Earth Care News
November 2018
In this newsletter:
Video of George Lakey’s Keynote Address & Workshop on VTIPL Website
Cool Congregations Challenge
VT Climate & Health Alliance’s Letter to Vermonters & Video
Support Needed for Washington State’s Initiative 1631
350Vermont Annual Convergence: Sunday, Nov. 11, Burlington
Button Up Home Weatherization & Home Heating Seminar – Nov. 15
VECAN Annual Conference: Saturday, December 1 at Lake Morey Inn
Protecting Clean Car Standards is a Moral Obligation
Podcast on Climate Communications with Katharine Hayhoe
Nobel Prize Winner Bill Nordhaus and Carbon Taxes
Don’t Despair: The Climate Fight is Only Over If You Think It Is
Report: Energy Efficiency with Justice
Video of George Lakey’s Keynote Address & Workshop on VTIPL Website
VT Interfaith Power & Light’s annual conference, held on Oct. 13, was a great success. The Keynote Address by George Lakey, and the workshop he led following the Keynote, were filmed by CCTV, a Burlington public access TV station. The video is online, and it’s airing on CCTV – Channel 17. If you ask, public access TV stations in other parts of the state may also air it. More information and the link to the video are on VTIPL’s website homepage.
Cool Congregations Challenge
This is an annual program of national Interfaith Power & Light. Awards of $1,000 are given to the winning congregation in each of five categories. In 2017, Second Congregational Church in Bennington was the winner in the Community Inspiration category. The other categories are: Renewable Role Model; Energy Saver; Sacred Grounds; and Planner. Read about what the winning congregations in 2017 did and find out more here.
VT Climate & Health Alliance’s Letter to Vermonters & Video
VT Climate & Health Alliance (VTCHA) has posted a letter to Vermonters about global climate change and how it’s impacting people’s health here in Vermont and worldwide. They have also produced an important short video. Read the letter and watch the video before Tuesday’s election, then share them widely! Here’s the link.
Support Needed for Washington State’s Initiative 1631
Jessie Dye, a colleague with Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light, wrote an article about Initiative 1631, aka the Laudato Si’ Initiative, which will be on the ballot in Washington State on Tuesday. It would establish a carbon fee and dividend program. They need any help people can offer to get this initiative passed. If you know people in Washington State, please contact them and urge support for Initiative 1631!
350Vermont Annual Convergence: Sunday, Nov. 11, Burlington
The annual convergence will be at First Congregational Church (38 South Winooski Ave.) in Burlington on Nov. 11 from 3 – 7 pm. Special guest Thomas Tonatiuh Lopez Jr., from the International Indigenous Youth Council, will speak at about 5:15; dinner and social time will follow at 6:15. RSVP asap!
Button Up Home Weatherization & Home Heating Seminar – Nov. 15
This seminar on home weatherization and heating will be at the Waterbury Municipal Building (28 North Main Street) in the Steele Community Room on Thursday, Nov. 15 from 6 – 7:30 pm. Free pizza and drinks will be provided. Learn from an Efficiency Vermont expert about how a home loses energy, and steps to take to tighten up a home. Information will also be shared about energy audits, availability of loans for this work, and more. To find out more, contact Duncan McDougall.
VECAN Annual Conference: Saturday, December 1 at Lake Morey Inn
This is the 11th annual VECAN conference, again happening at Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee, from 9 am – 4:30 pm on Saturday, Dec. 1. This year’s conference title is Mobilizing Leadership to Make Bold Progress and features two Keynote Speakers: Bill McKibben, author, climate activist, and founder of 350.org; and Michael Shank, communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Coalition and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. The conference will also include 14 informative workshops. Registration will open in early November. Details will soon be available at the VECAN website.
Protecting Clean Car Standards is a Moral Obligation
The current administration is working to roll back the clean car standards that are essential to reducing our country’s carbon emissions and protecting vulnerable communities. Read the article by Rev. Susan Hendershot, president of (national) Interfaith Power & Light.
Podcast on Climate Communications with Katharine Hayhoe
In this podcast interview for the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia, world-renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe discusses communicating with the public about climate change. And though fear is often used to motivate action, she says “fear does not sustain long-term action; hope sustains long-term action.” She thinks what we’re missing most is “a vision of a future we all want to live in – a hopeful vision…” (at ~min. 6-8) Listen to this interesting conversation.
Nobel Prize Winner Bill Nordhaus and Carbon Taxes
Read in this Forbes article about Yale Professor and Nobel Prize winner Bill Nordhaus’s long-time support for putting a price on carbon.
Don’t Despair: The Climate Fight is Only Over If You Think It Is
In this Guardian article, Rebecca Solnit argues for taking action on climate.
Report: Energy Efficiency with Justice
The subtitle of this report from the Institute for Policy Studies is “How State Energy Efficiency Policy Can Mitigate Climate Change, Create Jobs, and
Address Racial and Economic Inequality.” Click here to read it.
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
