Anglican Bishop of Liverpool Speaks to DC Area Faith Leaders

Forty-five Muslim, Jewish and Christian clergy and community leaders gathered October 24 for a breakfast on the role of faith communities in caring for creation. The Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool (Church of England), Imam Yahya Hendi, Secretary General and Founder of Imams for Human Rights and Dialogue, and Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, spoke about faith foundations for active engagement in care of creation care and environmental justice.
“We are pleased to work with faith communities in the DC region to build a sustainable future,” said Allison Fisher , program director for Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL). “From our three speakers, we heard strong calls to reach across religious differences to work together to provide leadership to the growing response to global warming.” At the end of the morning, 22 of the local faith leaders pledged to incorporate creation care into sermons or support a lay-lead creation care effort in their community.

Bishop Jones shared how his own focus on the environment developed through a series of discussions he had with British school children during the millennium year. Challenging religious communities to put their faith into action, Jones said, “We are caught up in a disease of consumption and that is what is afflicting the earth. So last year for Lent in the Diocese of Liverpool I called a carbon fast.” A carbon fast would have more value than giving up chocolate or candy that some choose. He reported that by the end of the carbon fast “people weren’t ready to resume their previous consumption levels; it made them think about their life.”

Imam Hendi shared the unique response he gives to the question, “Where are you from?” Hendi explained that he says, “I am from dust. I am a Dustian. ... I try to remember that I come from dust, and therefore I am someone who tries to find that harmonious relationship with the dust from which one comes.” Hendi went on to encourage humanity to come together as Dustians, to move together to protect our mother earth.
Religious communities contribute multi-generational thinking to the broader society, added Rabbi Dobb. Multi-generational thinking will “lead to some very different outcomes than when we are focused on quarterly profit earnings reports and other much shorter cycles of time that the dominant society would have us focus on. As people of faith, we can take the long view. When we take the long view, what’s two cents per KWH more to make sure the electricity that lights our sanctuaries and fellowship halls could come from wind or biomass instead of from coal? Intergenerational thinking will begin to change our action.”
The breakfast workshop, ‘Caring for Creation: How to Build a Sustainable Future,’ was co-sponsored by the British Embassy and Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

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Toxic Beauty

You are probably somewhat aware of potentially dangerous chemicals and how to avoid them when you clean your home, but what about the chemicals you use to clean and beautify yourself? Alternet is featuring an interview with author Stacy Malkan (excerpted below), who provocatively compares toxins in personal care products to global warming. Think this doesn't apply to you if you are a man? Think again--men are exposed to these chemicals through shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream, after shave, etc.

Carcinogens in cosmetics? Petrochemicals in perfume? If only this were an urban legend. Unfortunately, it's a toxic reality, and it's showing up in our bodies.
In 2004, scientists found pesticides in the blood of newborn babies. A year later, researchers discovered perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel, in human breast milk. Today, people are testing positive for a litany of hazardous substances from flame retardants to phthalates to lead.
In her new book, Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, Stacy Malkan exposes the toxic chemicals that lurk, often unlabeled, in the personal care products that millions of American women, men and children use every day.
AlterNet spoke with Malkan about these toxins and her five-year effort with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to get the beauty industry to remove them from its products.
Heather Gehlert: There are so many environmental issues you could've written a book about. Why cosmetics?
Stacy Malkan: I think cosmetics is something that we're all intimately connected to. They're products that we use every day, and so I think it's a good first place to start asking questions. What kinds of products are we bringing into our homes? What kinds of companies are we giving our money to?
It has something pretty interesting in common with global warming too.
It does. I think of it as global poisoning. I think that the ubiquitous contamination of the human species with toxic chemicals is a symptom of the same problem (as global warming), which is an economy that's based on outdated technologies of petrochemicals -- petroleum. So many of the products we're applying to our faces and putting in our hair come from oil. They're byproducts of oil.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

Christians Address Climate and Poor

This news release comes from the National Council of Churches News.

The religious community's moral imperative to combat climate change and protect those living in poverty was discussed yesterday at a U.S. House of Representatives briefing.The Rt. Rev. James Jones, the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, England and the Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, associate general secretary for justice and advocacy at the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) joined forces in addressing a Capitol Hill audience. Bishop Jones, traveling for a week in the U.S. to speak with religious leaders about global climate change, articulated the need for the world faith communities to take action on the issue of climate change. "The Bible calls us to care for all of God's creation," said Bishop Jones. "The science of anthropogenic climate change is incontrovertible. It is the poor who are most immediately impacted by changes in our climate; it is the poor who are least able to act to change our world. The wealthy nations still feel little of the effects of climate change, yet they are most able to act for the sake of the poor and for the sake of the earth. We must act at three levels--personally, parochially within our communities and publicly through our policies," said the bishop.The Rev. Girton-Mitchell echoed the bishop's sentiments; "It is our call to help our faith communities understand that climate change has a huge impact on those things that we see as more immediate concerns. Climate change impacts health care, food availability, our homes, and our families."Both Bishop Jones and the Rev. Girton-Mitchell articulated the need to protect those living in poverty around the world from the effects of climate change. "As Europeans and Americans, it is our responsibility to act first to ensure that we protect those who are least able to adapt while empowering the rest of the world to make the necessary changes to prevent climate change," said the Rev. Girton-Mitchell. The briefing is part of a national effort by the NCC and other nationaland regional faith organizations to educate elected officials, congregations, and people of faith about the moral need to address climate change. The decade-long work of the U.S. faith community has enabled religious leaders around the country to vocalize their concern and conviction that the U.S. must act now to prevent irreparable damage."Leaders of the faith communities have a special responsibility to teach about the earth, to change hearts and minds so that when politicians put proposals to the electorate they will meet with a ready response," said Bishop Jones.

The National Council of Churches USA is the ecumenical voice of 35 of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American andtraditional peace churches. These NCC member communions have 45 millionfaithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.---NCC News contact: Philip Jenks, 212.870.2228,pjenks@councilofchurches.org or Dan Webster, 212.870.2252,NCCnews@ncccusa.org

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

Coal is Out, Conservation is In

A story on Marketplace talks about how rising construction costs and concerns over global warming legislation have caused utilities to cancel plans for 16 new coal-fired power plants in recent months. Instead, they're opting for something much cheaper -- conservation. Listen or read transcript here.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm
Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

NCC Eco-Justice Resources Offered, Prayers Requested

To commemorate Thanksgiving, the National Council of Churches (NCC) USA's Eco-Justice Program will be accepting prayers for our nation's farmers through a "Thanksgiving Prayer Offering" lasting through December 15. People of faith are encouraged to submit prayers, which will be collected in a web-based anthology to highlight the connection between the food we eat and the farmers who plant, grow, and harvest God's gracious bounty.
"In order to be truly thankful for the food that God provides, we must be aware and acknowledge all of the hands and processes involved as it finds its way to our table," says Cassandra Carmichael, director of the NCC Eco-Justice Program. "Farmers, farm workers, and rural communities as well as the rest of God's creation--land, water, air, and soil--deserve our thanks as we sit down with family and friends this Thanksgiving season."
Prayers can be submitted online at:
http://www.nccecojustice.org/thanksgivingcontest.html
The Thanksgiving Prayer Offering coincides with the promotion of two free, downloadable harvest-themed resources produced by the NCC Eco-Justice Program that can be used for congregational study and Thanksgiving Sunday worship services: "At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving" and "Our Daily Bread." The resources are available at:
http://www.nccecojustice.org/faithharvestworship.html
The National Council of Churches USA is the ecumenical voice of 35 of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and traditional peace churches. These NCC member communions have 45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states. The NCC has focused on eco-justice issues for over 25 years.
Click here to learn more.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Eating for the Climate

Ever wonder if there's something to environmental pressure to change your way of eating for the sake of the planet? Salon examines the issue of global warming and food in an article excerpted briefly below and offers some (tentative) answers and advice in the process:

The No. 1 cause of global warming is burning fossil fuels for electric power. Still, the group raises an important point. A November 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report found that livestock accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector.
Here in the U.S., livestock's impact is not quite so extreme: Six percent of our greenhouse gases come from livestock production, compared with 19 percent from cars, light trucks and airplanes. Still, for conscious eaters, those statistics are worth fleshing out.
According to the FAO, livestock production is a top cause of the world's many environmental problems: deforestation, acid rain, dead zones in the ocean, land degradation, water pollution, species extinction and, most threatening of all, global warming. "We looked at every step of the commodity chain, from feed production to consumption," says Henning Steinfeld, chief of the FAO's livestock policy branch.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm
Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Green Voting

In an Op Ed, columnist Thomas Friedman suggests that the greatest act you can do to green your life happens at the ballot box:
Choose the right leaders. It is so much more important to change your leaders than change your light bulbs.
Why? Because leaders write the rules, set the standards and offer the tax incentives that drive market behavior across a whole city, state or country. Whatever any of us does individually matters a tiny bit. But when leaders change the rules, you get scale change across the whole marketplace. And the energy-climate challenge we face today is a huge scale problem. Without scale, all you have is a green hobby.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm
Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

A Waterless West?

Will climate change leave the American West a barren desert? The New York Times magazine tackles that scary topic in a long article briefly excerpted below:

Scientists sometimes refer to the effect a hotter world will have on this country’s fresh water as the other water problem, because global warming more commonly evokes the specter of rising oceans submerging our great coastal cities. By comparison, the steady decrease in mountain snowpack — the loss of the deep accumulation of high-altitude winter snow that melts each spring to provide the American West with most of its water — seems to be a more modest worry. But not all researchers agree with this ranking of dangers. Last May, for instance, Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate and the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, one of the United States government’s pre-eminent research facilities, remarked that diminished supplies of fresh water might prove a far more serious problem than slowly rising seas. When I met with Chu last summer in Berkeley, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which provides most of the water for Northern California, was at its lowest level in 20 years. Chu noted that even the most optimistic climate models for the second half of this century suggest that 30 to 70 percent of the snowpack will disappear. “There’s a two-thirds chance there will be a disaster,” Chu said, “and that’s in the best scenario.”
In the Southwest this past summer, the outlook was equally sobering. A catastrophic reduction in the flow of the Colorado River — which mostly consists of snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains — has always served as a kind of thought experiment for water engineers, a risk situation from the outer edge of their practical imaginations. Some 30 million people depend on that water. A greatly reduced river would wreak chaos in seven states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. An almost unfathomable legal morass might well result, with farmers suing the federal government; cities suing cities; states suing states; Indian nations suing state officials; and foreign nations (by treaty, Mexico has a small claim on the river) bringing international law to bear on the United States government. In addition, a lesser Colorado River would almost certainly lead to a considerable amount of economic havoc, as the future water supplies for the West’s industries, agriculture and growing municipalities are threatened. As one prominent Western water official described the possible future to me, if some of the Southwest’s largest reservoirs empty out, the region would experience an apocalypse, “an Armageddon.”

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Not in Kansas Anymore

If you're building a big carbon dioxide-producing coal plant, you're not in Kansas anymore. For the first time, a power plant was rejected because of Carbon Dioxide emissions, according to an AP story that appeared in the Washington Post (excerpted below.)

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment yesterday became the first government agency in the United States to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for a proposed coal-fired electricity generating plant, saying that the greenhouse gas threatens public health and the environment.
The decision marks a victory for environmental groups that are fighting proposals for new coal-fired plants around the country. It may be the first of a series of similar state actions inspired by a Supreme Court decision in April that asserted that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide should be considered pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

Sunflower Electric Power already operates a coal-fired power plant in Holcomb and had proposed to build two more units. In the past, air permits, which are required before construction of combustion facilities, have been denied over emissions such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury. But Roderick L. Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said yesterday that "it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing."
The Kansas agency's decision caps a controversy over a proposal by Sunflower Electric Power, a rural electrical cooperative, to build a pair of big, 700-megawatt, coal-fired plants in Holcomb, a town in the western part of the state, at a cost of about $3.6 billion. One unit would have supplied power to parts of Kansas; the other, to be owned by another rural co-op, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, would have provided electricity to fast-growing eastern Colorado.
Together the plants would have produced 11 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, nearly as much as a group of eight Northeastern states hope to save by 2020 through a mandatory cap-and-trade program they plan to impose. The attorneys general from those states had written a letter opposing the permit.
The proposed Holcomb plants had become the center of a political dispute in Kansas, inflaming traditional tensions between the eastern and western parts of the state, dividing labor unions and posing a test for the energy policies of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who is head of the Democratic Governors Association and is believed to harbor aspirations for federal office.
Kansas, long a conservative Republican stronghold, is not generally considered to be on the leading edge of environmental causes. The GOP leadership in both the state Senate and House of Representatives endorsed the project. Although the regional United Steelworkers union opposed the plant, the state AFL-CIO supported it.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Vermont Rock Point Power Challenge

Rock Point Power Challenge

Please join our pioneering efforts to take Rock Point off the power grid.
Share your ideas for becoming a sustainable community
Let’s Challenge others to Share their Power
Join in discussions leading us into an action plans for a more self- sustainable future.
We need your knowledge, expertise and support to achieve our goal.
To Share the Power, we need each other.

Share The Power !
Monday, November 12, 2007 4pm – 8pm.
Bishop Booth Conference Center
6pm Light Dinner
Chili Cornbread, Dessert

RSVP by November 8th to one of the following:
Debi Paterson, Executive Director
Bishop Booth Conference Center, 658-6233
Chuck Courcy, Rock Point Property Manager, 355-8737

Global Warming Legislation

A new bi-partisan Senate bill to reduce US output of greenhouse gases by 70% by the year 2050 has just been introduced and is expected to pass the Senate as early as next year, according to this AP story excerpted below:

A Senate blueprint for tackling global warming would require power plants and vehicles to reduce their greenhouse gases by 70 percent. A chief sponsor said President Bush's approach of voluntary action will not meet the goal.
The proposal Thursday by Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, was seen as a compromise that could get the 60 votes needed to pass, perhaps next year.
"It is the tipping point ... a breakthrough," said Lieberman, who heads the Senate Environmental and Public Works subcommittee that will write the legislation. Warner is the panel's top Republican.
Lawmakers already have introduced a half-dozen bills that recommend limits on greenhouse gases; some are more aggressive than the one from Lieberman and Warner. But not one has the strong bipartisan support.
In addition to Warner, Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine are co-sponsors, as is Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Junking Junk Mail

How much would you pay to stop the flow of junk mail clogging your mailbox? An article from the New York Times excerpted below discusses some new options for doing just that, but in some cases, it ain't cheap:

Now a new online service called Catalog Choice (www.catalogchoice.org) is facilitating attempts to unsubscribe. The site was developed by three nonprofit environmental groups — the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Ecology Center — to relay requests en masse to specific retailers. Since it was introduced last Wednesday, more than 20,000 people have registered.
Retailers have thus far supported efforts to target consumers more effectively, but not legislation to enact do-not-mail lists (which would operate similarly to do-not-call lists). The Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that advocates direct mail as an effective form of retail advertising, offers its own “mail preference service,” although it requires a $1 payment by credit card to register online. Several other sites charge $15 to $41 for services that stop junk mail and catalogs.
Catalog Choice, which does not charge a fee, helps retailers “to maintain a ‘clean’ list so that they are not mailing to people who don’t want their catalogs,” said Kate Sinding, a senior lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
There have been some surprises: The most requests have come from people who wish to stop receiving the catalogs of L. L. Bean, a company built on an image of embracing the great outdoors.
Carolyn Beem, an L. L. Bean spokeswoman, said the company mails 250 million catalogs annually, “and we have one of the cleanest lists in the industry.” It monitors its mailings to prevent duplicates and allows customers to specify how many catalogs they wish to receive — if any. She said the company would be open to requests from an outside service like Catalog Choice.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Obama Speaks at Interfaith Climate Forum

Barack Obama addressed an interfaith audience about climate change, according to the AP article excerpted below:
By AMY LORENTZEN DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama said Sunday that his religious beliefs influence his plans for how to protect theenvironment.Speaking before religious leaders and others at what he called an"interfaith forum on climate change," the Illinois senator said God has entrusted humans with the responsibility of caring for the earth, and "weare not acting as good stewards of God's earth when our bottom line puts thesize of our profits before the future of our planet." "It is our responsibility to ensure that this planet remains clean and safeand livable for our children and for all of God's children," he told about200 people gathered at the downtown public library. "But in recent years, science has made it undeniably clear that our generation is not living up tothis responsibility. Global warming is not a someday problem, it is now."Last week, Obama released a plan to combat global warming that calls for an 80 percent reduction in U.S. carbon emissions by 2050.Obama said he would force industries and power companies to clean up theiroperations. He would institute a "cap and trade" approach that would require polluters to buy allowances, essentially putting a price on pollution andcreating an incentive to cut emissions.He said $150 billion from the sale of allowances could help drive thedevelopment of environmentally friendly technologies, including the next generation of biofuels, expansion of a delivery infrastructure andfuel-efficient vehicles."We've heard promises about energy independence from every single presidentsince Richard Nixon, but we are actually more dependent on oil today than ever before," he said.Obama said many of his rivals have talked about the issue but "have taken apass on it in years in Washington."He said he would ask the biggest carbon-emitting nations join the U.S. increating a global energy forum to develop climate protocols. He would alsoshare clean energy technologies with all nations.Obama also challenged individuals to do their part to help the environment, and he called for making government, businesses and homes 50 percent moreenergy efficient by 2030. He said he wants all federal government buildingscarbon neutral by 2025.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Obama, Climate and Faith

OBAMA FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO DO FORUM FOCUSED ON FAITH AND GLOBAL WARMING – OCT. 14TH
For the first time a presidential candidate will hold an event exclusively to discuss his faith perspective on global warming with potential voters. Senator Barack Obama will host an interfaith forum on climate change this Sunday, Oct. 14th at 9:45 AM (doors open at 9:15 AM) at the Des Moines Public Library ( 1000 Grand Avenue). For more information, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/69a36f792831c909/Y8s5wS/.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm
Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Climate Laureates

Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will share the Nobel Peace Prize this year, according to the L.A. Times.

"His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change," the citation said. "He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted."
Gore's decades-long crusade against climate change was captured in the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," which is seen as a major force in shifting the debate from whether the burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet to what should be done about it.

The Nobel Peace Prize is likely to increase calls for him to enter the 2008 presidential race, despite his insistence that he has no intention of running.

nterfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

More Solutions to An Inconvenient Truth

Sponsored by PACE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2007
Unitarian Society of Hartford
50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford(1/10 mile north from intersection of Rts. 44 & 189)
Admission is free to the public. Donations are welcome.
5:00-7:00 PM EXHIBITS AND DINNER
Solar energy installers (Connecticut Clean Energy Fund)
Environmental Exhibits
City Line Pizza, homemade desserts, coffee 7:00 PM
Annual Meeting - Rep. James O'Rourke, President
7:30 PM AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement: The American Solar Energy Society (ases.org) (represented by Steven and Marilyn Strong)
Legislative: Rep. Steve Fontana; Rep. Vickie Orsini Nardello
Business: Van Zelm, Heywood & Shadford, Inc.
Media: Jennifer Boyd (CPTV "The Warming of Connecticut")
8:00 PM AMAZING POWER POINT PRESENTATION "HEADING TOWARD ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS" Steven J. Strong - Award Winner & President of Solar Design
INFORMATION:(860) 693-4813 or www.pace-cleanenergy.org
PACE is a non-profit public health organization
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm
Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Renewable Energy Shortage?

There's one on the way, according to an article in HartfordBusiness.com (see excerpt below):

Demand for renewable energy is outstripping supply, pushing up prices and raising the specter that some states may not meet clean-energy mandates.
Behind the shortage are the growing number of states requiring utilities to include clean energy in their power mix as well as surging demand from big businesses.
By 2010, clean-energy demand will outpace generation by at least 37 percent unless a rush of projects is built, says a report due out next week from the National Renewable Energy Lab.
Under laws in 25 states, clean energy - such as wind, solar and biomass - must comprise up to 30 percent of a utility's energy portfolio in five to 15 years. In 2003, just 10 states had such requirements. Also, growing concerns about power plants' global-warming emissions have led consumers and businesses to boost clean-energy purchases by 46 percent a year since 2003.
Much of that is fueled by corporations, which have increased their green power purchases twenty-fivefold since 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency says. "Demand is growing faster than people expected," says NREL senior analyst Lori Bird.
Utilities and customers typically don't buy renewable energy itself. Rather, they buy renewable-energy credits - premiums above standard electric prices that subsidize a generator for each kilowatt hour of power it produces. Consumers, for instance, can pay up to $10 extra on their monthly utility bill or buy credits online.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

Enjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Good News, Bad News, Weird News

The good news is that clean power is catching on. An article in the Hartford Courant excerpted below tells of the good-natured rivalry in two Connecticut towns designed to increase sign-ups for clean-generated power through Connecticut utility companies.
Members of Rocky Hill's energy task force and Cromwell's energy task force are in a battle to sign up the most residents to the CT Clean Energy Options program by Earth Day 2008 in April.The winning town will receive a clothesline - the best example of a solar dryer.
"A clothesline represents one of the easiest things we can use to get off the power grid and use solar energy, and it's cost-effective," said Sandy Kelly, a member of the Rocky Hill task force.The goal is to try to get the most residents to sign up for the CT Clean Energy Options program, in which participating towns must adopt a goal of purchasing 20 percent of their energy from clean sources by 2010. The program, a partnership between two nonprofit groups, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and SmartPower, gives towns that sign up 100 residents a free solar panel for municipal use. Currently, in Rocky Hill 76 residents are signed up. Cromwell has 72.Jeremy Shingleton, a member of the Cromwell task force, said the two towns will work together even though it's a challenge."We are going to help each other by talking about strategies. This is really to look at alternative technologies to produce clean energy as a community," Shingleton said.
Now for some bad news: the extreme ice melt that the Arctic region experienced this past summer is even throwing scientists for a loop, according to an article that appeared in the New York Times.
The Arctic ice cap shrank so much this summer that waves briefly lapped along two long-imagined Arctic shipping routes, the Northwest Passage over Canada and the Northern Sea Route over Russia.
Over all, the floating ice dwindled to an extent unparalleled in a century or more, by several estimates.
Now the six-month dark season has returned to the North Pole. In the deepening chill, new ice is already spreading over vast stretches of the Arctic Ocean. Astonished by the summer’s changes, scientists are studying the forces that exposed one million square miles of open water — six Californias — beyond the average since satellites started measurements in 1979.
The weird news is a new idea for a (drastic) solution to solve the growing global warming crisis from the guy who came up the the Gaia hypothesis, as chronicled in the New York Times science blog.
The scheme itself — putting giant pipes in the ocean — sounds rather problematic, but I’m intrigued by who’s daring to propose it: James E. Lovelock, the British environmentalist renowned for theGaia hypothesis of the Earth as a kind of self-regulating superorganism.
He and Chris Rapley propose in their letter “to help the planet heal itself” by using pipes at least 100 meters long to bring nutrient-rich waters up to mix with surface water, causing algae to bloom and absorb carbon dioxide. They acknowledge that success is uncertain, and a news article in Nature by Quirin Schiermeier quotes critics warning that the water-mixing scheme could backfire by bringing up dissolved carbon dioxide from below, leading to a net release of CO2 into the atmosphere. And then of course there are more than a few questions about the impact on the ocean’s acidity and on marine life.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm

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