Earth Care News
January 2019
In this newsletter:
Congregational Watershed Manual – Available Soon!
Opening Day People Power Lobby – January 9, State House
Climate Action Plan for 2019
Transportation & Climate Initiative to Design Low-Carbon Policy
15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg’s Address at Climate Change Conference
Talking with Evangelicals About Climate Change
Reminder: Climate Economy Model Communities Program – 1/18 Deadline
Congregational Watershed Manual – Available Soon!
After working on it for much of 2018, our new publication, Congregational Watershed Manual: Religious Communities as Stewards of the World’s Waters, will soon be available in hard copy and for download from websites. When invited, VTIPL Coordinator Betsy Hardy will visit congregations, bring copies of the manual, and give presentations. Richard Butz, co-author of the manual with The Rev. Dr. Nancy Wright, will accompany Betsy on some visits and speak from his depth of experience. Please email VTIPL or call 802-434-3397 to arrange for a presentation for your congregation.
Opening Day People Power Lobby – January 9, State House
Wednesday is the opening day of Vermont’s 2019 legislative session. 350Vermont, Rights & Democracy, and several other organizations advocating for equity and justice are sponsoring an event at the State House in Montpelier on Wednesday. Rights & Democracy will lead the Intro to the People’s Lobby in Room 10 at 9:30 am, followed by a “People’s Panel” with representatives from the advocacy groups at 11:00. At 12:45 pm, youth will hold the “New Voices, Bold Solutions” press conference and rally in the State House’s Cedar Creek Room. Find more details on the Facebook page.
Climate Action Plan for 2019
VTIPL is part of a coalition putting forward recommendations to reduce Vermont’s carbon emissions and take bold action on climate. Stay tuned for more information soon about this. It is not too early to ask your legislators what their plans are for cutting carbon emissions.
Transportation & Climate Initiative to Design Low-Carbon Policy
Vermont is part of the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) along with Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In December, TCI announced that they intend to design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal. Goals of the program would include “reducing climate changing pollution, creating economic opportunity, and improving transportation equity for currently underserved and overburdened populations.” The coalition has a goal of completing the policy design process within a year. This VTDigger article tells more.
15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg’s Address at Climate Change Conference
Watch this 3.5 minute video of the bold speech that Greta Thunberg gave at the UN Climate Change COP24 Conference in Poland in December about the need for transformative action on climate.
Talking with Evangelicals About Climate Change
In this article, author Megan Mayhew Bergman, though influenced by her experience growing up in the Carolinas, speaks from her recent travels in the South and the conversations she’s had with evangelicals she’s met.
Reminder: Climate Economy Model Communities Program – 1/18 Deadline
The Vermont Council on Rural Development is inviting towns to apply for the 2019 Climate Economy Model Communities program. This is a great opportunity to rally your community together to identify and implement strategies that improve your local economy while also tackling climate change. An overview of the program can be found here, along with RFP materials. Applications are due on January 18, 2019. Email or call Jon Copans (802-225-6393) with questions.
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
