OUR FAITH, OUR PLANET, OUR RESPONSIBILITY

December 2004 Newsletter

Reports on Rebates, Things You Can Do, and Current
Legislation, CO2 Reductions and Other Good News

 
CARE OF CREATION
The work of California Interfaith Power and Light is energized by the understanding that every major faith tradition call on us to be stewards of Creation. We have a responsibility to protect the earth for our children and future generations. For CIPL members, faithfulness to the care of Creation is a spiritual mandate. We continually strive to nourish our commitment to the goal of living as responsible stewards. In so doing, we draw from the wisdom of Creation's many faith traditions.

“The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding, and a development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share.” Dali Lama's Acceptance Speech: Nobel Peace Prize, 12-10-89 - Oslo, Norway

GREEN HOLIDAYS, GREENER ANY DAY
'Tis The Season
Regardless of which holiday you are celebrating or which faith you identify with, the holiday season is a time of family, celebration, and good will. The Interfaith Environmental Council has complied a list of green practices that will help you fulfill your moral and ethical obligation to care for creation. Help our community create a better future for our children and our grandchildren by ensuring that our holiday seasons are always healthy and happy ones. A few of these ideas are reprinted below:

1) Gift-wrapping paper and holiday cards are among the items that are often made from recycled content. For some creative ways to approach wrapping and holiday cards this season, see the Department of Conservation's "Green Gift Guide" on the Web at www.greengiftguide.com. For additional information about waste reduction, visit the California Integrated Waste Management Board on the Web at www.ciwmb.ca.gov

2) If you are celebrating Christmas, remember to recycle your Christmas tree. California Christmas Tree Recycling offers a hassle free way to recycle your tree and give something back to our environment, if you live in the greater LA area. For a minimum of $10.00, they will come to your home, remove the tree from its stand, vacuum the floor, and take the combustible tree to the recycling center. The mulch is then used for local plantings and a portion of all proceeds goes to TreePeople to plant new trees. For every Christmas tree they recycle, they will plant a new tree with TreePeople. Call 818-215-4070 or 310-340-0284 or visit www.recycletrees.com

3) Think before you buy a gift in any season of the year. Look for items with less packaging, gifts made from recycled content or presents that are earth-friendly. How about a season pass to California's State Parks or Heal the Bay's Ocean Discovery Center as a gift, designing a calendar with favorite photos or children's artwork, or giving plants in hand-decorated pots? You can also give the gift of rechargeable batteries with charger for all those toys that use batteries. Batteries can be recharged hundreds of times.

4) Save gift boxes and use them again. Many gift boxes fold down and take little room to store in a closet or cabinet. You can also purchase recycled or used cardboard boxes from www.BoomerangBoxes.com (1800-BOXES-88) to ship gifts to loved ones.

HOT TOPICS
As Ice Thaws, Arctic Peoples at Loss for Words
REYKJAVIK - What are the words used by indigenous peoples in the Arctic for “hornet”, “robin”, “elk”, “barn owl” or “salmon”? If you don't know, you're not alone. Many indigenous languages have no words for legions of new animals, insects and plants advancing north as global warming thaws the polar ice and lets forests creep over tundra.

“We can't even describe what we're seeing,” said Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which says it represents 155,000 people in Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia.

An eight-nation report this month says the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and that the North Pole could be ice-free in northern hemisphere summer by 2100, threatening indigenous cultures and perhaps wiping out creatures like polar bears.

The report, by 250 scientists and funded by the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, puts most of the blame on a build-up of heat-trapping gases from human use of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

More and more species will be cramming into an ever-narrowing strip bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, threatening to destroy fragile Arctic ecosystems from mosses to Arctic foxes or snowy owls.

Foreign ministers from the eight Arctic countries met in Reykjavik on November 24 but were sharply divided about what to do. The United States is most opposed to any drastic new action. The US is the only country among the eight to reject the 127-nation Kyoto protocol meant to cap emissions of greenhouse gases.

Excerpted from an article written by Alister Doyle

FACING FACTS
Current Statistics: Food for Thought
According to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, optimum temperature for rice fertilization is 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees F.). Fertilization falls to zero percent when the temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F.)

Two of the most important industries in California are the wine and dairy industries. According to a 30 year study conducted by 19 of our nation's top climate scientists, warmer climate in California will cause grapes to ripen early, diminishing the quality of wine production, a $3.2 billion dollar industry in the state. Milk production in dairy cows can drop substantially when temperatures climb above 90 degrees (F) impacting the 3 billion dollar dairy industry in our State.

In a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists this year, the average summer temperatures in California are projected to rise about 4 to 8.5 degrees (F) under the lower-emissions scenario and 7.5 to 15 degrees under the higher-emissions scenario.

GOOD NEWS
Green is Growing!
The Economist attributes the growing worldwide popularity of green building to factors such as high-energy costs, increasing environmental awareness and increasing attention to building life-cycle costs. U.S. Green Building Council reports that nearly 1,700 buildings in 50 states are now seeking LEED certification and 137 have been constructed and certified so far. One-quarter of new office space built in 2003 in Britain met British green building standards. Computer modeling advances are allowing architects to better predict and control buildings' energy and resource use. Check out the new tower of London: it's green! www.fypower.org e-Newswire #533

CIPL NEWS
Over 100 concerned religious leaders from California and Oregon have put their names to a sign-on letter spear-headed by the Rev. Sally Bingham, President of the CIPL Steering Committee & Executive Director of The Regeneration Project. The letter applauds Governors Schwarzenegger and Kulongoski for establishing the West Coast Governor's Global Warming Initiative, which has set new standards for reducing emissions 30% below 1990 levels by 2016. The letter recommends further reductions to 75 to 80% below the 1990 levels by 2050 as long-term goals. To read the full contents of the letter, check the CIPL website where the full letter will appear following its presentation to the governors at the end of this year or the beginning of the next.

EVENTS
Come and learn how little changes can make a big difference!

San Diego CIPL Working Group (RECAP) Meeting Tuesday, January 18th
6:00-7:30 PM
St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
2728 Sixth Street
San Diego, CA 92103
RSVP to Rev. Glenn Allison, 858-790-3744
tachs.glenn@sbcglobal.net

East Bay Working Group Meeting Wednesday, January 19th
8:30-10:00 AM
1904 Franklin St., Suite 609
Oakland, CA 94612
RSVP to Sally Juarez
510-763-4217, 916-442-5447 ext. 12
outreach@interfaithpower.org

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Does your congregation have an eco-event coming up? Let us help you get the word out to all of our covenant congregations. Do you know of a great film or reading that you wish everyone would take advantage of? Let us know about it and we will include it in the Newsletter. Send us all copy by the 20th of the month for inclusion in the next monthís edition. Email Sally Juarez at outreach@interfaithpower.org.