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12/11/2017 RI IPL joined NoLNGinPVD,
8 elected officials, 30 organizations and coalitions, and 380 community members in a petition
Calling for the Resignation of Coastal Resources Management Council Chair, Jennifer Cervenka
Summary: Ms. Cervenka has clear and serious conflicts of interest that were not disclosed. The appearance of environmental and climate justice bias abounds.
12/4/17 RI IPL joined Creation Justice Ministries and many other environmental organizations in a sign-on letter to
Support the RECLAIM Act of 2017 (
HR1731)
Summary: The sign-on letter supports the bipartisan Reclaim Act to ensure coal communities can access the Abandoned Mine Land Fund (currently at ~$1 billion) for the next five years. These funds will be used to promote economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining.
View Letter
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Film of the Month
At RI IPL, we are always adding new films to our Film Lending Library. All of our films are available for member congregations to borrow. Many of them come with discussion notes as well.
You can easily bring a movie to your congregation, just contact Kristen Ivy at
Before the Flood captures a three-year personal journey alongside Academy Award-winning actor and U.N. Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio as he interviews individuals from every facet of society in both developing and developed nations who provide unique, impassioned and pragmatic views on what must be done today and in the future to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet.
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BOARD of DIRECTORS
The Rev. Dr. Anita Schell
Emmanuel Newport
Newport
Ray Frackelton, PhD
Newman Congregational
Rumford
Marty Davey
St. Gregory the Great
Warwick
Christine Muller
Baha
'
i Community
Kingston
Christine Cassels
St. Luke's
East Greenwich
Sarah Atkins
Emmanuel Newport
Newport
The Rev. David Helfer
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of
South County
Peace Dale
Steve MacAusland
STAFF
Kristen Ivy Moses
Executive Director
First Unitarian Church
Providence
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I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.
- Thomas Edison (1931)
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Over one hundred years ago, Thomas Edison understood that we should take advantage of abundant renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Did you know that he had an
in-home wind-generated electricity plant and his own battery-powered vehicles? His motivation for energy independence was based on the knowledge that fossil fuels would not last forever. Today we know that the fossil fuel industry will go to great lengths to continue extracting fossil fuels from the earth, even if they destroy it in the process. As consumers, it is up to us to choose renewable energy.
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Blessings,
Kristen Ivy Moses
Executive Director
Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light
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Save The Date
RI IPL Annual Meeting
featuring
The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal
Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ
Monday, April 16, 2018
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Westminster Unitarian Church
East
Greenwich
, RI
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A Sermon in a Nutshell
By Steve MacAusland, RI IPL Board Member
As people of faith, we are all called in different wa
ys to love our God and to love our neighbors. We are with you today to discuss energy. What is the connection?
After love, it is energy that makes the world go 'round. Everything we do uses energy, and the energy industry has helped to make this country great. Unfortunately, our energy dependence is leading to catastrophe.
Do we love our neighbors when our use of electricity seriously impacts the health of the poor who have no choice but to live in the shadow of coal-burning power plants? Do we love our neighbors when our consumption of foreign oil contributes significantly to conflict around the world? And do we love our neighbors when our emission of greenhouse gasses changes the very climate on this fragile earth, our island home?
The community of faith has always led in the great movements for justice. We led in the abolition of slavery. We led in the movement for women's rights and we led in the struggle for civil rights. Now it is time for us to respect the dignity of every human being and all life on earth. Now it is time to lead the way in confronting ourselves and our consumption of energy.
Twenty-five years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urged the developed nations to significantly reduce their emissions of greenhouse gasses in order to stabilize the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. Since then, however, the level has risen from 300 parts per million to more than 400 ppm. Year by year global temperatures have risen steadily. The ice caps are melting, weather is changing, and sea levels are rising. The rich may be able to stave off catastrophe temporarily, but the poor nations and populations, even in this country, will suffer first and most.
Religious leaders of every faith are reacting by passing resolutions, writing letters to the President, and lobbying Congress for sustainable energy policies to little avail. We must do more. It is time to practice what we preach and to show forth not only with our lips, but in our lives what we are demanding our political leaders to do.
It is time for the community of faith to take the lead and practice energy conservation, invest in energy efficiency, and thus save more than enough money to afford cleaner sources of energy. Together, we can save energy, save money, save the planet, protect the peace, protect human health, and create jobs too. As we gain strength in the marketplace, we will be the ones who decide where the jobs go and who gets them.
This is not just a ministry for the environment, but a call to love and justice for all our neighbors across town, around the world, and our intergenerational neighbors, our children, for years to come. The community of faith must lead the way.
Amen.
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Advocacy Action Opportunity
Clean Power Plan Repeal
There is still time to submit your comment
on the repeal of the Clean Power Plan!
Our outcry is being heard.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has added three additional public hearings "due to the overwhelming response" to the West Virginia hearing November 28-29.
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A podcast dedicated to working through the challenges of climate change crisis, from the uncharted to the unthinkable. Hosted by Tim DeChristopher and Peter Bowden.
For nearly two years, Tim DeChristopher and Peter Bowden have been talking about creating a podcast. Whenever they would have great conversations about dealing with climate chaos or the state of social movements, Peter would say, "We've got to be sharing these conversations." Or when Tim would come back from a trip visiting with insightful thought leaders and activists, Peter would say, "You've got to be sharing those conversations you're having. People need to hear this."
After a couple false starts over the past couple years, they finally got serious about it this fall. They're calling it the Climate Workshop Podcast because they're "workshopping" the emerging ideas at the boundaries of the climate change discourse, and because they are very conscious of the fact that all their talking needs to be connected to actually doing the work of defending a livable and humane future.
They've spent the past few months recording, editing, setting up the website, and putting all the pieces together to make it work. They finally made their first three episodes live on December 19th. They didn't realize until the next day that it happened to launch exactly nine years to the day since Tim disrupted the oil and gas auction back in 2008.
Moving forward, they hope to release a couple episodes a month. Some episodes will feature special guests, and some will be Tim and Peter. Their first guest, in episode 2, is Rev. Mariama White-Hammond of Bethel AME Church in Boston. It's a wide-ranging conversation about how climate change is connected to so many other social justice struggles, which is exactly the kind of conversations they hope to continue sharing on the Climate Workshop Podcast.
Please have a listen and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Here's all the info:
You can rate and review based on your knowledge of their work. For example, you could share a comment about the value of Tim's work, how you feel about him launching a podcast, and the value of these conversations.
Not using iTunes?
They are submitting the podcast to other directories including Google Play and Stitcher. In the meantime, you can use our Soundcloud RSS feed to subscribe.
Listen on their website
To learn more about Tim DeChristopher visit his
website.
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A Call for Sermons in Solidarity with Youth Seeking Justice
Twenty-one youth have taken our federal government to court in demanding accountability and action in response to the damage done to our climate and the immense impact this damage has on their generation. One of those youth is Kiran Oommen who is the son of the Rev. Melanie Oommen of First Congregational UCC in Eugene, Oregon. Ultimately, the case brought by the youth is about seeking justice for #EachGeneration. To further the compelling and inspiring efforts of the youth, the UCC Council for Climate Justice has initiated a call for more than a thousand sermons to be preached in solidarity with them. To pledge a commitment to deliver a sermon, visit
www.eachgeneration.org. Youth are especially encouraged to preach.
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A Faith-Based Program for Youth
Have you ever wondered where all the stuff we are buying is coming from, who made it, how it was produced, what happens to it when we throw it away, and what its real costs are to people and the environment?
Young people, 12 - 14 years old, are invited to a 6-week course on the popular video
The Story of Stuff.
The six classes will take place at a private home in North Kingstown, on
Friday afternoons 3:45 - 5:15pm
starting on January 12, 2018
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The materials are Baha'i-inspired, but very much interfaith in spirit, and work for youth of all religious backgrounds. The goal of the course is to assist youth to see the reality of the world we live in, and to discuss some of the many injustices underlying the current economic system. It will encourage them to respond in a spiritual way, to live with ethical principles, and to serve the common good. The class will help them cope with a culture of consumerism and to grow up to be responsible world citizens.
There is no fee for this course and its materials, but a commitment to attend all six classes is required, because the sessions build on each other. For more information, e-mail
[email protected]
(put Story of Stuff into subject line).
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2018 RI Compost Conference
This year's Compost Conference & Trade Show is jointly sponsored by Environment Council of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island College Office of Sustainability. They're planning a full day conference with a slate of speakers from our developing RI Composting Industry and from around the country.
They will also feature a presentation from the Center for Eco-Technology, which was such a hit last year.
Thursday March 8th
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Rhode Island College Student Union
600 Mt Pleasant Ave
Providence, RI 02908
Registration, which includes lunch, is $40.00 per person.
To register Click Here.
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What it means to be a member
of Rhode Island Interfaith Power and Light
RI IPL membership involves more than just reading our newsletter and attending our events. Here are 5 simple steps to being an active RI IPL member:
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Give
a portion of your financial resources to RI IPL for our vital work. You may give online here, or by check.
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Annual Membership Dues
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Student/limited
income
$30
Regular Membership $50
Sustaining Membership $100
Sponsoring Membership $150-249
Circle of Friends $250-$999
Lifetime Membership $1000+
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Pledge Take the RI IPL Membership Pledge to increase your awareness of global climate change. You can download your pledge form here.
- Be Aware Stay current with information about the science of climate change and the human role in such change, as it evolves.
- Speak Out Support and advocate for public policies that further these goals and communicate with local, state, and national elected representatives
- Take Action Follow through with one or more of the ideas from our pledge sheet. Challenge yourself!
Your support allows us to continue our crucial work. To learn more about the benefits you receive with RI IPL membership click here.
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Help RI IPL build connections to the community.
"LIKE" our Facebook page and "FOLLOW" us on Twitter so our postings will
go further and reach more
people.
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Is your congregation or organization planning a climate change or environmental event? We want to know about it! Email us the details of your event and we'll share it on our webpage and in our newsletter. Please send newsletter submissions by the 15th of the month.
Send RI IPL related events or announcements to Kristen Ivy Moses, executive director, at
[email protected]
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Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light
PO Box 15043, Riverside, RI 02915
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