With free, unbiased information and technical support from ENERGY STAR, your congregation can more easily improve stewardship of your budget’s energy dollars and of the earth.
If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.Texas Catholic Conference Earth Day Column
Texas Catholic Conference Associate Director Jennifer Carr Allmon gives a Catholic perspective for Earth Month in the newest edition of Capitol Comments, TCC's online newsletter.
Protect Creation and Care for the Poor
Earth Day, 2010: Let's Celebrate
This year marks Earth Day’s 40th birthday, and Texas Impact staff will be at events throughout the state in April to celebrate! Listed below are some of the events that we plan to attend and we hope you will stop by to say hello. We’ll have information and resources on hand to help you and your congregation better care for creation. We'll also have a friendly Texas smile waiting for you.
Here’s a fun idea for celebrating Earth Day: look through your old pictures of outdoor fun in Texas and send us a copy of your favorite photo for our Deep In My Heart Project. We’re receiving some really great pictures of Texas and Texans, and can’t wait to see yours. The photos will be displayed in the Capitol building for the start of the 2011 legislative session as a tangible reminder of our love for this part of creation.
Upcoming Events:
Weigh in on the Austin Climate Protection Plan
Hey Austin, the City's Climate Protection Team wants you to "bang the table" at their new online community forum. Help guide the decisions that will help Austin meet its climate protection goals at http://bangthetable.com/austinclimate?module=forum
Coming Soon to North Texas Homes: Solar Leases
Residents of North Texas will soon have a new option to install PV solar panels on their homes without paying thousands of dollars up-front for installation! TXU and Solar City have teamed up to provide a plan whereby homeowners lease solar panels for 15 years. The program provides many of the benefits of PV solar – including greater climate stewardship, security against volatile electricity prices, and stimulating growth of the green energy economy in Texas – without the daunting up-front costs of purchasing and installing the panels.
Unfortunately, with the way the plan is structured now, it is not available for houses of worship or other nonprofits. If your house of worship is interested in installing a PV solar array, be sure to read the Texas Impact/ Texas Interfaith Power & Light publication Going Solar: A Congregational Guide to Photovoltaic Solar Energy!
National Preach-In on Global Warming
This February, join with clergy across the country in calling for more love for the planet! Interfaith Power and Light invites faith leaders to preach about global warming on Valentine’s Day weekend, February 13-14, 2010. When you sign up online, you will receive lectionary resources and sample sermons to help you prepare. Resources will be available for a number of different faith traditions.
Registered congregations will also receive Valentine’s Day postcards for members to send in to Senators, encouraging them to love their neighbors by passing a strong climate bill this year. Click here to get more information and to register for the national preach-in.
Copenhagen 101
OVERVIEW
The Copenhagen Negotiations in Denmark, December 7 – 18 of 2009, are the most significant climate change talks since the 1997 meeting that led to the Kyoto Protocol. Preparatory meetings started two years ago. The conference has the potential to produce a roadmap to reduce the damage caused by global climate change for decades to come. However, while the 192 countries present at the conference largely agree on the destination, the hardest part will be agreeing on how to get there. The terms of the Kyoto Protocol run out in 2012; unless an agreement is forged at Copenhagen there will be no plan to cut global warming pollution or to help vulnerable countries work with developed countries on this shared threat.
HISTORY
Medina to go green
Medina will be the first Islamic city to go green, the Grand Mufti of Egypt has announced, as part of a seven year plan to make the religion more environmentally friendly.
First Baptist Church of Dallas Wins EPA Energy Star Award for Energy Savings
(via ENERGY STAR Congregations Network E-Update)
This year, four congregations deserve congratulations and the spotlight for earning a 2009 ENERGY STAR Congregations Award in the annual nationwide competition. Winners are recognized for doing their part to save energy and fight climate change through effective energy management practices and innovative efficiency solutions.
Together, these award winning organizations reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from the average electricity use of nearly 1000 homes for one year and saved more than $700,000 in annual energy costs.
Austin Resident and Deep Conversion Founder Wins Care for Creation Sermon Award
Austin resident and Deep Conversion Communications founder, Elizabeth Freese, won the Franciscan Philanthropist Award in Earth Ministry’s national Care for Creation Sermon Contest, held at University Lutheran Church in Seattle on September 27, 2009. Freese's sermon, "The Irresistable Sustainable Future," generated the greatest donations at the fundraising event. The full press release is available on the Deep Conversation Communications website.
Take the St. Francis Pledge through the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
Feast of St. Francis Is Opportunity to Promote Action on Climate Change
The Franciscan Action Network (FAN) and the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change are encouraging Catholics to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis this October 4th by taking the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor.
Click here for resources, including a bulletin insert, poster, prayers, homily suggestions, quotes from the Pope and the Church on climate change, and clip art.
Click here to sign up for a free webinar to learn more about a Catholic approach to climate change. The webinar, called “Care for Creation National Web Summit,” will be offered by FAN on October 15 (8-10 p.m. eastern time) as a free live webcast of streaming video.
Click here to take the St. Francis Pledge and to get more information about how you can get involved.
What do you love most about Texas? The stars at night? The sage in bloom? The prairie sky?
The Austin Community Climate Protection Plan, which aims to make Austin the leading city in the nation in the fight against climate change, has created a Carbon Footprint Calculator which can be used anywhere in the state. Carbon dioxide (CO2), and other greenhouse gases, can have a profound effect on the climate. The first step in decreasing this impact and protecting our climate is to know your carbon footprint.