Living the Change - Food

Week 4:  Committing to Sustainable Food - Offering someone a meal is an act of hospitality, rooted in love and compassion.  Join TxIPL in extending hospitality to all of God's creation by Committing to Sustainable Food. 

Week 3:  Tackling the Elephant in the Room - How do we respond to climate change when we are Texans who love barbecue and are people of faith who love God's creation?  We reconcile these facts by tackling the elephant in the room. 

Week 2:  Making Food Choices - Eating sustainably includes making food choices that treat food as a gift of God's creation.   

Week 1:  Eliminating Food Waste - Wasted food means wasted energy and unnecessary carbon emissions.  Eliminating food waste is a critical step in sustainable food comsumption. 

Living the Change is a multifaith journey to sustainable use of transportation, energy, and food.  These three areas were selected based on a recent study that shows they have “the potential to contribute to systematic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions” of greenhouse gases.  During the past two months, TxIPL committed to sustainable transportation and energy.  This month TxIPL looks at the sustainable consumption of food.   

Our food has a lifecycle that starts with agricultural crop and livestock production.  It then goes through stages of transportation, storage, processing, refrigeration, and/or waste disposal, depending on the food type.  All food has agricultural sources of greenhouse gases.  In addition, the stages within the food lifecycle generate greenhouse gases by using electricity or fuel.  Globally, agriculture and food production are the source of over 25% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports food production comprised approximately 15.7 percent of the U.S. energy consumption in 2007.  The report shows the per capita energy consumption, and the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions, of the food industry increasing at a rate that exceeds population growth, due to people eating more food, eating out more frequently, and eating more processed food, as represented by “beverages, sweets, oils, and other” in the following chart of greenhouse gas emissions from the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. 

For people of faith, food is more than daily sustenance.  Food represents hospitality.  It’s central to many religious practices.  We’re commanded to feed the hungry.  We’re cautioned to not be a glutton and to care for the bodies God has given us.  This month we pray, reflect, and meditate on the food choices we make and their impact on our lives, the lives of others, and the life of God’s creation.      

“Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fatted calf with hatred."  Proverbs 15:17  (NIV translation) 

Living the Change - Energy

Week 4:  Committing to Sustainable Energy - Changing how we use and where we get electricity is a two-step dance.   Join TxIPL in Committing to Sustainable Energy, for the sake of the climate, the human family, and the community of life.

Week 3:  Reducing Electricity Use - This week we reflect on our desire and willingness to reduce electricity use.  

Week 2:  Taking Stock - Part of the sustainable use of electricity is taking stock of the amount of electricity we use and the ways we use it.    

Week 1:  Starting at the Source - As religious people, we must start at the source of our electricity, to make faithful decisions about our energy use.  

Living the Change is a multifaith journey to sustainable use of transportation, energy, and food.  These three areas were selected based on a recent study that shows they have “the potential to contribute to systematic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions” of greenhouse gases.  Last month TxIPL committed to changes in transportation.  This month TxIPL invites you to continue the journey to sustainable living, by looking at energy use, specifically electricity.    

The mean annual temperature of Texas has increased by approximately 1°F since the first half of the 20th century.  Last year was second only to 2012 for highest average annual temperature in Texas.  June 2018 was the third hottest June on record, and July is turning out to be hot, too.  Because of the heat, Texas set records for electricity usage on July 18 and 19, 2018.  As temperatures increase, so too does the population of Texas.  More people running more air conditioning means we’re caught in an unsustainable cycle.  Air conditioning combats the heat inside, but it increases the heat island effect in our cities and generates greenhouse gases, which cause the climate to get hotter.  For our own well-being, we have to find a more sustainable way.    

During the recent electricity usage records, residential customers accounted for almost half of the peak demand, even though the records were set on business days.  This means each of us has a role in the problem and a role in the solution.  It’s going to take an intentional effort to break the cycle, and intentionality is where people of faith shine.  Our religious teachings and beliefs give purpose to our efforts and can motivate us to transform our lives.  Journey with TxIPL over the next month, as we rely on our faith to help us change our energy habits.  Look to this page for weekly steps on the journey. 

“…individual commitments and behaviors are as important in addressing climate change as they are in addressing poverty, racism, and other grave social ills.”  - Walk on Earth Gently

Living the Change - Transportation

Week 4:  Committing to Sustainable Transportation - Changing transportation habits is a journey.  Join TxIPL in Committing to Sustainable Transportation for the sake of the climate, the human family, and the community of life.   

Week 3:  Considering Air Travel - As passenger miles increase each year, so too do the carbon emissions from aircraft.  Go to Considering Air Travel for reflections on what it means to reduce air travel.   

Week 2:  Exploring Options - After taking stock of where you drive the most miles, go to Exploring Options to consider transportation alternatives that reduce the miles you drive.

Week 1:  Taking Stock - To reduce the miles we drive in our car, we have to first know when, where, and why we drive.  Go to Taking Stock for tools to help you do this.

Living the Change is a multifaith journey to sustainable use of transportation, energy, and food.  These three areas were selected based on a recent study that shows they have “the potential to contribute to systematic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions” of greenhouse gases.  TxIPL invites you to take the Living the Change journey, starting with transportation. 

The high-impact, transportation choices needed to combat climate change will minimize the use of cars.  Doing so is particularly difficult in Texas, where urban sprawl has dominated development since the 1950s.  Texans of faith are uniquely qualified to lead this effort.  Religious teachings guide people to seek a greater good that is often counter to the world’s way.  Religious practices strengthen people to make tough choices and do difficult things.  Along the way, faith communities provide encouragement and companionship.  

To start this journey, spend quiet time reflecting on the Walk on Earth Gently invitation to a sustainable lifestyle.  Meditate or pray for Divine guidance in the ways you can transform your use of cars for the sake of the planet, the human family, and the community of life.

Look to this page for weekly updates on the next steps in the journey.     

“Through this collective effort, we look forward to creating a global community of conscience and practice in which we learn to put belief into action in relation to our own lifestyles.”  - Walk on Earth Gently   

Living the Change

Last fall TxIPL was at the COP23 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.  We joined spiritual leaders on bicycles, who presented the Walk on Earth Gently multifaith statement to world leaders.  Now we’re asking Texans of faith to joins us in accepting the Walk on Earth Gently invitation and committing to a sustainable lifestyle.

Walk on Earth Gently invites people of faith into a journey of Living the Change that the world needs.  The journey is inspired by religious teachings to turn away from the consumerism of the world and to seek balanced relationships with all people and the planet we share as our common home.  During the summer of 2018, TxIPL will focus on making personal lifestyle changes in three areas:  transportation; energy; and food.  We invite you to join us in this journey.  Follow TxIPL on Facebook and on our TxIPL webpage for information and tips to help you on the journey.  Start the journey by joining faith leaders of all major religions in the U.S. who have signed the Walk on Earth Gently statement.  You can sign the statement HERE and accept its invitation to start the journey to a sustainable lifestyle. 

Last year cities took the lead in the U.S. response to climate change.  These leaders include several Texas cities that have joined Climate Mayors or the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.  The City of Houston has been part of Climate Mayors since 2014, and last year Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner was named co-chair.  Houston is now striving to be an international leader, as they compete in the global Reinventing Cities competition, sponsored by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. 

Texas Interfaith Power & Light’s regional team in Houston is an active part of city’s response to climate change.  Many members of TxIPL’s regional team are also members of the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston.  This group formed in 2017 as a coalition of people of faith and environmental non-profits.  Lisa Brenskelle, TxIPL regional liaison and one of the founders of IENoH, sees value in these groups working together. 

“Greater Houston has more than 150 environmental non-profits, but prior to the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston, there was no voice of the faith community on environmental issues.  We are filling that gap.”  - Lisa Brenskelle  

Working with IENoH, TxIPL’s regional team equips people of faith to act and advocate for climate adaptation and resilience in Houston.  A key component of their work is sharing information through email blasts and monthly gatherings.  Many of their gatherings feature a guest speaker and are livestreamed via the internet.  Recent topics include Reducing Waste Generation in Houses of Worship, Advocacy Workshop – Telling Your Story, and Making Houston a Resilient City – How Houses of Worship Can Help.  These topics emphasize the responsibility of congregations to act and advocate for the change they want to see in Houston.   

IENoH’s action and advocacy takes many forms.  Twice a year they sponsor a hands-on stewardship event that makes a visible difference in Houston’s environment.  Recently, they hosted a Solarize Houston event, to help places of worship convert to solar power.  On April 17, 2018, nine members of IENoH advocated for climate adaptation and resiliency initiatives during the Public Speaker portion of the Houston City Council meeting.  At events throughout April 2018, regional team members provided opportunities for people to participate in TxIPL’s letter writing campaign for solar power and to write advocacy letters and postcards to elected officials.

TxIPL’s regional team in Houston is an example of the difference a faith-based, grassroots network can make in a community.  To get involved in Houston, contact Lisa Brenskelle.  To learn more about regional teams, go HERE or contact Katrina Martich.