VT Interfaith Power and Light Newsletter

GREEN MOUNTAINS, BLUE WATER:
Earth Care News from
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL)
November 2015
In this newsletter:
Highlights of VTIPL’s 2015 Conference
Climate of Doubt: Nov. 4 at St. Michael’s College
Putting a Price On Carbon Pollution
Great News from First Universalist, Chester!
Catholic Church Leaders: Climate Change Appeal
Evangelical Call to Care for God’s Creation
2015 Likely to be Hottest Year On Record
Spotlight On Exxon
Parenting On The Brink
Taking On The Energy Future
Reminders:
Button Up Vermont Day – November 7
VECAN meeting – December 5
HIGHLIGHTS of VTIPL’S 2015 CONFERENCE
Our conference on Oct. 17 was wonderful – many thanks to
all who came! The video of Tim DeChristopher’s keynote
address is posted on VTIPL’s website along with six pages of
conference photos. Links are below. If you only have time to
watch the keynote (not the introduction, Q&A, or the Lake
Champlain workshop), it starts at 13:15 and ends at 46:15.and
it’s highly recommended! Also, please contact your local
public access TV station, ask them to show it (Vermont
Interfaith Power & Light Fall Conference), and tell them it’s
on Vermont Media Exchange. Here’s the link to the keynote,
and be patient, it takes about 30 sec. to load: https://vp.telvue.com/preview?id=T01221&video=252805
CLIMATE of DOUBT: Nov. 4 at St. Michael’s College
John Hockenberry, “Frontline” correspondent and host of the
public radio program “The Takeaway”, will speak about what
has altered the climate change debate – Wednesday, Nov. 4,
7 pm, McCarthy Arts Center at St. Mike’s in Colchester. For
more information, contact: Wendy Hysko 802-878-6954.
PUTTING a PRICE ON CARBON POLLUTION
This educational forum will be on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7 pm,
at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Middlebury (2 Duane Ct.).
The event includes a dessert potluck. This is a great opportunity
to find out more about this topic and ask questions. Contact
Shaina Kasper at 802-223-4099 for more information.
GREAT NEWS from FIRST UNIVERSALIST, CHESTER!
First Universalist Parish in Chester now has a 16-panel solar
array; it’s expected to meet the church’s full electrical demand.
The project’s origins came from a discussion group reading
Naomi Klein’s book “This Changes Everything” hosted by the
Climate Action Team at the church. The solar proposal was
unanimously approved by the congregation in June. The cost
was covered by special contributions from 17 families, matched
by a challenge grant from two congregants and by in-kind labor
and equipment. A member of the congregation who is a solar
developer oversaw the permitting, construction, and connection
to the grid. The congregation also approved and implemented
divesting their endowment fund from fossil fuel companies.
And all of this happened in four months! Congratulations to
First Parish – your church is an inspiration!
CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADERS: Climate Change Appeal
In late October, Roman Catholic cardinals, patriarchs, and
bishops from around the world issued an appeal to approve a
“fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agree-
ment” to the climate-change negotiators who will gather in Paris
in four weeks. The church representatives signing this appeal in
Vatican City came from five continents. They were inspired by
“Laudato Si,” Pope Francis’s sweeping encyclical on the environ-
ment. Putting “an end to fossil fuels”- phasing out emissions by
mid-century – and providing “affordable, reliable, and safe
renewable energy access for all” is part of of the proposal.
EVANGELICAL CALL to CARE for GOD’S CREATION
The National Association of Evangelicals recently released a
statement, “Caring for God’s Creation: A Call to Action.” In
solidarity with evangelical leaders from around the world, they
endorse the Lausanne Cape Town Commitment which calls on
people to be “stewards of the rich abundance of God’s good
creation” and goes on to say, “the most serious and urgent
challenge faced by the physical world now is the threat of
climate change.” Here’s the link: https://nae.net/caring-for-gods-creation
2015 LIKELY to be HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD
This year is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded.
SPOTLIGHT ON EXXON
The media has been shining a spotlight on Exxon to show how
much they knew about climate change (even back in the 1980’s)
and their actions to deceive the public. Articles include:
How Exxon went from leader to skeptic on climate change
Article about Bill McKibben’s Exxon protest and arrest:
PARENTING ON THE BRINK
Frida Berrigan, Phil Berrigan’s daughter and mother of three,
writes about climate change and “fears too big to name.”
TAKING ON THE ENERGY FUTURE
State representative Robin Chesnut-Tangerman writes about the
connection between Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan, the
New England power grid, and the proposed carbon pollution tax: https://rutlandherald.com/article/20151101/OPINION06/151109929/0/7DAY
REMINDERS:
Button Up Vermont Day – November 7
VECAN meeting – December 5
VTIPL educates people of faith and spirit about the climate
crisis and actions to care for Earth.
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light
P.O. Box 209, Richmond, VT 05477