Our meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of the month usually at 11:30; watch for announcements in the eWeekly for details. Each meeting begins with a 10-15 minute informative presentation from a River Roader with expertise in some area of clean, green living. Business of the committee follows.
Our next meeting will be on SUNDAY, MARCH 19 ON ZOOM AND IN ROOM 22 at 11:30.
EVENTS: WANT TO DO MORE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?
Now is a great time to work with us! RRUUC’s Earth Ministry is helping to organize a CAPITAL AREA UU CLIMATE CONVOCATION, hosted at RRUUC on May 6. Register now to join like-minded activists from congregations all over the DMV for combined spiritual energy, practical expertise and meaningful action. Here’s the plan for the day:
SCHEDULE:
9:00 On-site registration, informal gathering with light plant-based breakfast for coffee, light vegan breakfast, conversation.
Browse the activities of our congregations presented in five categories:
- FIRE – clean energy production and conservation
- AIR – greenhouse gases and other gaseous & particulate pollutants
- WATER – access, conservation and flood risks
- EARTH – land, farming and forests, food production and waste
- SPIRIT – human connection, advocacy for justice and equity
10:00 Spiritual grounding in the Sanctuary, led by Rev. Nancy Ladd, RRUUC
10:15 Potomac Partnership Ministers will participate in a panel discussion reflecting on the intersection of racial justice, environmental justice and climate action. Q&A to follow.
- Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation
- Rev. David A. Miller, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax
- Rev. Nancy Ladd, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation
11:15 Break
11:30 Brief presentation of potential common and joint actions for the remainder of 2023:
- Our congregational facilities and the lands and waters around them
- Environmental justice and equity partnerships
- Legislative & policy advocacy (local, state, national)
- Spiritual connections to nature and climate in the Sanctuary and in RE
- Food (presentation during lunch)
12:15 Vegan buffet lunch, table discussions, and free-will offering
1:00 Consensus discussion:
- What joint actions should we take back to our home congregations for engagement and approval?
- What are our mechanisms for executing these actions?
1:45 Closing led by ministers
2:00 Cleanup
Visit http://bit.ly/3xU1SRj for more information and to register, or just click here to register today!
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ANNAPOLIS!
In addition to keeping our own house green clean and sustainable, we have a responsibility to guide our local and state representatives in working towards Green policies and laws.
Go here to contact your MD lawmakers about the Energy Savings Act (an update to the EmPOWER energy efficiency program) which incentivizes deployment of efficient electric home utilities.
Go here to read about House Bill 169/Senate Bill144 Supporting Energy Efficiency for Low-Income Marylanders, and then write to your reps in support. Families who live in rental units often don’t have the autonomy or the means to invest in clean energy for their homes, and they suffer the economic and health consequences of dirty and inefficient systems.
INSPIRATION
Greta Thunberg’s ‘The Climate Book’ urges world to keep climate justice out front
February 9, 2023 Barbara J. King – NPR
Climate activist Greta Thunberg who, at age 15, led school strikes every Friday in her home country of Sweden — a practice that caught on globally — has now, at 20, managed to bring together more than 100 scientists, environmental activists, journalists and writers to lay out exactly how and why it’s clear that the climate crisis is happening.
Impressively, in The Climate Book, Thunberg and team — which includes well-known names like Margaret Atwood, George Monbiot, Bill McKibben and Robin Wall Kimmerer –explain and offer action items in 84 compelling, bite-size chapters.
Most critically, they — and Thunberg herself in numerous brief essays of her own — explain what steps need to be taken without delay if the world is to have a reasonable chance of limiting global temperature rise as stated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The document aims to keep the temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius (and better yet below 1.5 degrees Celsius).
The essays also explain why climate justice must be at the center of these efforts….
Continue reading here: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/09/1150729582/greta-thunbergs-the-climate-book-urges-world-to-keep-climate-justice-out-front