Climate Action Team

Climate Action Team (CAT) Newsletter📰

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The UUFC CAT newsletter contains good news, news of note, actions and solutions that can be undertaken, and upcoming dates or past recordings of climate-related concerns and events. Articles and announcements are curated or written by CAT members.

If you would like to subscribe to the free, twice per month e-mailed newsletter, send your name and email address to cat@uucorvallis.org or see Brian Lee. You may also read the articles without subscribing using the links on the Climate Action Team page.

Visit Climate Action Team Page

Fifth Annual Street-Tree Planting, 1/10

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On the morning of Sat. 10 Jan., UUFC, through the Climate Action Team, will do our fifth annual collaboration with the City of Corvallis to plant street trees. In the past, we have twice planted along NW Conifer Blvd and once each in Willamette and Avery Parks. This year we will plant eight deciduous trees along the north side of SE Goodnight Drive, between Collins Pl and Aldrin Pl.

We need a dozen volunteer tree planters, no prior skill or knowledge required. Please email treasurer@uucorvallis.org to sign up for a couple of hours of fellowship and righteous physical labor on the morning of Sat 10 Jan, rain or shine.

Childcare is available!

Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.

🐦Trick-or-Treat CAT Prize Winners🐦

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Those who visited the Climate Action Team table at the UUFC Trick-or-Treat last Sunday and answered a bird question received a chance to win a bird suet feeder + 2 suet cakes.
The winning ticket number is CAT 97.
Two runner-up numbers, CAT 730 and CAT 30, were also drawn and will each receive 3 packets of hot chocolate mix.
Please contact cat@uucorvallis.org or Brian Lee by Nov. 16th to claim your prize.

Fifth Annual Street-Tree Planting, 12/6

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On the morning of Sat. 6 Dec., UUFC, through the Climate Action Team, will do our fifth annual collaboration with the City of Corvallis to plant street trees. In the past, we have twice planted along NW Conifer Blvd and once each in Willamette and Avery Parks. This year we will plant eight deciduous trees along the north side of SE Goodnight Drive between Collins Pl and Aldrin Pl.

We need a dozen volunteer tree planters. Please email treasurer@uucorvallis.org to sign up for a couple of hours of fellowship and righteous physical labor on the morning of Sat 6 Dec, rain or shine.

Childcare is available!

Free childcare can usually be arranged for any Fellowship event by using this link 1-2 weeks prior to the event.

Faith-based climate action this week, 1/7/2024

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Good News

Climate-action Opportunities

Of Note

Save the Date

Climate Action Opportunities: We track (row 25) the number of clicks on the respond link for each suggested climate-action opportunity. The climate-action opportunity tracking results (an average of 3.4 clicks/opportunity) suggest this has not been an effective way to engage members/friends in climate action. Please consider committing the approx. 2 minutes per week needed and/or suggest ways to encourage and boost participation in this, our influence project.

Corvallis Sustainability Coalition: UUFC is a proud listed as one of the engaged partners of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, with Laura Craig as our representative.  There are multiple ways to get involved in the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition to help promote an ecologically, socially, and economically healthy city and county.  The Coalition’s annual meeting is this Wed, Jan 10, 4:30 – 6:00 PM, at the Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Ave.

Tree Planting: We still need volunteers to help plant ten (up from  our originally planned eight) trees in the islands in the Crystal Lake Playing Fields/Willamette Park parking lot, 10:00 AM to Noon, Sat 20 Jan. This is our third year of collaborative tree planting with the City’s Urban Forestry Program. Questions and/or to volunteer, email Michael Hughes with Subject Tree Planting.

Carpooling to Sunday Service: You’re invited to join the UUFC carpool group at Gomates. Questions: email Scott Bruslind

Cheers, Michael

The one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.

Greta Thunberg

Climate Action Opportunities 10/29

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From the Climate Action Team:

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. We have a list of organizations whose calls to action we amplify, and the number from each organization.

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 using this Climate Action Form. Optionally, you may  anonymously also share other recent climate action. 

Sat 28 Oct

Columbia Riverkeeper

GTN Xpress Project: On 10/19/23, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized a huge expansion of fracked gas in the Northwest. Grassroots organizations, community groups, Tribal nations, and dozens of elected officials across the Northwest are joining forces to push back on FERC’s approval of GTN Xpress, a proposal by TC Energy to push more gas through its aging GTN pipeline.  Our coalition is going to challenge FERC’s decision to approve the GTN Xpress project.  Sign the petition to challenge FERC’s decision. 

Environment Oregon

Single Use Packaging: Walmart is America’s largest grocer by revenue — but far too many shoppers are coming home with a pile of single-use plastic packaging that they didn’t ask for. Too often, this plastic packaging ends up as waste, clogging landfills and polluting the environment. Walmart can change its packaging practices and set a precedent for others to follow.  Add your name to Urge Walmart to put wildlife over waste

Interfaith Power & Light

Western Arctic drilling: Oil companies are pushing for more drilling in the fragile Western Arctic landscape. .As people of faith, we have a moral responsibility to care for our Sacred Earth. We must ensure these irreplaceable landscapes are free from destructive oil and gas development. Tell the Bureau of Land Management: No drilling in the Arctic.

Influence Project

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The UUFC Climate Action Team’s (CAT) goals for 2023-24 include: Encourage, support, and provide opportunities for members and friends to engage in solutions-focused climate action.  CAT classifies solutions-focussed climate action in two broad domains: 

  1. Reducing and taking responsibility for personal emissions
  2. Influencing: 
  • National, state, and local legislation and policy
  • Corporate action

Action in both domains is essential to (a) mitigate climate change, (b) adapt and build resilience, and (c) and secure justice for those most impacted but  least responsible for climate change.  CAT suggests there is positive feedback between the two.  Working to reduce emissions increases the likelihood of working to influence legislation, policy, and corporations.  And vice versa.  

Each week, we respond to three, occasionally four, curated weekly actions to influence legislation, policy, and/or corporations.  This includes signing petitions, sending letters, and, occasionally, making phone calls.  The actions support the work of climate-action groups with the highest reputations.  These  weekly actions take about 5 minutes to complete.

The action opportunities are included in the Faith-based Climate Action posting in the Weekly Announcements and on the UUFC website.   Also, participants  can sign up to receive the weekly action opportunities via the once-per-week, Saturday email CATweek.

You are invited and encouraged to sign up here 

to participate in the Influence Project.

Questions: michael.a.hughes1951@gmail.com

Towards Net Zero

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The UUFC Climate Action Team’s (CAT) goals for 2023-24 include: Encourage, support, and provide opportunities for members and friends to engage in solutions-focused climate action.  CAT classifies solutions-focussed climate action in two broad domains: 

  1. Reducing and taking responsibility for personal emissions
  2. Influencing: 
  • National, state, and local legislation and policy
  • Corporate action

Action in both domains is essential to (a) mitigate climate change, (b) adapt and build resilience, and (c) and secure justice for those most impacted but  least responsible for climate change.  CAT suggests there is positive feedback between the two.  Working to reduce emissions increases the likelihood of working to influence legislation, policy, and corporations.  And vice versa.  

In the first step to reducing and taking responsibility for our carbon emissions, we track our use of fossil (natural) gas, purchased electricity, gasoline and/or diesel, and flights taken and calculate the resulting emission. (This spreadsheet can be downloaded and used to track use and calculate emissions.)  Tracking fossil-fuel use takes less than 10 min per month.

Resources:

  1. Download spreadsheet to track use and calculate emissions (Help available)
  2. Reduce emissions: Science News, The Guardian, World Wildlife Fund,
  3. Take responsibility for residual emissions

You are invited and encouraged to sign up here to participate in the Towards Net Zero Project.

Questions: michael.a.hughes1951@gmail.com