Sightings from the Treehouse: Mugged by Reality
Are houses of worship prepared for the current and coming natural disasters caused by climate change? If not, they need to be. During 2017, the faith community was in the heart of the hurricanes in the east and the wildfires in the west. They provided comfort and support to their ravaged congregants and local communities. They need to be prepared to do more and not be lulled into complacency by lack of awareness or political bent. Continue reading
Celebrating Earth Day Through Diversity
Earth Day 2018 was April 22, and we are thrilled that so many of you celebrated! GIPL invited congregations and houses of faith to share their plans for their Earth Day Celebrations. Over the coming weeks, the GIPL team will be sharing a few of those stories. The youth of Roswell Community Masjid reflect below on the interfaith Earth Day commemoration they hosted this year. Continue reading
Passover: Placing Ourselves in the Story
David Miron-Wapner shares a powerful message that was delivered at The Temple in Atlanta on March 23 during Shabbat service. David was in Georgia to attend the Eco-Symposium on Theological Education hosted by Columbia Theological Seminary. David is Board chair of The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development based in Israel.
As we anticipate Pesach, I offer you an eco-spiritual message that the story of Pharaoh and our liberation from Egypt parallels the situation facing humanity today in confronting the climate crisis. Continue reading
Giving Up: On Coal Ash and Lent by Codi Norred
Earlier this month I paddled with soon to be new friends, seasoned fishermen, and a host of other nature lovers from across Georgia to tour the coal ash ponds along the banks of Lake Sinclair. Four coal ash ponds dot the shores, containing within them the toxic waste produced from coal-fired power plants. In some cases, no more than fifty yards away from the water, tens of tons of toxic coal ash are held by unlined pits and earthen levies. Continue reading
The Water Will Come, a Book Review by Bob Donaghue
Temperatures rise, ice melts and sea levels rise. That is the basic science behind the conclusion in the new book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, published in 2017 by Jeff Goodell. Goodell is contributing editor to Rolling Stone Magazine and author of several environmental books on climate change. Jeff visited numerous cities in the US, Europe and Asia that are facing the impacts of sea level rise now and more seriously in the future. Continue reading
Green Team Summit a Huge Success!
This past Sunday, we welcomed over 125 participants at our first annual Green Team Summit. We’re celebrating that at least 57 congregations were represented at the event! We were inspired by the Keynote Presentation by Veronica Kyle and the many workshop leaders who covered engaging topics on sustainability. We are grateful to The Temple for hosting us and the Rothschild Social Justice Institute. We are convinced this was the perfect way to launch GIPL’s 15th Anniversary this year! Plans are underway for the 2019 Green Team Summit, and we hope you’ll join us.
From Darkness to Light
During this time of growing uncertainty, as climate catastrophe looms, and the inequality and dysfunction of social and political systems are exposed, it is more important than ever to be in a supportive community which inspires creativity, courage, and collective action. Continue reading
Holding Nations Accountable
MESSAGE By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the UNFCCC COP-23 Session (Bonn, Germany, November 6-17, 2017)
The 23rd session of the United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change provides occasion to recall with introspection and reflect with integrity on the state of our world, but also on where we have come and where we are headed as a global community, especially in light of the urgent call of the Paris Agreement. Continue reading
Sightings From the Treehouse: Soft Landing or Runaway Train?
Sightings from the Treehouse is an investigative blog series on climate change and the environment, from GIPL’s Power Wise Director, Bob Donaghue. You can read all the posts from the blog series here.
It is amazing the wide array of technologies available today to cut our fossil fuel emissions. Solar panels are getting competitive and battery technology is improving to store energy obtained through renewable sources. Wind power is abundant in the heartland. Electric cars are getting cheaper with greater ranges, and Volvo has indicated they will stop making gas-powered cars by 2019. Cities are moving forward on sustainability and millions of people are marching in the streets around the world to fight efforts to weaken support for clean air, water and a healthy planet.
Quite appropriately, as the current administration withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, industry, cities and ordinary citizens are banding together to live up to the goals of the climate accord. Many city mayors (including Atlanta), governors and corporations are seeking a UN agreement vowing to meet the Paris Climate goals for 2025. Other companies indicated they are progressing on developing renewable energy and building sustainability into their operations. Fortunately, most of the technologies, behaviors, and actions needed to effectively fight climate change are in existence now. They just need to be implemented and scaled up globally. Continue reading
Sightings from the Treehouse: Work with Creation, Not Against It – Part 2
Sightings from the Treehouse is an investigative blog series on climate change and the environment, from GIPL’s Power Wise Director Bob Donaghue. You can read all the blogs from the series here.
_________________________________________________________
Is there a comprehensive, strategic approach to reverse or stall climate change? Not according to Paul Hawken, author, entrepreneur, and environmentalist. The author of Ecology of Commerce and Blessed Unrest and a coauthor of Natural Capitalism has recently edited a book containing a compilation of over 100 strategies to reverse global warming. Continue reading
