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Faith Based Climate Action 9/9/23

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Faith-based Climate Action Team

  • Business meetings: 1st, 2nd, & 4th Thursdays, 7:00 to 8:15 PM, by Zoom at <Link> 
  • Interfaith Green-teams business meeting: 3rd Thursday, 7:00 to 8:00 PM, by Zoom at <Link>
  • Informal social meeting: 5th Thursday, 7:00 to 8:00 PM, by Zoom at <Link>  

All are invited and encouraged to participate. Contact:Jed Irvine <jedirv@gmail.com> or Michael Hughes <michael.a.hughes1951@gmail.com>

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni: Nearly 1 Million Acres of Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Safeguarded

National Park Service Awards Over $603,000 to Indian Country and Native Hawaiian Organizations

After Decades Of Oil Drilling, Indigenous Waorani Group Fights New Industry Expansions In Ecuador

Tribe getting piece of Minnesota back more than a century after ancestors died there

Philippines: Indigenous knowledge takes on climate crisis

Sustainability push: Pacific Northwest to take a green turn in potato farming

Producers  protecting and restoring our lands

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing EV markets. This is why

On the last day of winter, Australia reached record 37.5 pct renewables share for the year 

Electrify America begins operations at 75MW ‘Solar Glow 1’ site

EU fossil fuel burning for electricity fell to lowest on record in 2023, data shows

Coal Stabbed In The Back Again By New Floating Solar Array 

Striking Gold – A Molecular Mystery Solution for Potential Clean Energy

Powered by wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam 

Philippines’ Largest Inland Lake To Host Large-Scale Floating Solar Projects Producing Up To 1,800MW 

U.S. Solar Panel Shipments Increased 10% Last Year

Toothpaste Tubes Are a Hot Mess—Here’s the Eco-Friendly Alternative We Love

There is no more important climate work than the influencing of legislation and policy, whether at the national, state, or local level. Climate Action Opportunities, refreshed weekly on Saturdays, provides three or four curated, quick opportunities to do just that.

To help assess the engagement of UUFC members and friends in faith-based climate action and to encourage such action, please anonymously  <Share> the number of the actions below you take this week. Optionally, you may  anonymously also share other recent climate action. 

The organizations whose calls to action we amplify, and the number from each organization, are listed <here>

Sat 9 Sep

EarthJustice

Steel-mill Emissions: The 10 steel mills operating in the U.S. release more than 500 tons of toxic metals into the air each year. Despite the need for stronger protections, the EPA has proposed a weak rule to regulate those emissions. Urge EPA to strengthen the rule

Native Organizers Alliance

Block new oil & gas leases: President Biden has committed to honor Tribal treaties and recognize nation-to-nation relationships with Tribes, but he has undermined his promises by approving harmful fossil fuel projects despite Indigenous opposition. Using his current authority, President Biden can block new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, and deny federal permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines.  Start Writing

Sierra Club

Oregon State Forests: Oregon’s Board of Forestry will soon decide the fate of a long-awaited Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to manage state forests. It is  important for the Board to hear from Oregonians who value healthy forests, strong salmon runs, clean water, recreation, and climate resilience! Take Action

UUs for Social Justice

Climate-Smart Farm Bill: The 2023 Farm Bill presents an important opportunity to create a food and agricultural system that provides healthy food for all while helping to avoid a climate crisis and improving equity for consumers and producers. A climate-smart farm bill can achieve many important goals: protecting soil fertility, improving water quality, helping farmers cope with extreme weather, and saving energy.  Tell Your Senators

Of Note This Week is a source for current climate-change information at the local, state, and national levels.  It is refreshed weekly on Saturday.

Sat 9 Sep

Cosmos

Climate change is messing with photosynthesis

IEEE Spectrum

African Hydropower Confronts Cheap Solar and Wind

Inside Climate News

Green Groups Are Divided Over a Proposal to Boost the Nation’s Hydropower. Here’s Why

Katharine Hayhoe

Weekly Newsletter, 9/2/23

Politico

How the power grid survived a hot, hot summer

Popular Science

What’s the most sustainable way to mine the largest known lithium deposit in the world?

SciTechDaily

Climate Change’s Deadly Legacy: How Rising Temperatures Fueled Ancient Aggression

The Conversation

Research reveals who’s been hit hardest by global warming in their lifetime – and the answer may surprise you

The Guardian

Anger is most powerful emotion by far for spurring climate action, study finds

Tue 12 Sep, 4:00 PM, online

Clean Energy Revolution: What’s the Next Big Step? It’s been one year since President Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act, an unprecedented investment into clean energy. Since the signing, over 211 clean energy projects have been announced across 38 states—a true clean energy revolution! Or so we’re hoping. So far, countless clean energy projects have faced challenges with grid transmission, interconnection, and siting. The clean energy revolution is at risk of being stopped right in its tracks. At this webinar you’ll hear from experts on the most impactful policies for responsible transmission, interconnection, and siting reforms. Register

Thu 14 Sep, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Corvallis-Benton Co.Public Library 

“GROWING A VEGETABLE GARDEN” LECTURE SERIES

Shonnard’s nursery manager/educator Darren Morgan on how to tend your garden soil, from soil testing and amending to cover crops, mulch and other methods of covering for nutrients, controlling weed growth, and allowing earlier spring planting. 

Sun 17 Sep, 2:00 -4:00 PM, Central Park Gazebo

Local rally to support the NYC March to End Fossil Fuels, prior to the Sept. 20th UN Climate Ambition Summit, urging world leaders to commit to phasing out fossil fuels.  Our house is on fire! All hands on deck!! Join the bucket brigade to muster climate action and nurture hope. Speakers, music, skits, chants, art, and tabling info by climate groups.  Please walk, bike, bus, scoot, or carpool to the rally.

Sun 17 Sep,  5:45 – 7:15 PM, Natural Grocers, 1235 NW 10th Street

WHOLE FOOD PLANT-BASED POTLUCK   We are vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores who are attempting to eat and/or learn more about the health benefits of a WFPB diet. First time attendees do not need to bring a dish. RSVP for more details about this monthly potluck; usually the 3rd Sun. 

Wed 20 Sep, 7:00 – 8:30 AM, online

Eco-municipality Webinar 1:  Virtually visit the rural Arctic Circle, Swedish community, Overtornea, that was inspired to rise up from population loss and other hardships by taking an ecological and participative approach to economic revitalization. Join us to celebrate their 40 years and to learn about the evolution and ongoing success of the eco-municipality of Overtornea with the founder and leader of the Swedish Eco-Municipality Movement, Torbjorn Lahti, co-author of The Natural Step for Communities.  Register

Thu 21 Sep, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, Common Fields, 545 SW 3rd Street

INVASIVE ASH BORER AND AREA FORESTS   Ecology Pub Talk by Jennifer Killian, City of Corvallis Urban Forester, presenting information on the invasive Emerald Ash Borer and its impact on area forests. A portion of food/beverage sales benefits Marys River Watershed.

THUR 21 SEP 21, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Ave. Online option, contact: audubon.corvallis@gmail.com

“The importance of Fire in Ecosystem Restoration” Aaron Groth

Wed 18 Oct, 7:00 – 8:30 AM, online

Eco-municipality Webinar 2:  Virtually visit the eco-municipality of Karlskrona in the south of Sweden. Learn about the science-based framework of the Swedish network of ecomunicpalities, SEKOM, and the Karlskrona eco-municipality.  Register

Queerly Beloved September

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Join LGBTQ+ folx and allies for social gatherings centered on queer issues and themes. We understand the importance of queer community, and our goal is to provide a safe space where people can find that sense of belonging right here in Corvallis. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday in the afternoon. All are welcome! Questions: connect@uucorvallis.org

Movie Night

The next queerly beloved will be September 17th, 4pm-7pm! We will be watching The Prince, written by and starring Abigail Thorn the “trans princess of TERF Island”.

“The Prince is a transformative new play that has everything: sword fighting, lesbianism, Hamlet, and disappointed parents”

The play is 2 hours long, so those who want to stick around after for discussion are welcome to! Content warnings include language, misgendering, and stage fighting. I’d say its ~PG-13 mainly due to language. Feel free to bring snacks to share if that strikes your fancy 🙂

We will meet in Room 7 or on the Social Hall deck depending on weather and equipment logistics.

Hope to see you there! – Lily Hislop

Faith-Based Climate Action 8/26/23

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Tribal Clean Energy Programs Will Benefit From New Tax Credits

RFP – Geothermal development strategy in Lakeview, Oregon

The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think

LanzaTech: ‘We’re converting pollution into packaging’

Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund

Wind-powered cargo ship sets sail in a move to make shipping greener 

ClearVue releases results from first long-term study of clear solar glass

This Solar Farm in California Promises 225 GWh of Energy for EVs

Solar Up 20X, Fossil Fuel Use Down In California

University of Cincinnati founds School of Environmental and Sustainability Studies

MANUFACTURA AND LA METROPOLITANA USE 3D PRINTING TO TURN WASTE WOOD INTO SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURES

Bringing sustainable and affordable electricity to all

Growing The Geothermal Energy Workforce — 1st Cohort In US DOE’s INTERN Program

Colorado Adopts Its First Building Energy Performance Standard

If you have only 10 minutes this month to do something about climate change, you can still make a significant impact!  Join with thousands of Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) members and advocate for climate solution legislation.  CCL is specifically asking members of Congress to cosponsor the Increased TSP Access Act (S.1400/H.R.3036), which already has both Republican and Democratic support.

What is TSP Access and why is it relevant to climate change?   Farmers, ranchers, and forest-owners are on the front lines of climate change, and they can also play a large role in mitigating its effects through resilient and climate-smart practices.  We must make sure that farmers, ranchers, and forest-owners have access to the technical expertise they need to fully utilize agricultural and forestry conservation programs.     

Technical Service Providers (TSPs) are certified workers who help people understand and use federal climate-smart agriculture and conservation programs.  This bi-partisan bill would address the shortage of Technical Service Providers, making it easier for farmers and forest-owners to take advantage of federal conservation programs that keep their land resilient and healthy.

Take action now by writing a quick email to your members of Congress asking them to cosponsor.

There is no more important climate work than the influencing of legislation and policy, whether at the national, state, or local level. Climate Action Opportunities, refreshed weekly on Saturdays, provides three or four curated, quick opportunities to do just that.

To help assess the engagement of UUFC members and friends in faith-based climate action and to encourage such action, please anonymously  <Share> the number of the actions below you take this week. Optionally, you may  anonymously also share other recent climate action. 

The organizations whose calls to action we amplify, and the number from each organization, are listed <here>

Sat 26 Aug

Environment Oregon

Protect Kelp Forests:  America’s kelp forests provide crucial habitat for wildlife including seals, sea otters and octopuses. But warming oceans, pollution and unchecked populations of kelp-eating sea urchins are rapidly degrading these underwater forests. We’re calling on President Biden to conserve all of our country’s kelp forests. Send a message to the president 

Interfaith Power & Light

Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards: Passenger vehicles are a major contributor to climate pollution. This year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the opportunity to propose new federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for vehicles sold in 2027 and beyond.  Submit your comment to NHTSA 

Nature Conservancy

Conserve America’s Forests:  Catastrophic wildfires, pests and diseases are decimating forest land across the country.  Without stronger conservation policies and programs, we could lose even more.  Without healthy forests, the clean air and water, habitat, recreation and timber they provide is at risk. Their loss would be a massive blow to the economy and a setback in the fight to store carbon and keep climate change in check.  That’s why The Nature Conservancy is calling on Congress to support strong forest conservation programs in the upcoming Farm Bill. Email your U.S. Senators & Representative.

Tue 29 Aug, 1:00 PM, online  

Federal Clean Energy Funding:  Our UU  faith calls us to work to ensure the people most impacted by climate change benefit most from clean energy funds. Join Sylvia Chi, Just Solutions Collective; Sonia Kikeri, Emerald Cities Collaborative; Jamal Lewis, Rewiring America; and Miguel Yanez, Energy and Environmental Study Institute to learn how your congregation can put your faith into action to advance visionary approaches to clean energy funding with justice at the center. Register 

Thu 7 Sep, 4:00 – 5:30 PM, online

Inflation Reduction Act Resources to Help You Electrify Your Home:  

Interfaith Power and Light Webinar. Jamal Lewis, Director of Policy Partnerships and Equitable Electrification for Rewiring America, joins us for a conversation on electrification, what it looks like, and what federal resources are available to help you do it. Learn more about the incentives that will be available to help make your home healthier and more efficient.  Register 

Women’s Retreat 2023

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When: Friday, October 13, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 14th, 9:45 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Where: UUFC Building

Theme: Mindful Compassion

Keynote Speaker: Jana Svoboda

Cost: $50 (full and partial scholarships available, includes catered lunch and dinner on Saturday, snacks, and materials)

Register Here

To make payments online for the Women’s Retreat, go to the Online Collection Basket on the website. https://uucorvallis.org/welcome-to-the-online-collection-basket/

Select Give to 23-24 Operations, make a one time gift of $50 (or more if you’re also contributing to the Scholarship Fund), and write Women’s Retreat in the memo. 

For more information, email womensretreat@uucorvallis.org.

If you identify as a woman in a way that is significant for you, you are welcome to join us for our annual Women’s Retreat. We are pleased to have one of our own UUFC members as this year’s keynote speaker. 

Jana Svoboda is a long time Unitarian, mental health advocate, and lover of stories, the moon, and the natural and scientific worlds. She has difficulty with Marie Kondo’s secret of  decluttering as EVERYTHING GIVES HER JOY. She’s led professional and lay-public workshops on creativity, mental health, dealing with trauma and countless other topics, and given UU sermons on uncertainty, “the other”, and a UU lens on sin. She practices clinical social work in her cozy cluttered office downtown, with the help of a big purple couch and a teakettle, along with occasional use of props and crackerbox prizes for homework well done. In both her talks and her private practice, she considers her strengths to be making connections, staying curious, and bringing in lightheartedness to difficult times. You’ll gasp, you’ll giggle, you’ll groan, you’ll become wiser and more connected to yourself and each other, and you may even find yourself in 1980s op dress doing an impromptu funky chicken dance break out after the session. So come open-hearted and open-minded and let the wild ruckus begin!

Men’s Retreat 2023

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Registration Closed (contact Lloyd for more information).

The 19th Annual UUFC Men’s Retreat will be held this year from 5 PM Friday, November 3 through 1 PM Sunday, November 5.  This renewed annual event provides an opportunity for those who identify as men to develop and deepen relationships with other men associated with the UUFC Fellowship. It also provides a respite from our hectic lives, time for individual reflection, and an opportunity to learn and grow. We’ll meet at the Menucha Retreat Center overlooking the Columbia Gorge in Corbett (https://menucha.org). Through large and small groups, singing, solo time in nature, and play time in the evening, we’ll connect in deep and meaningful ways.  

Our theme this year is: Engagement: An exploration of how we connect and disconnect in our lives. We will explore how the cultural influences of the digital age, including email, social media and smart phones, while providing new connection opportunities can also pull us away from being attuned with ourselves, our families, and our communities. We will also delve into our histories, including our traumas and patterns of behavior, to better understand ourselves and our relationships, and to help clarify our values and commitments moving forward.

We’ll share more information in coming weeks. Attendance will be capped at 36, and we usually fill up, so register as early as you can. We hope to see you there.  

Shakespeare Outing

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Love’s Labour’s Lost

Friday, September 15, 2023 7:30 pm

See Rachel Kohler onstage in another rollicking Shakespearean production. Will she be in a wheelchair? That is a story for another time!

Buy tickets online: merelyplayersoregon.com

A group from UUFC are going to sit together. Contact Priscilla Galasso for more info.

Faith-Based Climate Action 8/19/23

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Good news is a powerful motivator  for action, &  there‘s lots of good news  about climate mitigation, adaptation/resilience, and justice. .

Indigenous knowledge holders share thousands of observations on the changing Arctic in a new study

U.S. to restore more bison herds on tribal lands by tapping Indigenous knowledge 

Including Native knowledge in climate science 

WHO to host first global workshop on biodiversity, traditional knowledge, health and well-being

Maxeon is going to open a 3 GW solar factory in New Mexico 

First Solar, the US’s largest solar panel maker, to spend $1.1B on its 5th factory

Mission Possible: Northeast Ohio business designs solution to wind industry’s turbine blade problem 

Advanced transmission technologies help U.S. utilities update the power grid

Could Reuse Be the Future of Wine Packaging?

Microsoft Agrees To 14 Ton SAF Purchase With IAG

How This Luxury Hotel Brand Is Making On-Site Events More Sustainable

UK homes install ‘record number’ of solar panels and heat pumps 

In effort to cut costs, remote Alaskan village turns to renewable energy

35-MW Menengai geothermal power plant, Kenya starts grid supply

France’s FloWatt sets the course for tidal energy growth

There is no more important climate work than the influencing of legislation and policy, whether at the national, state, or local level. Climate Action Opportunities, refreshed weekly on Saturdays, provides three or four curated, quick opportunities to do just that.

To help assess the engagement of UUFC members and friends in faith-based climate action and to encourage such action, please anonymously  <Share> the number of the actions below you take this week. Optionally, you may  anonymously also share other recent climate action. 

The organizations whose calls to action we amplify, and the number from each organization, are listed <here>

Sat 19 Aug

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Carbon price and dividend. Pricing carbon will drive energy innovation, giving every American community access to abundant, affordable clean energy at a predictable price. Email your members of Congress 

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Protect and strengthen our forests, food and agricultural systems. The bipartisan Increased TSP Access Act (S.1400/H.R.3036) has been introduced in the Senate and the House with bipartisan support. The act will (a) help farmers, ranchers and forest-owners access critical conservation programs, (b) empower producers to put climate-smart programs into practice on their own land. Email your members of Congress

EarthJustice

Keep pollution out of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs. We have long fought alongside the communities of Maui. Right now, we have an opportunity to support Maui residents in their decades-long effort to uphold the Clean Water Act. Since the 1980s, Maui County’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility has discharged millions of gallons of treated sewage into groundwater every day that reaches the coral reef off Kahekili Beach, an area traditionally called Hāʻenanui. In 2012, Earthjustice and our partners sued the county under the Clean Water Act to hold Maui County accountable for its pollution. Now we can finally do something about it. Message the Hawai’i State Dept. Of Health

Of Note This Week is a source for current climate-change information at the local, state, and national levels.  It is refreshed weekly on Saturday.

Politico

Article: Montana judge sides with youth in historic climate trial

The Conversation

Article: Indigenous knowledge is increasingly valued, but to fully respect it we need to decolonise science – here’s how

Yahoo!Finance

Article: Combining Genomic Insights and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon

Save the Date is your calendar of upcoming climate-related events and activities.

Thu 7 Sep, 4:00 – 5:30 PM, online

Inflation Reduction Act Resources to Help You Electrify Your Home

Interfaith Power and Light Webinar. Jamal Lewis, Director of Policy Partnerships and Equitable Electrification for Rewiring America, joins us for a conversation on electrification, what it looks like, and what federal resources are available to help you do it. Learn more about the incentives that will be available to help make your home healthier and more efficient.  Register 

Good News

Climate-action Opportunities

Of Note

Save the Date

Between Us (August 2023)

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Church attendance in the US has been in decline for decades.  A recent article by Isabel Fattal notes that this “great dechurching” seems to be driven to a small extent by a long history of corruption and abuse within religious organizations, but even more by current American culture and priorities.  According to Jake Meador, editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine “Mere Orthodoxy,” “contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care or common life.”

Here at the Fellowship, in May we approved a new Covenant of Right Relations which aims at precisely those values – the nurturing of mutuality, care and common life – including specific needed skills and practices, such as engaging respectfully, listening deeply and clarifying misunderstandings. Now we need to make that covenant real and alive, between us, by practicing these skills with each other as often as we can.

Beginning in September, our theme for the year will be “Building a New Way.”  So much within the Fellowship which was lost during the pandemic still needs to be rebuilt, and we can’t re-build structures that are now outdated. We have to pay close attention to  the negative effects of current American culture and priorities, plus the long-standing obstacles of patriarchy, racism, sexism and so much more, and do better. Here, between us in this congregation, we aim for better ways of being together, so that all may feel safe and respected as we each pursue the journey of a religious life.

Have you had a chance to meet someone new here this summer? Have you practiced listening deeply to someone else’s story, or clarifying a misunderstanding? August is a great time to do so, as is every other month! I don’t remember who said, “Be the change you wish to see,” but it’s still worth trying. May we reach out to each other with compassion and love.

Daily Practice: A Weekly Reminder

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Daily spiritual practice is a way to stay alert to how things truly are, to find sources of wisdom and strength, to let go of what does not serve us, and more.  Here is a new iteration of my daily practice writings – a once-a-week reminder to maintain your own practice. I’ll begin with a new version of a piece I wrote a few summers ago – it still has much to consider:

“We were talking about loss as we walked this morning. About changes in how we work and what is needed now and what to do with feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps these are just small feelings compared to losses of life and housing and jobs, losses of connections to others and daily support from friends and family, losses of habitat and species and wilderness in the world. Nevertheless, they are feelings which shape how we move into the day, and how we face all the other losses and changes.

I have great hope for the future because of how much is changing right now.  And I know for certain that these changes include many, many losses.  This too is part of my daily practice;  to name some of the losses of life and beauty and things I thought I could depend on.  To acknowledge the sorrow and fear, and the challenge of finding new ways to live.  As I breathe in and out,  I let these feelings be present. Sadness and joy move in me and around me, while the breath is steady. Life is moving and changing and also breathing through me in every moment – therefore I am moving and changing. I give thanks for another day given.”  

Sending love to you all – Jill

Rummage Sale

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Our Pop-up Parking Lot Rummage Sale is Saturday, September 16, 2023 from 10:00 – 1:00. Look now through your garage, closets, and shelves to find things to sell. We are not having a recycled gifts room at the Holiday Fair, so this is your best opportunity to donate items you no longer need to benefit the Fellowship. Sellers price their own items, monitor their tables, send buyers to the UUFC checkout, and take home anything not sold at the end. Easy-peasy and a fun social event too! Seller/Vendor Registration Link

Volunteers are needed for this event: people to bring tables and chairs from the building and set them up beforehand and take them down at the end, and at least 2 cashiers. Volunteer Registration Link

Contact Bonnie Morihara, moriharb@ wou.edu
or Judy Westlake, judywestlake@ comcast.net.