Category: Articles

In an editorial, the National Catholic Reporter stated that “The Catholic church should become a major player in educating the public to the scientific data [about climate change] and in motivating people to act for change.”

The Pope, in a speech following a six-day conference on climate change and sustainability at the Vatican, said “…when we exploit Creation we destroy the sign of God’s love for us.”

Over more than two decades, thousands of New Yorkers have participated in Earth Day Lobby Day – and we want you to join us for this year’s event!

On May 5, for the 24th year in a row, members of NYIPL and our partners in the environmental community will descend on the state Capitol in Albany to advocate for environmental protections.

Register by April 30^th by emailing jswatkins@nyipl.org or calling (315) 256-0078.

It’s the personal and direct advocacy Earth Day Lobby Day provides that has helped keep fracking at bay, updated New York’s bottle recycling law, protected habitats statewide, advanced renewable energy and green jobs, and much more!

The 2014 agenda includes:

• Child Safe Products Act
• Climate Change
• Fracking Moratorium
• Toxic Waste Cleanups
• GMO Labeling

Politicians have a way of saying one thing to constituents each election year, but doing another once inside Capitol doors. Let’s open those doors to the public and make this Earth Day Lobby Day another great success – register now by emailing jswatkins@nyipl.org or calling (315) 256-0078.

by Rev. Jacob Bolton

Over the midwinter school break, Huguenot Memorial Church in Pelham, New York, held a three-day eco workshop with youth. We screened the film Chasing Ice and learned about global warming; assessed our own eco-footprint and conducted a full eco and energy audit of all properties the church owns including office and worship space, a nursery school, gymnasium and two residences.  Although Huguenot Church now heats and cools the entire church building with geothermal energy, and we’ve achieved recognition as an Earth Care Congregation and, we still found plenty of opportunities to reduce our impacts.  In addition, we’re taking our experience to other faith communities to help them conduct an eco-audit too.

“My favorite part was the waste audit,” said youth participant Thomas Horowitz.  “People threw away so much paper that should have been recycled.”

“If we had better signs and clustered our garbage and recycling bins, it would be easier for people to just put the paper where it should go,” Thomas’s brother Robert noted.

Some of the post audit recommendations included the installation of interior light sensory timers, further expansion of the composting system, turning off large refrigerators when not in use, claiming the parking lot as an “idle free” zone, and enhancing the church green space by fabricating bird houses and creating wildlife habitat.

“There are all kinds of birds all over our town,” said Ben Jones. “Let’s make this their home too.”

Rev. Jacob Bolton is Associate Pastor Huguenot Memorial Church and a graduate of the GreenFaith program.

Additional resources:

• Ecological Footprint. Learn more about the science of ecological footprinting. Did you know that if everyone lived like the average American, we would need five planets to support the world’s population.
• Geothermal heat pumps: Learn more about heating and cooling using the constant temperature of the earth.  Find out about economic incentives in New York.

If you would like to share your congregation’s “green” news, please call (315) 256-0078 or email jswatkins@nyipl.org.

We want to hear from you!

Earth Day is right around the corner. Here is a list of things you can do to call attention to climate change:

• Hold a worship service around climate change. Sample sermons and other materials can be found here www.preachin.org
• Show the film “Chasing Ice.” Get a license to screen the film online here http://www.preachin.org/sermons-by-faith/chasing-ice/, or If you need a physical copy of the film, (or if you have a copy of the film to share) call (315) 256-0078.
• Attend Earth Day Lobby Day – this will be held in Albany on May 5th. No lobbying experience needed! Come talk to your state Assembly Members and Senators about climate change and hydrofracking. Call (315) 256-0078 for more information
• Add your name to a full-page ad on climate change that will appear on Earth Day in the Syracuse Post Standard. www.greeningusa.org/climate-change-action
• Climate Action Across America: From April 21st to 25th citizens across the country are asked to speak up as part of “Climate Action Across America.” If you can, please try to meet with your Member of Congress or Senators (or their staff) during this week.

The annual ‘Green Khutbah Campaign’ is Friday, April 18 2014, in advance of Earth Day 2014.  The organizers of this event invite Muslims to devote their Friday Khutbah on this day to acknowledge the blessings, graces and beauty of all of Allah’s creation and to raise awareness on the environmental challenges facing humanity.  Please visit the website where you can sign up, get more information and find links to resources.

Two of the most respected scientific organizations worldwide, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), recently released reports that warn of dire consequences for people and the environment across the globe if we don’t make significant changes very soon.  These reports show that climate change is already here and generating negative impacts on every continent.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has come out with a new initiative, entitled “What We Know” focused on raising awareness across the U.S. about the need to take action on climate.  Check out their informative webpage, along with numerous videos. (We especially like Brake for Climate.)

The AAAS warns that as global temperatures rise, there is a real risk that parts of the Earth’s climate system will experience abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes.  These scientists are now recognizing the social and moral responsibility they have to raise awareness about what we already know and the need to act now.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published a draft of a new report urging the world community and governments to make significant changes soon, if we are to keep the average global temperature from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius.  The global scientific community agrees that we should not exceed this 2 degree Celsius number, yet we are on track to warm the earth by an average of more than 4 degrees.

Take a bite out of global warming: Go meatless once a week

How much do you know about the link between meat and climate change? Here’s a great resource:  The Environmental Working Group’s “Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health.”

Eating less meat is one simple way you and your community can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

Did you know that if everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would be like not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million cars off the road?

By eating less meat, especially from livestock raised in concentrated animal feedlot operations, you can help reduce the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions generated by our industrial food system. Reducing meat consumption helps the environment in other ways including a reduction in the use of water, and the use of toxic pesticides used to raise the corn and soybeans fed to livestock.

Learn more at the Environmental Working Group.