CARE OF CREATION
The work of California Interfaith Power and Light is energized by the understanding that every major faith tradition calls 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 eco-servants and earth tenders. In so doing, we draw from the wisdom of Creation's many faith traditions.
“Come, listen to the earth with us.
For those who have learned to hear its song
the earth can soothe the troubled heart,
refresh the weary
soften the hardened,
redirect the lost.”
From The Healing Wisdom of Africa - Steve Van Matre, The Earth Speaks
HOT TOPICS
Africa's Hottest Topic: Global Warming
If one were to list all the voices of the prophets of the modern world, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's voice would be high on anyone's list. In the prologue of a new report released in late June in the UK, Archbishop Tutu writes: "It is important to understand that Africa and climate change are intrinsically linked, as climate change will affect the welfare of Africans for years to come." Western countries have a moral obligation to act over global warming, he says, as these wealthy countries have emitted more than their fair share of greenhouse gases.
According to an article written by Michael McCarthy and Colin Brown, published on June 20 in the Independent/UK, all efforts to alleviate poverty stricken Africa will fail if the rich nations of the globe don't unite to arrest the advance of climate change. To combat climate change, the report warns, the rich industrialized nations must reduce their emissions far below the limits set by the Kyoto Protocol.
Further quoting the report that was prefaced by Tutu's words, the Independent article states, "the 14 African countries already subject to water stress or water scarcity will be joined by a further 11 nations in the next 25 years. Rainfall is predicted to decline in the Horn of Africa and some parts of the south by as much as 10 per cent by 2050, while the land may warm by as much as 1.6C, all of which is likely to affect the crop harvests for hundreds of millions of people."
An example of an African nation facing climate change peril is Kenya which is the world's biggest exporter of tea. If temperatures were to rise 2 degrees C, Kenya's tea growing regions would become unsuitable for growing the commodity that provides one quarter of the nation's export earnings. The result would devastate Kenya's economy.
Arctic Lakes Vanishing as the Planet Warms
According to an article put out on the Environmental News Service in June, lakes across the Siberian Arctic are drying up. The source for the article was a paper published in Science journal that cited the results of a comparison of satellite images made over the last twenty-five years. "Scientists found that 125 of the lakes disappeared completely and are now re-vegetated." This reduction in the number of lakes represents an 11% loss in the total number of lakes in an area of 200,000 square miles. "While many lakes did not disappear completely, they shrank, diminishing the total surface area of lake water by about 6%." Dr. Lawrence Smith of the UCLA Geography Department and Department of Earth and Space Sciences says, "We expect areas of continuous permafrost to continue to thin and move steadily northward, resulting in the disappearance of more lakes."
Commenting on Arctic lake diminishment from the warming of the planet, Larry Hinzman with the Water and Environmental Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks predicts, "The loss of surface water will inevitably impact local ecosystems, which will have a cascading effect. Changes could include loss of migratory bird habitat resulting in an effect on subsistence activities as well as changes to local and regional atmospheric conditions, including more localized wind and more frequent and more severe wild land fires."
(digest of article released by Environmental News Service, June 6th, "Arctic Lakes Vanish as Planet Warms")
Scientists Issue an Unprecedented Warning as Global Warming Worsens
"An unprecedented joint statement issued by the leading scientific academies of the world has called on the G-8 governments to take urgent action to avert a global catastrophe caused by climate change." These words headed an article that appeared in The Independent (UK) on June 8, 2005. Written by science editor, Steve Connor, on June 8, the article reports, "The national academies of science for all the G8 countries, along with those of Brazil, India and China, have warned that governments must no longer procrastinate on what is widely seen as the greatest danger facing humanity."
Lord May of Oxford, president of the national academy of science, said that getting the U.S. on board was critical simply because of the sheer amount of greenhouse gas that the United States is responsible for. May reported that between 1990 and 2002, the carbon dioxide emissions of the US increased by 13 per cent, which on their own were greater than the combined cut in emissions that will be achieved if all Kyoto countries hit their targets.
The official statement issued out of the UK asserts that "the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions."
Storm Affront
Coming soon to our warming globe: extreme hurricanes. Research just published in the journal Science suggests that as higher temperatures draw more ocean water into the atmosphere, hurricanes and typhoons will intensify. Over the course of the 20th century, water vapor over the oceans increased by 5 percent overall and 10 percent in areas where hurricanes form, and will jump an additional 7 percent for every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit the planet warms. While scientists cannot predict with any certainty an increase in the number of storms, they do express concern over likely increase in storm intensity.
FACING FACTS:
CURRENT STATISTICS
CO2 ON THE RISE
1958: A US scientist, Charles Keeling, begins the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) on an extinct volcano in Hawaii. It stands at 315 parts per million (ppm).
1968: The US spacecraft 'Apollo 8' takes the first pictures of Earth from a distance, beautiful but fragile - which help start modern environmentalism. The C02 level has reached 323ppm.
1972: The UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm - the moment when the world first recognizes environmental threats to the Earth as a whole. CO2 now at 327ppm.
1988: The world wakes up to the danger of climate change, with an outspoken warning from scientists, and a speech by Margaret Thatcher. CO2 level stands at 351ppm.
1992: The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro sees more than 100 countries sign the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the first global warming treaty. CO2 now at 356ppm.
1995: The Kyoto protocol to the UN's climate treaty is signed in Japan, binding countries, including the US, to make cuts in their CO2 emissions. The CO2 level has now reached 360ppm.
2000: Obvious that the 1990s were the hottest decade in the global temperature record, with 1998 the hottest year in the northern hemisphere for 1,000 years. CO2 is 369ppm.
2001: George Bush withdraws the US, the world's biggest CO2 emitter, from Kyoto, alleging it will damage America's economy - jeopardizing the whole process. CO2 level now at 371ppm.
2003: First two weeks of August are the hottest period ever recorded in Western Europe: 35,000 people die. New record high temperature for Britain. CO2 now at 375ppm.
2004: After much dithering, Russia ratifies Kyoto, enabling the protocol to enter into force despite the desertion of the United States. But that doesn't stop the CO2 level rising to 377ppm.
The IPCC believes that today's carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in 20 million years and that they will rise to970 parts per million by the year 2100, if unchecked. 400ppm is the threshold level they published, at which tumultuous change will be required in order to sustain our current patterns of life.
GOOD NEWS:
* Canada and the European Union agreed to work together at the
forthcoming climate talks in Bonn to promote the standards of the
Kyoto Protocol. (Reuters)
* Australia has announced its welcome to the EU delegates who are
seeking support throughout the international community for compliance
with Kyoto standards. (Planet Arc)
* Seattle mayor, Greg Nichols, is the pied piper of the U.S. cities'
"mayor's climate change agreement" a grass roots effort to meet or
exceed the Kyoto Protocols standards for emissions reductions.
(Grist Magazine)
* The Engine Manufactures Association (EMA) has endorsed the passage of
the Diesel Emission Reduction Act of 2005, a bill designed to reduce
emissions from older diesel trucks, buses, and off-road equipment currently
in use. The bill's backers hope the end result will be major reductions in
diesel emissions and additional progress in achieving national ambient air
quality standards. (News, EarthVisions)
The Answer is Blowing in the Wind
Using the wind as a source of energy is gaining momentum all over the globe. The largest producer of wind energy is the Irish company, Airtricity that supplies energy to 40,000 businesses throughout Ireland. Since the first of January, 2003, Airtricity reports having saved 1,690,634 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. That is the equivalent of taking 402,532 cars off the road a year. On June 24 of this year, via PRNewswire, Airtricity announced an initial investment in the United States of $270 million planned for the development of wind farms in Texas, New York and the Pacific Northwest and total investments in excess of $1.5 billion by 2010 in the North American market. The wind farm, located in the Abilene area, for example, will have an installed capacity of 125MW and will generate sufficient power to supply over 75,000 homes. The Turbines for this project will be supplied by the Siemens Wind Power company based in Florida. Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Eddie O'Connor, stated, "One of the greatest economic and environmental crises facing society today is global warming. " Dr. O' Connor also stated that the state the most strongly supportive of renewable energy in the United States today is Texas. Now that is good news!
More Windy News
Australia's wind energy sector is expected to grow fivefold in the next four years to total 2100 megawatts of installed capacity. US wind capacity is expected to triple to 18,000 and European capacity will double to 74,000 megawatts over the same period. Wind energy development is also being planned in New Zealand. In the area of Puketiro, for example, a wind farm development could provide the region with at least 26MW of energy, enough to power about 13,000 homes. Elsewhere is the world, India has overtaken Denmark in wind energy generation occupying the fourth place in the world. Last year, the country added 1,100 MW capacity. While the use of wind accounts for a very small percentage of energy use worldwide, there is growing interest in its use all over the world and it is a hopeful indication that could cool our warming planet.
CIPL NEWS
* We are very pleased to report that CIPL's Outreach Director, Sally Juarez,
was received by San Francisco Presbytery by unanimous vote to Ministry of Word
and Sacrament on June 28th. Sally will be ordained on July 31st to continue her
ministry in caring for creation with California Interfaith Power and Light.
Her ordination will be held at Montclair Presbyterian Church in Oakland at 3:00 PM.
* Executive Directors and Outreach Directors from the seventeen states of the
Interfaith Power and Light movement meet on July 16 through July 19 for a
national conference in Washington D.C. This second annual event is hosted by
the National IP&L movement's founding organization, The Regeneration Project,
with its founder, the Rev. Sally Bingham acting as the conference convener.
Watch for a report on that event in our August e-newsletter.
COOL TIPS
Formula for a No-Simmer Summer
* We feel hotter in humid heat than in dry heat because our own cooling
system, perspiration and evaporation, doesnít work as well when the air
is full of moisture. Dry your air with a dehumidifier which uses less
energy than an air conditioner. When the air around you is dryer, you
will feel cooler and you probably wonít even need your air conditioner.
At the very least, you will need to use your air conditioner far less.
* A breeze makes us feel cooler because it helps the sweat to evaporate.
(our cooling system again.) The human comfort zone during the summer is
72 to 78 degrees. With a breeze from a ceiling fan, the comfort zone can
be raised to 78 to 82 degrees.
* Stop the sunís heat from seeping through the roof by adding an inexpensive
aluminum foil radiant barrier. This will stop 95% of the heat from radiating
into your attic. Put it on the attic floor and it will stop attic heat from
seeping into the rest of the house. Inexpensive to buy and you can install
it yourself.
* Shading your windows with new sun-control shades and screens can block up to
90% of the sunís heat from entering your home and heating things up this summer.
The shading material lets you see out, but the sunís heat canít come in.
* Remember that CFLs donít produce as much heat as burning an incandescent bulb;
another good reason to make the switch!
EVENTS
Sacramento CIPL Working Group:
Monday, July 11
Noon - 1:00 PM
St. John's Lutheran Church
2nd Floor Conference Room
1701 L Street
Sacramento, California
RSVP to Rev. Dexter McNamara
916-448-2212
dexter@isbsacramento.org
July 20-23Tikkun Community Conference on Spiritual Activism
With working groups and workshops on environmental policy
Berkeley; see details at www.tikkun.org
July 22-24"Healing the World" Sacred Visions for a New America
with Dr. Robert
N. Bellah, Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove.
www.healingtheworld.info.
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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 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month's edition. Email Sally Juarez at outreach@interfaithpower.org.
CLOSING REFLECTION
California Interfaith Power and Light honors the memory of Charles David Keeling, the climate scientist whose precise, meticulous measurements of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for nearly half a century warned humans that we are changing the composition of the global atmosphere. He died on Monday, June 22 while hiking in Montana. He was 77. To read more about Dr. Keeling's life and work, click on
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-me-keeling24jun24,1,735963.story
“Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
- Rumi
The CIPL E-Newsletter is produced by:
California Interfaith Power & Light
2715 K Street, Suite D
Sacramento, CA 95816
916-442-5447
www.interfaithpower.org
Sally Juarez
Outreach Director
outreach@interfaithpower.org
Tom Bourne
Executive Director
tom@interfaithpower.org
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