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CONTENTS
1) CARE OF CREATION: Buddhist Inspired Individual Practices
 for the Environment
2) URGENT ACTION:
Contact your Congressional Representative to support
House Resolution on Mandatory Climate Policy
3) HOT TIPS:
• Free light audits and subsidized lighting upgrades for
select No. California counties
• Free energy conservation services continue through
California Youth Energy Services
• Don't throw your CFLs in the trash! Learn how to
dispose your light bulbs properly.
4) IN THE NEWS:
Recent news on Global Warming
5) LOCAL CONCERNS: New Developments in California Climate Policy
CARE OF CREATION
Vietnamese Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has created several meditative practices that incorporate nature imagery or environmental themes. For example, how would our awareness of creation change if we used this meditation on a regular basis?
Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out
Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.
Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid.
Breathing in, I see myself as still water.
Breathing out, I reflect things as they are.
Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.
Thich Nhat Hanh has helped to popularize another method of individual practice -- short poems (gatha) that can prompt us to maintain awareness in daily life. Many of these "mindfulness verses" also function as reminders of our interconnectedness with the earth. The verses may be memorized or posted in appropriate locations. For example, when turning on a water faucet, a person following this practice will mentally recite:
Water flows from high in the mountains.
Water runs deep in the Earth.
Miraculously, water comes to us,
and sustains all life.
Washing one's hands can become an occasion for renewing one's dedication to the environment:
Water flows over these hands.
May I use them skillfully
to preserve our precious planet.
What verses can you create to be mindful of our impact on climate change? For example, when turning on lights:
This energy connects me with all-
Brothers, sisters, plants, and animals
May I use it mindfully and carefully
Adapted from “The Greening of Buddhist Practice” by Kenneth Kraft Read more at: http://www.crosscurrents.org/greening.htm
URGENT
Contact your Congressional Representative to support House Resolution on Mandatory Climate Policy
On Wednesday, May 10th, the House Appropriations Committee went on record in support of addressing global warming through mandatory measures to reduce U.S. emissions. The “Sense of the Congress” resolution mirrors one passed by the Senate in 2005. This is a positive sign but will require all of us to contact our Representatives in order to make it happen.
Opponents will attempt to strip the language from the Interior Appropriations bill on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday May 17th. We need your help to keep the language addressing global warming in the bill.
Please place a call to your Congressional member by Tuesday, May 16. An email is also helpful (especially if it followed with a quick phone call). If you need to find contact information for your Representative you can find it here after you enter your zip code: http://www.house.gov/
MESSAGE: Tell your Representative that this is their opportunity to go on record and show they agree that it is time for the Congress to take mandatory action on global warming. A vote to keep the “Sense of the Congress” language with mandatory limits in the bill proves to your constituents that you understand that global warming is an urgent problem that requires mandatory federal action.
Please let CIPL know what how your Representative responds. Below is the text of the Sense of the Congress Resolution.
Sense of Congress Amendment passed by House Appropriations Committee on 5-10-06.
The Congress finds that
(1) greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere are causing average temperatures to rise at a rate outside the range of natural variability and are posing a substantial risk of rising sea-levels, altered patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and increased frequency and severity of floods and droughts;
(2) there is a growing scientific consensus that human activity is a substantial cause of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere; and
(3) mandatory steps will be required to slow or stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
It is the sense of the Congress that there should be enacted a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives on emissions of greenhouse gases that slow, stop, and reverse the growth of such emissions at a rate and in a manner that
(1) will not significantly harm the United States economy; and
(2) will encourage comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions.
HOT TIP:
Free Energy Conservation Services Continue through California Youth Energy Services
PG&E customers and congregations in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties can now benefit from the The RightLights Program (web link to http://www.rightlights.org/). RightLights provides subsidized lighting upgrades and free professional assistance to help you lower your energy bills and boost your cash flow.
Without cost or obligation, a RightLights Lighting Specialist will visit qualified PG&E customers at a convenient time and perform a detailed analysis of the current lighting system. Inefficiencies are identified and cost-effective upgrades will be suggested. The data is entered into a special computer program which computes the utility savings and other factors. A complete report detailing retrofit costs, rebate amount, annual utility savings, payback period, energy savings, and more is printed and delivered free of charge.
Along with the free lighting survey, participants can receive a “Quick-Saver Package” of lighting upgrades valued at up to $250, installed free of charge the same day - even if the other suggested lighting improvements are declined.
To participate, call the RightLights Hotline to verify your eligibility, or fax a copy of your utility bill and include your name, phone number, and the best time to reach you. Or you can fill in the information at http://www.rightlights.org/enroll/index.html and a RightLights Program representative will follow up with a quick call to answer any questions.
San Mateo or Santa Clara counties call:
RightLights Mountain View Office
650-210-8547
650-210-9953 fax
Santa Cruz, Monterey, or San Benito counties:
RightLights Santa Cruz Office:
831-426-5925
831-425-1404 fax
HOT TIP:
Free Energy Conservation Services Continue through California Youth Energy Services
California Youth Energy Services (CYES)
is a non-profit program promoting energy awareness and resource conservation in the Bay Area since 1994. CYES hires and trains local youth to provide free in-home energy audits, education, and hardware installation to homeowners and renters. Free services include:
* Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
* Efficient flow showerheads and faucet aerators
* Torchiere swap
* Clotheslines
* Attic Insulation (at a 75% discount off retail prices)
* A home energy assessment
Last summer, they established a new CYES site in the Fruitvale district in Oakland. Check out their successes:
º Provided 514 Oakland households with energy saving hardware and
information, surpassing our goal of 400 homes.
º Cumulative savings of 117,452 annual kwh.
º Served over 300 non-English speaking households in Cantonese,
Mandarin, and Spanish; over 55% of our total clients.
º Saved Oakland residents approximately $146,530 in energy dollars;
showing a 3:1 return rate on the City's initial investment.
This summer, CYES will offer its free services in the following areas:
East Bay:
Oakland: Fruitvale, West Oakland
Berkeley
San Pablo
Marin Sites:
Marin City
The Canals (San Rafael)
Navato
Interested in conserving energy, receiving some free hardware and supporting local youth? Set up an appointment today by for your congregation, organization, or household by calling 510-665-1501. You can also learn more about CYES by clicking here)
HOT TIP:
Don't throw your CFLs in the trash! Learn how to dispose your light bulbs properly.
All fluorescent lamps, including compact fluorescent light bulbs, are considered hazardous waste when they are discarded because they contain mercury, a highly toxic metal. It is estimated that nearly 75 million waste fluorescent lamps are generated annually in California. These lamps contain more than a half a ton of mercury.
On February 9, 2004, regulations took effect in California that classified all discarded fluorescent lamps as hazardous waste. This includes even low mercury lamps marketed as “TCLP passing” or “TTLC passing.” Most businesses, institutions and agencies are now prohibited from disposing of any type of fluorescent lamps in the nonhazardous solid waste stream.
Where can you recycle the lamps? Call 800 CLEAN-UP (253-2687) or visit the Earth 911 website, click on “Fluorescent Light Bulb Disposal”, and enter your zip code to find the nearest recycling center.
You can also use contractors to help you dispose of this waste. AEST, Inc. offers low cost compliance options to ensure you are meeting local environmental regulations. Contact them at 510-886-3501.
IN THE NEWS:
Global Warming: Be Worried. Be Very Worried.
If you missed the recent cover story in TIME magazine (you can view the cover here http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,1101060403,00.html ) it warns that many leading scientists think we have only 10 years to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas output before the earth is sent into an irreversible climate tailspin. You can access the text of the article here.
Climate Change Tied to Spread of Diseases
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified more than 30 new or resurgent diseases in the past three decades, the sort of explosion some experts say has not happened since the Industrial Revolution brought masses of people together in cities. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002986256_disease11.html
Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth Screens in California starting May 24
Al Gore's new movie on climate change An Inconvenient Truth will be hitting the theaters later on this month. Read more about this by clicking here.
To learn where you can view An Inconvenient Truth, click here.
Think of the Walri
If global devastation isn't enough to tug at your heart strings, how about baby walruses, who are apparently being separated from their mothers and drowning according to an arctic research team: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401368.html
LOCAL CONCERNS:
New Developments in California Climate Policy
The governor, the legislature, and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) are all in the process of developing climate policies to reduce state greenhouse gas emissions. While it's great news that so many branches of government are at last focusing on global warming, it remains to be seen how effective they will be and how quickly they can be enacted (and even if they will be enacted). California Interfaith Power and Light believes that legislation AB 32 is the most promising because it will enact a multi-sector cap on emissions that is mandatory and enforceable.
Here's a summary of what has been proposed:
Governor's Climate Action Plan
The governor's Climate Action Team is an interagency task force led by the California EPA, that was established to implement programs to meet Gov. Schwarzenegger's greenhouse gas reduction targets, which he announced in June 2005. These targets are: to reduce state greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2010, 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Action Team report is an assortment of existing policies, such as the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and new programs, such as million solar rooftops. It is unclear whether the programs, if implemented, would actually reduce emissions to target levels. The final report is available on Climate Action Team's website: http://climatechange.ca.gov/climate_action_team/
Assembly Bill 32: Make Governor's Announced Targets Mandatory by 2020
Assemblymember Fran Pavley and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez have introduced legislation to place a mandatory cap on state greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the governor's 2020 target of reaching the state's 1990 emission levels. It will enact a multi-sector cap, and direct the Air Resources Board to come up with regulations and policies to ensure the cap is met. This bill will be an important priority for CIPL this year.
California PUC Votes to Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The PUC has issued a ruling that they will be placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector. The cap will be mandatory, and enforced through a permitting system. There will be hearings in the fall to determine more of the details, like what the cap will be and when it will take effect. We'll keep you posted.
Read more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/16/BUG4PH94F31.DTL
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