speak to the Just and Equitable Interagency Commitment to Net-Zero out of the UMC. Speakers are Rev. Jenny Phillips, Senior Technical Advisor, Environmental Sustainability at General Board of Global Ministries and Jake Barnett, Managing Director, Sustainable Investment Strategies at Wespath. Learn more and register.
Climate Prayer - a monthly prayer group, Climate Intercessors, formed in the runup to COP 26 and still meeting. Next meeting is June 13, check the website for link and info.
Grants & Help Wanted
The Week is seeking a Faith Program Director. Think this might be you? Link to the job description to learn more.
Mini-Grants for Mining Activists The Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) and the Indigenous Environmental Network are offering “financial grant assistance to communities threatened or adversely affected by mining in the U.S. and Canada.” Next deadline is October 1st. Learn more.
Reports
Find reports on the reports page.
Earth Boundaries Breached. A devastating study published in Nature last week. Read about the report in The Guardian Earth’s health failing in seven out of eight key measures, say scientists; from Euro News ‘Sick’ planet: Earth is past almost all of its safe limits for humans, scientists say. Read the report: Safe and just Earth system boundaries
Resources
More resources on the reports page.
News this Week.
Find the news archive here.
Deeper Dive - Held v Montana — trial starts June 12
Last week I shared the HUGE and important win for the 21 American youth who are plaintiffs in Youth v Gov, a lawsuit filed in August 2015 filed a lawsuit in US District Court stating that “through the government's affirmative actions that cause climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources.” Those 21 youth plaintiffs are now preparing for trial! You can watch their story on Netflix.
This week we dive into Held v Montana. The trial STARTS TODAY. Read an update from Montana Free Press & Flathead Beacon Montana youth prepare for trial in bellwether climate case against state. Read also the latest from AP Youth environmentalists bring Montana climate case to trial after 12 years, seeking to set precedent.
The lawsuit was brought by 16 young plaintiffs, and calls the state to attend to its core values as enshrined in its constitution, that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. [and]…The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.”
You can watch the proceedings in person via livestream at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Helena, Montana, on facebook. Also engage via this link which is a one-stop link tree for how to tune in. Click here to read the complaint.
There are a number of lawsuits by youth filed now around the world, including one more in the US. In June 2022, 14 youth in Hawaii, Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit seeks a clean transportation system and decarbonized economy. Read the complaint. This case is heading for trial in September.
Spotlight—Mountain Valley Pipeline
This made the ‘bad news’ section last week, and the news isn’t getting any better here, yet. The devastating truth shared by the UN is that if we hope to keep global temperature rise under 1.5C there can be no new fossil fuel infrastructure. And again, in Mongabay U.N. climate chief calls for end to fossil fuels as talks head to Dubai. This means projects like the MVP (and the Willow Project!) are being built at the peril of the creation—species, people, and the planet as we know it. The real peril these projects pose have forced everyday people to demand that President Biden declare a #ClimateEmergency in order to bring tools to bear to address the urgency of transition.
“It's really a project that is beleaguered, riddled with problems, and cannot be built safely …a project that is harmful to people, but is also harmful to all the species along the route.”
—Jessica Sims: Read the conversation with Jessica Sims, Virginia Field Organizer for Appalachian Voices against the Mountain Valley Pipeline: Community Resistance: A Tale of Two Pipelines
More from MVP news this week, from the Virginia Mercury What’s next for the court cases challenging Mountain Valley Pipeline? As company seeks dismissal of legal cases after congressional intervention, enviro groups look for other paths to halt project and video reporting from Gray Washington News Bureau Mountain Valley Pipeline: White House Rally Was Years In The Making. And from last week, from the Charleston Direct Mail 'I expect to see severe damage': Safety risk concerns mount as Congress fast-tracks Mountain Valley Pipeline
Spotlight—Forests & Smoke
The ongoing tragedy of burning forests in Canada led to fresh (unfresh) misery for those on the American East Coast. Years of choking smoke in western states inflicted misery now shared by siblings in the east. Across social media tips were offered to help those suffering, but the reality is that whether you are in a mining town, standing in traffic, or breathing in a burning forest, those fine particulates can attack your health. Tips include a fine-particulate n95 mask, and duct-taping house filters to portable fans. Another tool essential to west coasters are the Air Quality Index AQI apps that tell you exactly how healthy or unhealthy the air is today. The best air quality index apps to check wildfire smoke near you
Attribution science tells us that the forest fires we are experiencing today have some climate change causation. There are mitigating steps that can help, but what we really must do is protect forests, protect mature forests, harden our homes and communities, and stop burning fossil fuels. From Politico: New Trees Are No Substitute for Old Trees The fires in Canada underscore the need to let our current mature forest grow old. Perhaps most frustratingly, addressing air quality and climate change is notoriously hard to accomplish: from The Lever News, Oil Lobby Pushed Pollution Loophole for Wildfire Smoke
“The older the tree, the more resilient it is against wildfire, and the more efficient it is at cleaning drinking water for hundreds of 1000s of communities.”
—Victoria Wingell, Forest Campaigner. Read about Organizing to Protect Forests: Carbon Sequestration and Old Growth in America’s Western Forests
Good News:
Clean Energy. We just have to keep at it, keep at it. It’s starting to add up. From Electrek The largest floating solar farm in North America is officially online. And from CleanTechnica Hoosiers To Lead Rural Solar Power Revolution Indiana has been drifting around in the solar power doldrums, but it is poised to lead the transtition to agrivoltaics throughout the US agricultural industry. (My favorite part of this story were the photos of sheep in pasture! Go Indiana!) From Renew Economy Graph of the Day: Solar is creating fastest energy change in history And another from CleanTechnica Crossover — Solar & Wind Power Producing More Electricity Than Fossil Fuels In EU and A very cool look at wind turbines going up in Normal, Ohio.
Fish Doorbells. How are these stories so adorable? Please sign me up for anything and everything to do with doorbells for fish. Ring the ‘Fish Doorbell’ To Help Fish Migrate in the Netherlands Utrecht’s Fish Doorbell has helped thousands of fish swim upstream to reproduce.
Species Recovery. Climate change was a factor in the massive species die-off of millions of sunflower sea stars. Since then, biologists and more have been seeking ways to save and replenish these sea creatures. Some hope in the news: 25 endangered sunflower sea stars found in Newport's Yaquina Bay: 'It’s unprecedented'
Faith and Plastics. Raise it up for the workers, activists, and scientists around the world working to stop plastic pollution. And an especial shout out for these young people in Zimbabwe! #beatplasticpollution Catholic youth show commitment to protecting the environment through participation at World Environmental Day
Bad News:
A Livable Earth. The truth is hard to grapple with. From ProPublica: Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment “…3 to 6 billion people, or between a third and a half of humanity, could be trapped outside of that zone, facing extreme heat, food scarcity and higher death rates, unless emissions are sharply curtailed or mass migration is accommodated.”
Carbon still rising—424ppm: Carbon levels in the atmosphere are still going up. From NOAA Broken record: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jump again Annual increase in Keeling Curve peak is one of the largest on record
Record breaking Ocean Heat: More alarm as ocean temperatures rise and rise. From the Guardian ‘Headed off the charts’: world’s ocean surface temperature hits record high Scientists warn of more marine heatwaves, leading to increased risk of extreme weather
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Prayers this week. Prayers this week for the 16 youth in a Montana courtroom fighting for their right to a clean environment and healthy life. For Held v Montana, Prayers Up.
Richenda