Code Red for Humanity

What comes to mind when you hear the words "Code Red"? 

Ko Barrett is Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),  or in short, an expert on Climate impacts and policy. She recently said, "Unless we make immediate, rapid and large scale reductions in green house gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5C (2.7 F) will be beyond reach. Each bit of warming will intensify the impacts we are likely to see."

Last Monday the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released a 3500 page report after 10  years of research by hundreds of scientists.  The United Nations Secretary call this a "Code Red for humanity" and "stark warning" for humans. CO2 levels have not been this high since 2 million years ago.  Temperatures are close to the tipping point. Resulting droughts and intense heat are creating fires and burning in many parts of the earth. Oceans have risen over 8 inches in the last century and  sea rise will intensify as fast melting occurs  in Greenland and Antartica. 

Want to help and do your part?  An article in Yahoo Climate news suggested 7 things you can do right now:

1.  Eat less meat and switch to a more plant base diet. Start by eating meat at only one meal a day.  Think of all the tress cut down to create more pastures for cows, not to mention the methane* they release.     *Methane is a potent "heat trapping" gas.

2. Reduce food waste by throwing away less food.  Worm bins work quickly and efficiently to convert waste into fertile soil.  One half of all food produced in the world today is wasted, producing methane gas in landfills.

3. Adopt clean energy alternatives that are available to you.

4. Plant a lot of trees They help remove excess carbon from the air through photosynthesis.       Don't forget to water until they are established.

5. Cut down on Flying Presently air travel accounts for 4% of carbon. Economy travel leaves less            of a footprint.

6. Weatherize your home  to prevent loss of heat. Check for drafts.

7. Vote with climate change in mind.  One  march sign said "Bad Politicians Ruin the Planet"

Read more on the 7 steps you can take now to help avert the worst climate change consequences by clicking HERE!

Person of the Planet Action Item: Carbon Taxes

Over 3,500 economists, including 28 Nobel Laureates, have signed a statement saying, " A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and the speed that is necessary" to achieve our climate objectives and reduce carbon pollution.

Your Senators are right now, deciding what to do about climate change. They can go big or stay small. Email then to tell them to go big with a price on carbon. Give them a call as well. Here's a simple email to send:

Dear Senator _______:

I'm a constituent, and a voter, and climate change is an priority issue for me.

I am writing to urge you to include carbon pricing in the reconciliation package. Be bold and go big.

Sincerely, (Your name)


Contact information is as follows:

Senator Diane Feinstein: senator.feinstein@senate.gov 202-224-3842

Senator Alex Padilla: senator.padilla@senate.gov 202-224-3553

Time to act is now!

Lockdown, Written by Friar Richard Hendrick

Bird Sings on Branch.jpg

LOCKDOWN

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other 

across the empty squares, 

keeping their windows open 

so that those who are alone 

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know 

is busy spreading fliers with her number 

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples 

are preparing to welcome 

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe,

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able 

to touch across the empty square,

Sing.

March 13th 2020

Written by Friar Richard Hendrick priest-friar of the Irish branch of the Capuchin Franciscan Order

Citizens' Climate Lobby

Dear friends,

My husband Lee and I have been volunteers for Citizens Climate Lobby for the past six and a half years. (I have been on the CCL Governing Board since 2017. Lee is an active member of the national Health Action Team.)

CCL’s mission embraces two goals: first, the political will in Washington to pass legislation to rapidly reduce GHG emissions while protecting the most vulnerable Americans. And second, to help to restore our democracy by enabling ordinary people to build respectful relationships with their political opponents and to lobby their members of Congress to work across the aisle and put a powerful price on carbon.

2019 CCL successes:

Getting a carbon pricing bill introduced in Congress: Seven bipartisan carbon pricing bills introduced in the House this year. Our favorite is HR 763, the bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. HR 763 currently has 75 co-sponsors, including Bay area Members of Congress (Barbara Lee, Mark DeSaulnier, Anna Eshoo, Jackie Speier), the Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (and 36 other members of that Caucus), the Chair and members of the Asian Caucus, and numerous members of the Hispanic Caucus. At last count more than 1000 major endorsements nationwide from businesses, faith communities, and local leaders.

Building a bipartisan climate solutions movement: CCL has grown from 28 members in 2007 to just shy of 200,000 active supporters this year. There are over 560 active chapters, mostly in the US, but also in 60 countries around the world. CCL has chapters and volunteers working in every Congressional District in the country.

Amid the swirl of increasingly tribal politics in our country, Citizens Climate Lobby has continued to nurture the bipartisan center on climate solutions. The mission of CCL-- and the CCLers we get to work with every day,-- are what sustain Lee and me and enable us to feel hope for Zoe and Ale(jandro) and all of the world’s children in the face of so much evidence to the contrary.

We hope you will join us in supporting the work of this amazing organization by making a year-end gift. If you have already contributed this year, thank you! 

To donate, CLICK HERE! 

Our deepest thanks,

Mary & Lee

Person of the Planet welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Bennett

Person of the Planet welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Bennett

Don't miss Dr. Jeffrey Bennett, noted astrophysicist, author/lecturer.  The community is invited to attend an evening presentation called "Global Warming Demystified". Dr. Bennett  will tackle some of the toughest issues surrounding global warming. He will show us how we can (and must) move beyond partisanship in addressing these complex problems.

Dr. Bennett is the lead author of best selling college textbooks in four areas:  astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics and statistics. His numerous books have sold more than 1.5 million copies. These books include "On the Cosmic Horizon", "The Global Warming Primer" and "Beyond UFO's". HIs numerous children's books, including "The Wizard that Saved the World" have been read at the International Space Station during the Storytime for Space series.

One of Jeffrey Bennett's most visible achievements have been his work to develop educational scale models of the solar system. One such scale model, the Voyage Scale Model Solar System has been installed at the National Mall in Washington, DC. This model is has been replicated in other cities across the country.

Dr. Bennett has worked at NASA  headquarters as a senior scientist working to bridge the "cultural divide" between education and science. He created unique "Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher Enrichment"  FOSTER which flew teachers on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.

Dr. Jeffrey Bennett's talk will be Tuesday, November 5 at 7:00pm,  52 Arlington Avenue in the social hall of the Arlington Community Church.   The event is FREE to the community.  Person of the Planet is pleased to be sponsoring this one-time event.

"This is a great opportunity! Please plan to attend with your family and friends!"

Save the Tule Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore

Save the Tule Elk  at Point Reyes National Seashore

Submitted by Shanti Moorjani

On Saturday night, September 21, Person of the Planet group hosted a showing of the movie "The Shame of Pt. Reyes" at the Arlington Community Church in Kensington. The movie was an "eye-opener" to what is going on in the park and a call to action.

The National Park Service intends to expand the acreage provided for cattle, which is in direct contrast with the United Nations’ recent report calling for a decrease in animal agriculture due to its impacts on climate change https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet. The NPS is ceding to the monetary clout of a few ranchers in West Marin. They are proposing killing some of the Tule elk to decrease competition (an entirely unsupported argument) and introducing other livestock and row crop agriculture, which will put the for-profit interests in further conflict with native wildlife and the environment. The ranchers allow their >5,500 cattle to cause irreparable erosion to the land and pollution of our waterways. Although their leases call for them to care for the land, the Pt. Reyes National Seashore appears in a list of the top 10 areas polluted with feces:  https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/point-reyes-11-21-2017.php.  Our national parks are intended to preserve nature for future generations. The NPS’s proposal is in direct contrast to that mission and further jeopardizes.

Please view this video by Skyler Thomas http://www.shameofpointreyes.org/ to help educate yourselves. There was a public comment period open until 9/23, after which the NPS will implement their plan to expand private ranching on publicly owned land, You may still comment on the park service website;  https://www.nps.gov/pore/contacts.htm        You may also sign a petition at change.org : "Save the Tule Elk"                                

Pt Reyes is  a place we all love and care about, and like all beautiful places in nature, once they are altered it is difficult to bring back the biodiversity and restore the coastal prairie habitat.  There is an "Alternative F" proposal which includes these recommendations.

Express you concern for the preservation of returning Point Reyes National Seashore to a natural state, moving cattle ranching away for these pristine lands and letting the diverse wildlife return and thrive.

The Shame of Point Reyes: An Open Letter

Dear Park Service,

 I was appalled to learn about the plans to kill off some of the Tule Elk, in favor of the cattle industry at Pt Reyes National Seashore.  How can this be happening in this day and age when we are all aware of the impact cattle raising has on the land and air of our planet?  We have one small pristine place along the coast of California, with indigenous and endangered herds of elk and you are allowing this land to be corrupted.  Move the herd of cows away from  the seashore, in land and let the park become natural again. 

 This area should be preserved and restored to its original wildness for future generations.  I will not buy anymore milk from the companies that are presently entrenched there until they leave.  How dare you re-issue leases to these farms. The original leases were supposed to be temporary.  Is it yet another example of money dictating the decision to extend these leases?  Shame on you.  You are the stewards of this unique landscape and is natural inhabitants. 

 The Alternative F proposition should be adopted immediately.  The public is beginning to learn about these issues and be will not remain silent.

 A very concerned citizen,

 Leslie Moorjani

Interfaith Power & Light

Interfaith Power & Light

On May 9th, Rev. Susan Hendershot, president of Interfaith Power &

Light, was our speaker for the Person of the Planet’s May meeting.

 

A Letter from Interfaith Power & Light:

 Every Saturday I walk from my home to the local farmers market to do my shopping for the week. While I pick out blueberries, walnuts, carrots, and spinach, I talk with the farmers who bring such abundance to me each week. They work the soil, plant the seeds, and tend the harvest—using science in order to understand the life of the plants that they produce for food.

 Science is all around us, and people of faith and conscience understand that we have benefited from scientific advancements in growing food, keeping water and air clean, and helping people live healthier lives. So why does there seem to be a disconnect when it comes to climate science?

 We clearly need both in order to bring about the change that is needed. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man [sic] knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals."

 During the month of June, I will be undertaking the first joint speaking tour with Ken Kimmell, the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, where our theme will be "Faith, Science, and Climate Solutions". Our goal is to demonstrate that the science is clear, that the solutions to the climate crisis are at hand, and that our faith inspires and motivates us to take bold and just action.

 Our tour stops will take us to Greenville, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama. To get the information and to register for these locations, visit our website.

 Please consider making a donation to advance IPL's work connecting faith, science, and climate solutions. Your gifts make programs like these possible.

 Thank you for continuing to build the faith climate action movement, and for being part of our community.

 Blessings,

 

Rev. Susan Hendershot

President

Moment for the planet Sunday May 12, 2019

Moment for the planet

A week ago I was looking at a picture of Puerto Rico taken from the sky  in July of 2017. The island was lit up, lights in every corner of the island.  That same image was taken again in October 2017.  This time the island was completely black except for one village in the central mountains of the country.   Why?  Following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, the energy grid was wiped out across the island.   One small village, Las Piedras, was powered by solar.  They suffered from the storm like everyone else, but at the end of the day, they still had their solar lights and electricity. 

 Solar is one of the best ways countries and individuals can help the environment in a big way.  It is something many of us can do individually, by installing solar panels on our houses.  There are many solar companies out there and many towns will give a credit or financial incentives for installing renewable energy systems on your rooftops. The city of Berkeley received a SolSmartGold award for their efforts in streamlining the permitting process to make it easier and faster for homeowners to install solar panels.

 So what are you waiting for?  

Not all of us have the resources to install solar, but many of us do.   Some have already installed solar panels and are reaping not only the satisfaction of knowing we our lessening our footprint on the planet but financially we are saving a lot. 

 Arlington Community Church went solar in 2014, when Bill Day a member of the congregation spearheaded the project. He had installed solar at his home in 2011 and calculated that he had a 90% savings in dollars and 75% savings in kilowatt hours.

 My husband and I installed our panels in 2011 and now are able to have plug-in hybrid cars. Imagine how many tons of  carbon dioxide would stay out of the atmosphere if everyone was driving an electric car.   We have to start somewhere.

 Give serious thought to going solar and if possible, electric/hybrid cars.  As Persons of the Planet, we believe motivating the individual is one of the best ways to effect change on the planet. Let's take care of our Mother Earth.