Greeting Friends,
About 45 people attending our first Peninsula/South Bay California Interfaith Power and Light (CIPL) Working Group meeting! We introduced ourselves, shared highlights of what we are doing and what we would like the group to do. The energy and enthusiasm buoyed us all to the crucial task at hand.
The next meeting will be on Leap Day, Friday, February 29, 8:30-10:30 am at Grace Lutheran Church. (3149 Waverley St., Palo Alto, 94306. 650-494-1212 www.gracepa.org) Thank you, Joan Ferguson, for arranging this.
Please invite additional clergy and members of other congregations who want to join to take action to protect the climate. Also, let us know if you want to be involved but cannot attend the meeting.
Thank you to the people who stepped forward to join the steering committee and communications team:
Steering Committee:
- Marianna Grossman Keller, Convener, Congregation Kol Emeth
- Rev. Margo Tenold, Santa Clara Council of Churches
- Rev. Eileen Altman, 1st Congregational Church of Palo Alto
- Scott Springborn, Catholic Diocese of South Bay
- Joan Ferguson, Grace Lutheran Church
- Bruce Cahan, Temple Beth Jacob
Communications for Working Group (will coordinate database and communications tools):
- Bruce Cahan, Temple Beth Jacob
- Lee Erman, Congregation Kol Emeth
Issues/Action Areas for the Working Group
We identified the following eleven areas for our working group to address, along with representative actions within each area. At the Feb. 29 meeting, we will refine and prioritize these areas and actions, and have people indicate the areas they want to participate in.
1) Clergy Education
a) quarterly luncheon with speaker and time for sharing questions, ideas, encouragement
2) Getting Started-- providing materials, guides and referrals to help congregations organize for action.
a) have your congregation sign the CIPL covenant (join first, if not already a member, it's free!)
b) consider having your congregation become a certified Green Business – a great, free program
c) spiritual practice, education, facilities, members take action at home, work and in community
d) resource guide (Guide from Interfaith Convocation coming soon.)
e) post video clips of success stories on YouTube
f) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on climate science (separating truth from fiction)
g) support groups for low carbon living/action (Acterra is a resource for this)
h) collect and share spiritual texts/resources from spectrum of faiths to motivate action
3) Energy
a) energy audit and lighting retrofit (utility plus Right Lights)
b) other energy efficiency measures
c) purchasing or leasing renewable energy (how to finance?)
4) Water
a) audit by Water-Wise Consulting at (866) 685-2322, for Santa Clara County businesses and residences, funding available to replace toilets, showerheads and other water regulation resources.
b) also check out Water Efficient Technologies (WET) program for Santa Clara County Businesses
5) Waste reduction and recycling
a) bulk purchasing of "green" products
b) include custodial staff in the process of instituting recycling program(s)
c) food composting (eg, Roche in Palo Alto)
6) Political action/lobbying
a) getting media to include climate change in the Presidential campaign,
b) supporting legislation such as the bill to provide rebates for purchasing hybrids
c) lobbying car companies and the EPA to stop suing California and other states who want to protect the environment
d) compare candidates on environmental policies. See California League of Conservation Voters
7) Financing renewable energy and energy efficiency
a) ethical finance
b) loan fund or other methods of financing PV, Energystar appliances, etc.
8) Sustainable food
a) community garden? composting?
b) education on link between what we eat and the health of the environment, climate and farmers
c) low carbon diet support groups (eating local, sustainably grown food, etc.)
9) Transportation
a) carpools and public transit to events and services (including our interfaith working group meetings!)
b) bulk purchase of hybrid or plug-in hybrid cars
c) start biodiesel cooperative
10) Taking action on Earth Day (/week/month)
a) join with City of Palo Alto – Mar. 30 energy, Apr. 5 water, Apr. 12 waste reduction, Apr. 17 film festival, Apr. 19 transportation
11) Outreach and Philosophy
a) reach out to congregations in lower income areas. (Rev. Altman will present to East Palo Alto Ministerial Association; CIPL working with Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights to train people for green jobs.)
b) shift from "culture of shortage" to one of meeting non-material needs with non-material means
The challenge is urgent, as is the desire to serve. Thank you all for joining together. Remember to invite more friends and colleagues from other faith congregations to join us!
As former VP Al Gore warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the world climate crisis is worsening and is in fact unfolding more rapidly than some of the most pessimistic projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "It is difficult to summon the moral imagination necessary to understand the degree of responsibility that is on the shoulders on those of us who are alive in this day and time," said Gore, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC for efforts to fight climate change. "All future generations will at some point look back and make an assessment of whether we succeeded or failed," he added.
Peace,
Marianna
Marianna Grossman Keller
Convener, Peninsula/South Bay Working Group California Interfaith Power and Light
email address mobile: 650-520-7003