OUUC has designated 2018 as “The Year of Environmental Justice”

The goal is to include in the justice work of the Faith In Action ministry, a congregational awareness of the link between Climate Action and the well-being of all people.

We each are being impacted by the climate emergency, but vulnerable, marginalized populations are the MOST affected. Their challenges will only be made worse as our temperature trends warm, sea levels rise and the weather becomes less stable – there will be more homelessness, more scapegoating of minority groups, more civil unrest, wars, refugees, more hunger and more poverty.

By slowing and mitigating the pace of climate change we will work to address each of these social issues. It no longer makes sense to think of social justice and environmental activism as separate and distinct. They are immutably linked.

Throughout 2108 the congregation can take part in and learn from a number of activities and opportunities in the areas of Education, Partnerships, and Action.

It is time to take action and let our voices be heard on this issue.

The Tide Is Rising – So Are We!

Organizations with local presence:

Thurston Climate Action Team (Local meetings, projects)

350.ORG  (International organization; Tacoma chapter)

Citizens Climate Lobby (National scope – Carbon “Fee and dividend”; local chapter)

Sierra Club (National organization; many projects, local chapter)

Black Hills Audubon Society

Climate Solutions resources; (resources, work with business)

Resources:

Books

Cooler Smarter   The Union of Concerned Scientists, 2012; The Island Press

Drawdown   Paul Hawken, ed; 2017; Penguin/Random House

COOL IT   The Climate Issue National Geographic Magazine November 201

The Cartoon Guide to Climate Change  Yoram Bauman, 2014

What We’re Fighting For Now is Each Other, 2015 Wes Stephenson

Websites:

Inside Climate News

Citizens’ Climate Lobby 

Citizens Climate Education

City of Olympia Sea Level rise planning

NOAA – or Climate.gov icon 2nd from top of menu, see “teaching’ for tutorials

NASA

Skeptical  Science

Yale Climate Connection

350.org (Big website, lots of resources)

Movies:

An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore 2006)

An Inconvenient Sequel (Al Gore 2017)

From the Ashes Leonardo DiCaprio (National Geographic)

YouTube: Tony Seba: Clean Disruption – Energy & Transportation

Partner Churches:

Saltwater Unitarian Universalist Church, Des Moines WA

The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard, Olympia WA

Topics:

CO2 sequestration – The Economist Nov  18 2017 p11; pp 20-22

Antarctic Ice National Geographic July 2017 p 30-49; p50-73

Sea Level Rise – NOAA website

Warming & Greenhouse Gasses – NOAA website

Clouds; Scientific American Dec 2017; pp 72-77

IPCC  (The Paris Agreement)

US Gov’t Climate Change Report (draft) June 2017

Scientific Consensus