Green Mountains, Blue Water Earth Care News October 2018 In this newsletter: Register Now for VTIPL’s Conference! Congregations Invited to be Sponsors of VTIPL’s Conference A Home Energy Forum in Manchester “Solar Baroque” Benefit Concert – October 28 Weatherize Program Kick Off in Jericho on Nov. 8 Ecology Monks in Thailand Seek to End Environmental Suffering The Public Wants 100% Renewable Energy, and Quick We Could Shift to Sustainability and Save $26 Trillion. Why Aren’t We? Trump Administration Sees 7-Degree Global Temperature Rise by 2100 . Register Now for VTIPL’s Conference! VTIPL’s 2018 Conference, A Just Economy to Achieve Climate Goals is 11 days away, on Sat., Oct. 13, at Faith United Methodist Church (899 Dorset St.) in South Burlington. If you haven’t done it yet, register now! You can register online through the link on the website event page or scroll down the event page to the attachments and print out the registration form, fill it out, and mail it with your check. Please register by Oct. 6. If your registration will be delayed for any reason, please contact VTIPL to let us know: 802-434-3397 or email. Much information is on the website event page about Keynote Speaker George Lakey, the workshops, sponsors, and more! Congregations Invited to be Sponsors of VTIPL’s Conference VTIPL invites congregations to be conference sponsors – it’s not too late! The list of sponsoring congregations is growing. To date, these congregations are sponsors: All Soul’s Interfaith Gathering, Shelburne; Ascension Lutheran Church, South Burlington; Burlington Friends Meeting; Charlotte Congregational Church; East Corinth Congregational Church; Richmond Congregational Church; Grace Congregational Church, Rutland; and Weybridge Congregational Church. We thank them all and invite other congregations to join them in sponsoring! Click on the Sponsorship Form For Congregations in the list of attachments near the bottom of VTIPL’s website homepage. A Home Energy Forum in Manchester Transition Town Manchester announces a public forum/workshop for anyone who owns or rents a home, and for building contractors – anyone who wants to learn more about heat pumps, battery storage units, and energy efficient homes. Saving money on heating bills while helping the environment will also be discussed. The workshop is free and will be on Wednesday, Oct. 10 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm in the Hunter Seminar Room at Burr & Burton Academy, Manchester, VT. The presenters will be two skilled professionals: Li Ling Young from Efficiency Vermont and Helen Bruno from Green Mountain Power. For more about it, contact Carl Bucholt at 802-362-4619. “Solar Baroque” Benefit Concert – October 28 Cameo Arts Foundation will hold this concert to benefit Southeastern Vermont Community Action’s (SEVCA) “Community Solar for Community Action” project. The concert will be on Sunday, Oct. 28, 4 pm, at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, 40 College Street, Hanover, NH. More info is here. Weatherize Program Kick Off in Jericho on Nov. 8 Button Up Jericho/Underhill will host a Weatherize program Kick Off at Deborah Rawson Memorial Library on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 6 pm. The program will be led by professionals from Efficiency Vermont and contractors who will be participating to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and save money on fuel bills. The Weatherize program has been successful in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Here are more Weatherizeprogram details. Ecology Monks in Thailand Seek to End Environmental Suffering These monks believe that their religion is inherently tied to nature, and they are using their influence and position to add a unique moral dimension to the environmental movement. Development is increasing in Thailand and so is deforestation. To protect some of the trees, the monks wrap them in the iconic bright orange robes. These trees are deemed sacred and protected from harm. The trees have been ordained as monks. Read more about this. The Public Wants 100% Renewable Energy, and Quick Many utilities see the public’s desire for a quick change to renewal energy as a problem, and they’re groping for ways to talk the public down. Read more. We Could Shift to Sustainability and Save $26 Trillion. Why Aren’t We? The costs of maintaining the status quo keep rising, and the costs of sustainable alternatives keep declining. So why aren’t we shifting to sustainable solutions? Here are some answers. Trump Administration Sees 7-Degree Global Temperature Rise by 2100 Deep in a 500-page environmental impact statement, this startling assumption was made by the Trump Administration: On its current course, the planet will warm a disastrous seven degrees (Fahrenheit) by the end of this century. Read more here. VTIPL helps people of faith and spirit better understand the climate crisis and take action to care for Earth. Vermont Interfaith Power and Light P.O. Box 209, Richmond, VT 05477 info@vtipl.org 802-434-3397 www.vtipl.org