Category: Articles

Posted on

The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy devastated coastal areas in New York City and the surrounding region. While power is back on and life is returning to normal in most neighborhoods, hard hit areas are still in need of assistance as they struggle with a continued lack of electricity, serious damage to buildings, and, in many cases, the loss of friends and neighbors.

Congregations throughout the region were profoundly affected, with many houses of worship experiencing flooding or wind damage, or extended periods with electricity. And faith communities have responded to the disaster by opening their doors to storm victims, coordinating relief efforts to get supplies and volunteers to stricken areas, and making sure that people displaced by the storm had somewhere to go for prayer and comfort.

NYIPL member congregations in New York City have experienced the storm’s impact in a very immediate way. Below are some of their stories:

  • The Cathedral of St. John the Divine suffered significant damage to trees on the grounds, but no serious damage to the building. The Cathedral Community Cares program has been coordinating volunteers to aid in relief efforts both at the Cathedral and in damaged areas. They are assembling a guide for people who want to help out that will be posted on their website shortly. For more information, visit cathedralnyc.org and the Cathedral’s Facebook page.

    Stjtd_peacock
    One of the Cathedral of St. John Divine’s famous peacocks in front of downed tree limbs. Photo credit: Isadora Wilkenfeld.
  • St. James’ Church is working closely with the Episcopal Diocese of New York to coordinate relief efforts, including food drives and housing for displaced families. They are encouraging their congregants to work through establish relief agencies like Episcopal Relief and Development. For more information, visit stjames.org and the Church’s Facebook page.
  • St. Michael’s Church is also working with the Episcopal Diocese of New York’s storm relief efforts.  The Church has coordinated with congregations in the most affected areas to bring supplies and volunteers to where they are needed. St. Michael’s congregants made thousands of sandwiches at the Church and transported them to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, which had lost power after the storm. For more information, visit saintmichaelschurch.org and the Church’s Facebook page.
  • Sisters of Charity of New York collected more than $10,000 for storm relief efforts, and has been transporting vanloads of much-needed supplies to Mount Loretto, which is serving as the Archdiocese of New York’s primary receiving center for Sandy aid on Staten Island. Sisters of Charity has also helped direct supplies to Queens Congregations for United Action, an interfaith coalition, which is coordinating relief efforts in the Rockaways, Howard Beach, and Broad Channel. For more information, visit scny.org.
  • Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Church’s basement flooded, destroying food supplies for Trinity’s Services and Food for the Homeless program, which serves hundreds of people a day through its soup kitchen and food pantry.

 

Posted on

Internships Available

AriannaLast year Arianna Varuolo-Clarke, then a high school student, served as an intern with New York Interfaith Power & Light.

Now in her first year of college, she continues her work with us as a member of our Communications Committee. Here is a video she produced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Do you know a student who is looking for an internship or an opportunity to do a special project? NYIPL has fun, challenging, and rewarding opportunities available. Call Janna at 315-256-0078 to learn more.

Posted on

Over 1000 Congregations Preached-In

This past weekend, more than 1000 congregations nationwide participated in our Preach-In on Global Warming. People of faith all across the country heard the message that climate change is a moral issue.

“In the face of potentially catastrophic climate change, it is crucial that religious leaders engage their faith communities in conversation about our religious obligation to protect the earth,” said Rabbi Linda Motzkin, who serves Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs and also sits on the board of New York Interfaith Power and Light.

“The annual Preach-In is an opportunity for many congregations that never hear about climate change to become aware of the dangers we face and the need to take action,” said Sister Mary Ann Garisto, a Sister of Charity who serves on New York Interfaith Power and Light’s board. “As Christians and as people of faith we must realize that it is a moral issue, and we need to be concerned about what’s happening to our earth,” she said.

In addition to hearing sermons and participating in discussions on climate change, congregations sent tens of thousands of valentines to President Obama asking him to “love the earth” and to keep his promise to have an impact on climate change.

 

Posted on

Speak Out Against Hydrofracking Now!

Hydraulic-FrackingBarnettShaleDrilling-e1320158260740Governor Cuomo issued NY State regulations on high-volume hydraulic fracturing in preparation for the possibility that the state will go ahead with this form of drilling of gas wells next year.  A 30-day period for public comment began on December 12.  Public comment is hindered by the sloppy way the regulations are presented and, more seriously, by the fact that the review by health experts was not yet completed and incorporated.

You may comment directly on the Department of Environmental Conservation website.

If you are uncertain what to say about particular regulations, help is available on a website produced by Sandra Steingraber, in association with a long list of grassroots organizations in New York State.  Their campaign, based on the Advent calendar concept, seeks 30 comments in 30 days from each participant in order to flood the DEC with public concern about fracking. Each day Sandra comments on one regulation in her lucid style, with links to the scientific support.

New York Interfaith Power and Light also has a position statement you are free to refer to as you contemplate your own comments.

Posted on

Choosing Your Climate Words Carefully

“Global warming” is an accurate but sometimes misleading term.  The seemingly slight increase in average temperatures at the surface of the earth’s land and oceans that is occurring can produce large changes in flows of air and water currents that lead to “global climate change, “ which is a neutral term for what is already going on world-wide.  “Warming” sounds a little too cozy.  Who among us New Yorkers wouldn’t want to be less chilly after all – unless, of course some of those climate changes include droughts in some places and floods in others.

Words matter, as those of us who write or preach know. We often like to use the newer term “climate instability” or “catastrophic climate change.” The truth of the matter is that changes in ocean currents or the melting of permafrost that leads to large releases of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, may push us over a tipping point to sudden climate disasters, the timing of which is unpredictable.

A more serious misnomer is the term “fossil fuel,” Calvin DeWitt, Emeritus Professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, writes in the September-October issue of Sojourners magazine.  Earth is sustained as a habitable abode by a great longstanding natural system of carbon sequestration, whereby plants through photosynthesis took carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stored it as peat, coal, natural gas, and petroleum.

If we use the term “fossil carbon” instead of “fossil fuel”, we recognize that, as DeWitt writes, “…carbon is much more than fuel: It’s the backbone of all life, a major atmospheric regulator of Earth’s climate, and a moderator of the acidity of the world’s oceans. Burning Earth’s great system of carbon sequestration is disastrous for the biospheric economy—and therefore for our own.”

If we consciously replace the term “fossil fuel” with “fossil carbon,” we may be more careful in how we treat it.

Posted on

Book Review: Almost Amish by Nancy Sleeth

Almost Amish CoverThis latest effort by Nancy Sleeth, author of Go Green, Save Green, provides and excellent path to the melding of one’s Christian faith and the stewardship of the world we live in.

Nancy has used the numerous examples of the Amish as a means through which we can simplify our lifestyle and in the process establish and strengthen our connection to God.   While many may view this as a step backward to the past, Nancy has made a great case through the examples of her own life of the numerous benefits to simplification.

Almost Amish provides many points for all of us to ponder on how today’s lifestyles are making us busy, but at a cost of losing our relationships to God, family, friends and community.  The book will make you question what you are truly seeking from life.  The book is very much about establishing covenantal relationships and the placing of God and community above self.

I highly recommend this book to those who not only want to preserve and protect the world we live in, but to those who would weave the elements of their Christian Faith into the life they live.

Thanks to Nancy and her daughter Emma, for enabling me to review this book.

Review by Ed Bennett

Posted on

Huguenot Church Installs Geothermal Energy System

Huguenot Church in Pelham, New York has taken their commitment to the environment to a new level; they have decided to install a geothermal energy system in their 135-year-old church, taking a major step toward independence from fossil fuels.

Going to geothermal power is a dramatic move, but Elysa Hammond, an elder at Huguenot Church and co-leader of their environmental stewardship initiative, said that this is just the most recent step in years of making changes.

One of the first seeds of “climate awareness” was planted in 2004 when a speaker from New York Interfaith Power & Light spoke at Huguenot, discussing the reasons why people of faith need to care about climate change.  That presentation led to Huguenot’s membership in NYIPL and to their church building’s first energy audit.

Then the congregation showed An Inconvenient Truth to a full house, and brought in other experts on global warming including an environmental economist, a journalist from National Geographic, and a theologian.  Increasingly their congregation began to believe that addressing climate change was “the right thing to do.”

From there, they began taking concrete steps such as switching out incandescent light bulbs for compact florescent ones, placing recycling bins throughout the building, and reducing their use of disposable dishes at social events. When presented with routine maintenance needs or investments in furniture, carpets and flooring, they began to seek out the use of more sustainable materials. With each decision they would ask themselves, “Is this compatible with our mission?”

The geothermal plan began to take shape two years ago when a few things happened that necessitated –and inspired– change. First, another congregation that had been sharing the space and maintenance costs found their own church building and left. Then, Huguenot began to have difficulty with their oil-based heating system, and they decided that it must be replaced.

Huguenot’s minister, who is very committed to the environment, and other leadership decided to hold a retreat to “re-imagine” their building space so that it would support the whole ministry of the church, which includes a pre-school, several youth groups, multiple choirs and other community organizations.

After much discussion at the retreat, they decided that the wisest energy choice, given their long-term commitment to remain in the building and community, would be geothermal. One advantage is that it provides year-round heating and cooling. When they looked at the positive impact this would have on their annual utility bills, “the payback was huge.”

They named their fundraising campaign “Sustainable Huguenot” because geothermal power is not only a renewable source of energy where the planet is concerned, but also investing in geothermal energy would lead to a long-term reduction in energy payments, increasing the financial sustainability of the congregation. It will take at least fifteen years to make their money back, but in the life of this 135-year-old church which plans on being around for another 100 years, fifteen years is an investment that makes sense.

Huguenot’s campaign has been blessed with a wonderfully diverse group of people who are helping to make this dream a reality including church leaders with professional backgrounds in architecture, finance, engineering and environmental science.

Jeff Marcks, who led the capital campaign, mentions that congregations might consider using their own endowments to finance such projects. Huguenot did this, and is paying back into their endowment as contributions for the capital campaign come in.

Marcks says that one thing that helped Huguenot achieve their goal is that the leadership and congregation share a common vision to make the building and its management consistent with their mission as a church. Huguenot is deeply committed to being a good steward of their natural resources. They also know that the money saved on utility bills can be put to use in more positive ways.  Hammond offers these words of encouragement: “It takes time to arrive at a decision like this,” she says, “but looking back I can see how our small steps in environmental education and action have added up. We hope our story will encourage others to consider this path.”

Posted on

POSITION STATEMENT: 2012 Solar Jobs Bill

Statement: New York Interfaith Power and Light strongly supports the New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act of 2012.  The bill will position New York as a renewable energy leader by establishing a sustainable market for solar energy development.  Increasing New York’s reliance on solar energy will provide a hedge against volatile fossil fuel prices, reduce peak demand, improve the quality of the air we breathe, and drive economic development across the state.

The legislation draws from and improves upon successful models in other states, and supports a broad diversity of business models, customer types and technologies in order to ensure market growth in all market sectors.  The bill creates the long-term certainty necessary for solar investment, while continuously driving lower-cost installations.  And since solar creates more jobs per MW than any other power source (on a capacity basis), it’s an excellent driver of local economic development.  Over the course of the program, the proposed policy will create jobs across a wide spectrum of professions, ranging from business managers and salespeople to engineers, installers and electricians.  With an established local market, New York will have the opportunity build a manufacturing base, and play a leadership role in this important energy resource of the future.

Solar is well matched to New York’s power needs, as its highest production comes in the summer when the state needs power the most.  This correlation to system peak means that an investment in solar reduces the need for the most expensive, and often most polluting, electricity generation supply.  In addition, solar energy’s modularity means that it can be sited within congested distribution networks, saving on electric line network upgrades and reducing the need for new transmission.

Jumpstarting the solar industry in New York will have a gross impact of less than 1 percent to total statewide spending on electricity—and that’s not counting the benefits of transitioning from volatile, polluting fossil fuels to fuel-free renewable resources.  It’s a small price to pay to start saving with the sun.

This bill will create new jobs, increase energy independence, reduce global warming pollution, and improve electricity system reliability.  It’s what New York needs, and we strongly urge its immediate passage.

NYIPL: New York Interfaith Power & Light is a faith-based non-profit organization that serves the state of New York.  Our mission is to support congregations of all faiths in their actions to curb global warming and protect the sacredness of the earth. We currently have 80 member congregations, and regularly communicate with 2000 people via our email list.

We are part of a national network of congregations of all faiths concerned about the effects of global warming and power plant pollution.

Contact: Janna Stieg Watkins, NYIPL Executive Director (315) 256-0078