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The 2022 American Climate Leadership Summit (ACLS 2022) provided an opportunity where your climate leadership can inspire more Americans to climate action! This four day, virtual event held, March 28-31, 2022, included climate science, solutions, action, and activism. ACLS, now in it's 11th year is "the only national convening exclusively dedicated to building broad public support and political resolve for climate action. ACLS 2022 welcomes climate leaders of all levels–particularly those who are new and active at the local level. Faith Speakers Include: Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., Katharine Hayhoe, Bill McKibbon, Rev. Erica Williams, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Hannah Malcom, William Barber III, and so many more - Check out the full Agenda and List of Speakers. If you were unable to join live you can access all the recordings from the summit on ecoAmerica’s YouTube channel now, including all of the National Faith + Climate Forum sessions.

"At this moment, our power lies in community. It’s about changing our societal pronoun from “me” to “we.” We know the solutions residing in nature surpass our conception of what’s even possible, and we know that human creativity is rising to solve the fundamental crises we face. There’s a window through, and we'll open it together. ~ Bioneers This year the 2022 Bioneers Conference May 13-15, 2022 will be an in-person gathering hosted at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, accompanied by a live-streamed virtual conference option. Bioneers also has an extensive collections of videos, podcasts, articles: Biomimicry, Carbon Farming, COVID-19, Decolonizing Thanksgiving, Dismantling Systemic Racism, Ecological Medicine, Green New Deal, Intelligence in Nature, Regenerative Agriculture, Rights of Nature, Seeding the Field, Plant Consciousness, Psychedelics

Spirituality & Practice offers a recommended list of The Best Spiritual Books of 2021 They also have an online book club, e-courses and book reviews.. A “We the People” online book club began in 2018. This year-long, book-a-month program gives us an opportunity to strengthen our vision of democracy and our connections with others, as we contemplate America’s past and possibilities through classic and contemporary literary voices. This book club is being offered by The Practicing Democracy Project a collaboration between The Center for Spirituality & Practice and the Fetzer Institute. It affirms two principles: Reading itself is a spiritual practice. It requires inner work of quiet and stillness, attention to detail, and empathy as we imagine lives other than our own and root for characters to resolve their struggles. Engagement – When this inner work inspires engagement with our neighbors and communities — as happens in book clubs — it becomes deeply democratic. Book club members passionately share responses to a text. Connections are forged, consensus arises, differences are respected, and unity is built as each person has a chance to speak and be heard. Fetzer Institute

Transitions US is “an ecosystem of communities building a regenerative and just future!” Their R4 Practicum starts March 21, 2022. It works through and with the themes of Resist, Repair, Reimagine, and Regenerate, to come together in co-creation of an intercultural and intergenerational network of regenerative communities working together to design, adapt, and share the messages, models, and resources needed to reimagine and rebuild our world. Regeneration Nation is a 3 year project that will focus on nurturing a network ecosystem of regenerative communities actively sharing and co-creating the messages, models, and resources needed to reimagine and rebuild our world. Part of the vision of Transition US is “to have every community in the United States engage its collective creativity to unleash an extraordinary and historic transition to a future beyond fossil fuels; a future that is more vibrant, abundant and resilient; one that is ultimately preferable to the present”. “To make that vision a reality we need artists and culture workers. Artists challenge cultural narratives, shift imagery, and inspire emotions in a way that traditional political methods alone simply cannot.” In Change the Culture, Change the World, artist Favianna Rodriguez said “You may attend a rally or vote, but you also read books, listen to music, engage with visual art, turn on the radio and create your identity through culture. Artists are central, not peripheral, to social change. To have the movements that make the wave, you need cultural workers.” “Artists are represented here on the side of ideas, in the “heart space.” Art is uniquely positioned to move people—inspiring them, inciting new questions and provoking curiosity or outrage.”

Welcome to Rogue Valley Voice - an online forum to support each other in "being the change to bring forth a more environmentally sustainable, social just, and spiritually fulfilling human presence on this planet, our Mother Earth." There are many people and organizations in southern Oregon who are already awake to the urgency of the climate emergency and are taking actions every day. So much of media news is negative that it is sometimes a personal challenge to face reality of the challenge and have the courage to take actions and remain hopeful. We will highlight the good. We will focus education about the climate emergency, positive actions that are being taken now toward sustainability and building supportive relationships. Education There are many good resources on the climate emergency that will help us counter misinformation. Positive Action The climate emergency is complex and there are many voices competing for attention that we sometimes remain frozen, not knowing what actions will have the greatest impact. Join The Movement In his book Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, author Paul Hawkin says "most people in the world remain disengaged, and we need a way forward that engages the majority of humanity... in an inclusive and effective strategy... that creates, builds an heals." How can we work together toward the common good? What would you like to see in these posts? We invite you to join us, leave a comment and Subscribe to receive email notification of posts here.

image from DHS Visible, physical warfare, such as the horrendous bombings in war in Ukraine, should also draw attention to the cybersecurity threat and crisis in the United States The Boston Globe reports “The 2018 assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence ranked cyberattacks against utilities, communications systems and markets as the top threat to the United States.” A “significant cyber incident” is one that is “likely to result in demonstrable harm to the national security interests, foreign relations, or economy of the United States or to the public confidence, civil liberties, or public health and safety of the American people.” The May 2018 DHS Cybersecurity Strategy states that “More than 20 billion devices are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020. The risks introduced by the growing number and variety of such devices are substantial.” Threats to national and economic security include: resilient national positioning; navigation; timing services; critical infrastructure assets; organizations; systems and functions; and high frequency trading/payments. These threats are classified “high” and “readiness is low” under the various scenarios being evaluated. The risks to public safety issues are classified “medium” and “readiness is higher.” On a local level, computers control traffic lights, sewage plants and electrical grids. The Conversation cites “poor, if not appalling, state of local government cybersecurity in the United States.” Other cyber-crimes include computer intrusions and attacks, fraud, intellectual property theft, identity theft, theft of trade secrets, criminal hacking, terrorist activity, espionage and sabotage. The signing of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 led DHS to creation of a new agency called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA.) Cybersecurity Preparedness Part of the challenge of cybersecurity preparedness is the lack of trained specialists. The average IT-related job typically earns salaries at least 50 percent higher than the average private sector job. Even so, the Department of Homeland Security reports that “there are currently over half a million job openings in America in information technology (IT) fields like cybersecurity in the United States.” Hacker conventions are trying to recruit high school students to become interested in cyber security. ShmooCon is an annual East Coast hacker convention focused on technology exploitation, inventive software and hardware solutions, and open discussions of critical “infosec issues”; this year it is being held in Washington DC on March 24-26, 2022. “The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has been established to… advance cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.” “Networked technologies touch every corner of the globe and every facet of human life. They have driven innovation, nurtured freedoms, and spurred economic prosperity. Even so, the very technologies that enable these benefits offer new opportunities for malicious and unwanted cyber activities.” ~ National Cyber Incident Response Plan

One of my favorite sources of news and commentary is the New York Times podcast The Daily, which launched in January 2017 and now gets 1.1 million downloads every weekday.  The Daily is hosted by Michael Barbaro @mikiebarb and you can subscribe for free to these twenty minute podcast published five days a week. Barbaro makes the news feel like narrative storytelling, but in a short form. The The Daily's March 9, 2022 story was Will Banning Russian Oil Hurt Russia, or the U.S.? Although there is bilateral Congressional support for Bidden's recent plan to ban Russian oil and it makes good optics for the President to say that current increases in the price of gasoline is "Putin's Price Hike," unfortunately it will probably have little immediate impact on the war. Clifford Krauss said "It would be an enormous deal if Europe were to stop importing more than three million barrels a day of Russian oil. But they just can’t do that because they depend on that oil. It would be impossible for them to drive their cars, run their transportation systems without oil for many countries in Europe. And so that would be just too much for them to do that." The Guardian reports that "Boycott of Russian gas and oil ‘could cause mass poverty in Germany." "The Green party politician predicted “mass unemployment, poverty, people who can’t heat their homes, people who run out of petrol” if his country stopped using Russian oil and gas." "Few other western economies are as dependent on Russian energy as Germany: 55% of the natural gas, 52% of the coal and 34% of mineral oil used in the country comes from Russia, for which it pays hundreds of millions of euros daily, financially supporting the war machine currently devastating Ukraine." Christiana Figueres asks on the wonderful podcast Outrage + Optimism of March 14, 2022: "Will we gather ourselves around the moral clarity that we need to end the violence by breaking our addiction once and for all?" and argues "Because our addiction is fueling the conflict we are watching our neighbors and our neighbor’s children suffer. It’s time to quit." Figueres offers a brilliant analogy to understand where we are: "Let's entertain the scenario that I am a patient that has been diagnosed with lung cancer caused by smoking, decades of smoking. The cancer is not yet terminal, but getting very close and I have all kinds of medical warnings about that. In addition, on top of that, I learned that the provider of the cigarettes I am smoking is a terrible bully who is using the money I pay him (and it this case it is a him) to do horrible things to other people, literally kill other people, So here is the question, How do I react? How do I respond? What are my choices? So one option of course is to decide is that the problem that I'm actually facing is the bully himself and that I need or want to continue smoking so the solution to that problem is to start planting tobacco in your own back yard and to start my own little home-rolling industry so I can produce my own cigarettes. and that way I no longer have to buy from the bully, I'm not giving him the money, but I continue to smoke despite the immediate treats to my health. That is one option and that is being put forward as an option to the Russia/Ukaraine crisis by some people . The other option that we have is that I can actually use this moment to choose to break my addiction to smoking, despite the fact that it has had me in chains for decades. I can choose to break the addiction altogether and move to healthier habits. That means I will no longer pass the money to the bully; I starve the bully of his income; and I save my own life because I stop smoking and put myself into the recovery treatment that gets me to much healthier status.."

Barrett-Koehler Publishers is offering Women’s Leadership Online Summit: Leading Change at Work and Beyond, a free online event for women, September 20 – September 27, 2018 This will be “8 days for women to grow their influence, transform the workplace, and rewrite the rules of power.” Find our more and register online now. Learn How Top Women CEOs, Community Leaders and Researchers Are Leading Change—And How You Can, Too! Get practical tips to amplify your voice, build your capacity for risk-taking, and overcome barriers to your personal success Equip your team or organization with the best strategies to support women leaders at every level Get the tools you need to dismantle the systemic issues that hold women back Connect with a diverse community of women to access and offer support to lift up all of us

“In a time when technology has become our lifeline, it is important than ever that we examine the role it plays in our lives and realign it with the interests of people, not profits.” ~ The Social Dilemma Social media companies are competing for your attention: Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, tiktok, Google, Pinterest, Reddit, Linkedin… their business model is to keep people engaged on the screen. Advertisers pay these companies for showing their ads. “If you’re not paying for the product then you are the product.” Jaron Lanier, author of Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, says that’s too simplistic an explanation and puts it this way: “It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behavior and perception that is the product… changing what you do, how you think, who you are." From the Amazon book review: “Lanier’s reasons for freeing ourselves from social media’s poisonous grip include its tendency to bring out the worst in us, to make politics terrifying, to trick us with illusions of popularity and success, to twist our relationship with the truth, to disconnect us from other people even as we are more ‘connected’ than ever, to rob us of our free will with relentless targeted ads… How can we remain autonomous in a world where we are under continual surveillance and are constantly being prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history that have no way of making money other than being paid to manipulate our behavior? How could the benefits of social media possibly outweigh the catastrophic losses to our personal dignity, happiness, and freedom?” The Social Dilemma is a Netflix original documentary-drama hybrid (released August 2020) that “explores the dangerous human impact of social networking with tech experts, sounding the alarm on their own creations.” Compelling interviews include: Tristan Harris (former Design Ethicist at Google; co-founder of Center for Humane Society) Randy Fernando (former Product Manager at NVIDIA; former Executive Director at Mindful Schools; co-founder of Center for Humane Society) Aza Raskin (formerly Mozilla Labs & Foxfire; co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology; and inventor of Infinite) Tim Kendall (former Director of Monetization at Facebook: Former President of Pinterest; and CEO of Moment) Jaron Lanier, author of Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (computer scientist and “founding father” of virtual reality.) Roger McNamee (venture capitalist and early investor in Facebook) Justin Rosenstein (former engineer at Facebook and Google: Co-founder of Asana) Shoshana Zuboff, Ph.D. (professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School; and author ofThe Age of Surveillance Capitalism) Jeff Seibert (former executive at Twitter; serial tech entrepreneur) Sandy Parakilas (former Operations Manager at Facebook; former Product Manager at Uber) Joe Toscano (former Experience Design Consultant at Google; author of Automating Humanity) Lynn Fox (former Director of Corporate PR at Apple: former Corporate Communications at Google) Dr. Anne Lembke (Medical Director of Addiction at Stanford University School of Medicine) Take back control of your relationship with technology. Find out how to spread the word and what actions you can take at TheSocialDilemma.com website. Join the Movement for Humane Technology. “Never before have a handful of tech designers had such control over the way billions of us think, act, and live our lives.” ~ the social dilemma

Join a conversation with local farmers on the sustainable movement to grow our own food and a free screening of The Biggest Little Farm - a couple’s vision for a new kind of farm as they overcome challenges including wildfires and drought. April 21, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. PDT Brought you by AARP. Synopsis from their website: "The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature’s conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature’s call, the Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet." Interview with John Chester, Director Q: It’s one thing to start farming and it’s another thing to start farming and make a feature-length documentary about the experience. What inspired you to want to make THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM? JC: For the first several years that we were running the farm, I was not convinced that our plan to farm the land, rebuild the soil and coexist with nature would even work... So I didn’t want to encourage others to drink the Kool-Aid, and be misled to think this level of collaboration with an ecosystem was possible. But around year five something changed. I saw the return of critical wildlife as well as a variety of insect species that were now serving as predators helping to rebalance the pest infestations that we had been fighting. The real inspiration came when I started to notice how the things that we thought were problems, like certain plants classified as weeds, were actually cycling critical nutrients back into our soil and feeding our fruit trees. The farm was taking what we had started and rebuilding its own complex immune system. We were capturing this story the whole time but I never really committed to the idea of making the film until that year. I remember the day I decided to do it. I was walking in the orchard by a tree that only days before had been completely covered in aphids, a pest that kills plants when it sucks the nectar from certain plants. But now they were all gone. Instead the tree was covered in hundreds of ladybugs, one of its main predators. The ladybugs had returned because we had created a habitat throughout the farm for them to thrive in. It just snowballed from there to one example of return after another and I knew I was ready to tell this story. Q: How challenging was it to be filming when you were also so deeply immersed in the farming itself? JC: Doing both was probably the most insane thing I’ve ever done. It’shard enough to deal with the complexities of a farm let alone shoot what is basically a nature documentary within the ecosystem of a farm. It was also quite challenging on both our farm team and my family especially in the final year of editing. I am so grateful to them for supporting me through this. That final year of post-production I had officially taken on too much. I’d be in the barn editing with Amy Overbeck the editor and have to rush out because of a fire, windstorm emergency or troubled livestockbirth. Then walk back into the edit covered in various fluids and smells and keep cracking away on the story. The most difficult times were when the emergency would involve the death of a sick animal and I’d find myself returning to the edit room with very little time to process the loss. I’ve got a lot of favorite animals here so none of that is easy. We were shooting 365 days a year for almost eight years. There was constant tension for me personally between the needs of the farm and the needs of the film. The cool thing about nature and the farm, though, is that they have their own rhythms, so you can anticipate when something is about to happen. It’s all about watching for the routines in nature and being there waiting for it to happen. That’s obviously the secret formula for directing nature docs but funny enough it’s also the most important trick to farming in this way. Observe and anticipate. And both require an extreme level of humility. It was really challenging to allow myself to film the problems and the mistakes that we were making. I had to shut off the ego and not worry about exposing mistakes. Lots of times we would have interns with us on the farm who became really confident shooters, and they would encourage me to allow them to film things that I was uncomfortable with. I knew that they were right but that was a constant battle that went on in my head. In the end that’s what I’m most proud of, we kept it real. Q: THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM was obviously unfolding in real time as you shot it. Given that, what was the most surprising and unexpected thing that you witnessed over the course of that time? JC: The return of so much wildlife. And then watching that wildlife become integrated into the needs of the farm. It’s just absolutely mind blowing. Q: It’s clear from the film that one of the largest lessons you learned is that if one is going to be a farmer, it is essential to pay close attention and to see and understand the interconnectedness of everything. I wonder how that lesson has expanded to your wider life? JC: Albert Einstein said, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." It was something he wrote to a friend whose wife had died. The mystery behind the human condition, the infinite possibilities that we see in nature’s complexity, are metaphors not only for how we live but for how we face all obstacles. You need not go any further than understanding the hierarchy of natural systems. They’re not based on right or wrong but on a higher law of consequences. I feel like that’s constantly reflected back to us. We put ourselves in a situation where we are required to understand how we fit in and what level of control we may or may not have. Q: Farming was clearly the culmination of a dream for you and your wife Molly. So having lived as farmers now for almost a decade, what would you say is the most delightful thing about life as a farmer? JC: One of the really inspiring things about farming in this way, where we prioritize the cultivation of beauty, is the amount of inspiration and energy we get even in the throes of some of the most difficult challenges and struggles. If you wake up every day and you’re inspired in some visual way—by the type of cow that you farm with or the crops that you intermingle in the fields—if you’re constantly reminded of the remarkable beauty and complexity of nature, then it’s a place you want to be, it’s a place you want to solve problems. Wendell Berry said it best. He said, “It all turns on affection.” We’re never going to see the potential in a troubled person that we do not already first love. And I think for us the cultivation of beauty has allowed us to fall in love with the land in a way thatis very different and much more complex and much more unconditional. That has made us willing to stay with it through the hard times. And it’s brought about the opportunity for us to maybe see solutions that we might not have otherwise seen if we didn’t just first and foremost feel intoxicated by the beauty with which we farm. Q: And what is the hardest thing about life as a farmer? JC: It never stops. You’re always having to make tough decisions, needing to look out and ask yourself, “Is this going tobe mentally and physically sustainable? Financially sustainable? Ecologically sustainable?” You constantly have to make decisions about what is and isn’t working. Q: THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM opens with a dramatic wildfire nearby and fires are now being called “the new normal” in California. How is the farm dealing with the threat of fire? JC: The only thing that we can do as a farm is to make sensible decisions about where we’re going to move animals if and when a fire breaks out. We’ve experienced an intensity in fires around the farm over the last three years, and the fire season is now starting several months earlier than it has in the past. In the last month alone, we’ve had three fires within about ten miles of the farm. The only thing we didn’t have was the seventy-mile-an-hour winds and they’re coming because we get them every October. All we need is the right combo of events—which is what happened with the Thomas Fire and the Carr Fire—and we’re done, regardless of our intent and how honorable we are with nature and the earnestness of our stewardship. We’re not immune to the times that we’re all living in and these massive fires. Q: All over the world, farmers are dealing with climate change. How do you personally deal on a day-to-day basis with the very real changes that everyone is now seeing from climate change? JC: We are trying to be an example with our patch of the quilt. If our methods of regeneration have a positive impact and other farms do similar things, the patches on that quilt will spread. Obviously I don’t think that we alone or any one farm alone can change the climate crisis. But I think that if we each do our part for the ecosystem then that will be how we solve the problem—or at least a part of the problem, because I don’t believe it’s all agriculture’s responsibility. But agriculture is pretty significant, especially when it comes to the degradation of soil and the use of glycophosphate to kill “weeds” and grasses out of fear they’re interfering with crops. Those plants are the way that soil is able to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and regenerate and feed the microorganisms that essentially turn death into life. Q: What are your hopes for THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM once it’s released? JC: I hope it also finds its way to younger viewers. While the film might contain some intense scenes, the story is very much for them too. And then I hope that all the viewers will see that a collaboration with nature offers infinite possibilities. Those possibilities that have evolved to perfection over billions of years of evolution. They’ve never stopped working for us, maybe we’ve just been too distracted from seeing them. I don’t want anyone to feel like this film is trying to promote a way, or the only way, to farm. I do hope that it inspires the viewer to trust that nature has the answers for us. And thoseanswers won’t all come at once. It’s taken us a long time to get where we are when it comes to soil degradation and desertification and it’s going to take us time to back out of it. It won’t be any one generation to solve it all. But we have to leave our children the building blocks, the healthy functioning soil system, to continue in a direction that no longer threatens the planet’s natural immune system. The planet itself will be fine, it just might not be a nice place for humans to call home, especiallyif she sees us as part of the problem. So we just need to decide “what side of her immune system are we on?” I would imagine that our response to that question has consequences.

In the 2018 book Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change, Rev. Jim Antal makes a compelling case that "even more than an environmental problem, climate change is humanity’s greatest collective moral crisis.” Climate change amplifies all forms of injustice (hunger, refugees, racism, poverty, inequality, deadly viruses, war.) Defense of creation it therefore fundamentally a campaign for justice. Background history In 2015 the national United Church of Christ (UCC) Synod approved a Resolution to “resist all expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and demand new sources of renewable energy that are accessible to all communities.” On June 1, 2017 President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. In response, on July 3, 2017 97% of the 700 delegates in the UCC Synod voted on an Emergency Resolution urging three moral imperatives: 1) that clergy accept the mantle of moral leadership and preach on climate change; 2) that we all (congregations and individuals) incarnate the changes we hope for; and 3) that the church proclaims in the public square a bold and courageous witness that fearlessly holds to truth. Also in 2017 the United Church of Christ adopted a new campaign – Three Great Loves, in an attempt to engage the entire denomination in a shared effort to live out the stated Mission: “United by the Holy Spirit and inspired by God’s grace we love all, welcome all, and seek justice for all:” and its Vision: “A just world for all.” The three great loves are: The love of Children; the love of Neighbor; and the love of Creation. This simple campaign puts climate change in perspective and focus. Antal wrote the book In fall 2017 and it was published in 2018. Is it still relevant? The nation has lost 4 important years due to regressive climate policy so in my opinion it is even more imperative than in 2017 for the church to take up its vocational call to inspire humanity to engage in a new moral era and action. Why a “Climate Church?” Mainline churches in the U.S. have long been on a decline leaving a residual aging membership who tend to resist change and just want a return to the comfort of predictable liturgy, choir and organ. No longer does the church have the civic moral authority it once had. Wouldn’t an emphasis on climate change be depressing and cause dissension among those in the congregation who are climate-change deniers because of their political beliefs? I believe that Antal would argue that because climate change is a moral issue it is the vocation of the church to be a prophetic voice speaking truth to power. “This is what the church was made for.” Taking action is spurred not only by logic, but by love – love for all of creation; love for future generations; and love for those who those who will be most effected by the negative consequences of climate change. Perhaps becoming a “climate church” is just what is needed to have the “clarity of voice” necessary to regain stature as a civic moral authority? Perhaps new solidarity and common purpose can be built between non-fundamentalists of other faith traditions? This will be done by becoming a “missional church” on the internet, in social media and in the community and not just an “attractional church” expecting folks to walk through our doors. The greatest energy driving climate change action is coming from a younger generation, particularly women. If we nurture and support this it will reinvigorate the church. Why Now? Covid-19 lockdown caused us all to slow down, break from our routines and reconsider what is really important and what in society needs fixing. Some things will never be the same, nor should they. We have entered a “new normal.” We are at an inflection point of creating a new, more positive story for humanity and all of creation. Recent wildfires and now drought have heightened awareness of how fragile our relationship is with the environment. We are still tender from the losses and open to accept positive change. The world continues to experience more frequent extreme weather disasters – wildfires, droughts, floods, soil erosion, etc. as the climate changes. Biodiversity diminishes at an accelerated rate as wild habitats are lost to deforestation. Coral reefs are lost as the ocean acidifies. Covid-19 has underscored how interrelated ALL life on earth is and it also exposed many fragile existing conditions of society: economic inequality, racial & gender injustice; loss of public trust, workplace volatility and more… During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown national attention about racial injustice and criminal justice reform intensified because of the murder of George Floyd. Covid-19 also created the greatest hardship and injustice for BIPOC communities and poor people throughout the world – the same people who will be most impacted negatively by climate change. As SOCAN puts it: “While this may not seem to everyone to be a climate issue, it is absolutely an issue of social justice. In that context, this injustice emulates the history of environmental injustice visited upon minorities and peoples of color across the nation and the planet in relation to all environmental issues.” Today as Covid-19 vaccines are beginning to allow churches to slowly emerge from lockdown many want just to “return back to normal,” but the systems of the old normal need fixing – we need a new story and life-giving practices: Regenerative agriculture to replace industrial agriculture; doughnut and circular economic models to replace unsustainable growth of consumption and production; reforestation and planting trees to replace deforestation; long term thinking for future generations to replace exploitation and short term profit. As Jim Antal puts it we need a new story of hope. Resilience in place of growth Collaboration in place of consumption Wisdom in place of progress Balance in place of addiction Moderation in place of excess Vision in place of convenience Accountability in place of disregard Self-giving in place of self-centered fear We have seen how rapidly science and the pharmaceutical industry were able to innovate and mobilize in response to our current, global, existential, public health threat and we can do the same to reverse the trajectory of rising global temperatures caused by human activity. We must have the same united will and urgency. How the Book Helps The book seems aimed primarily at progressive Christian clergy and congregational leaders in the United States. It offers advice on new approaches to worship, preaching, witnessing and other spiritual practices. It concludes on a sober but hopeful note, coaching leaders through the necessary processes – helping members face reality and our existential threat, expressing grief, distinguishing optimism from hope, nurturing moral imagination, telling a new story, cultivating hope and moving into action. Antal’s coaching approach is understandable because for 14 years he was Conference Minister of the Southern New England UCC. He is now a Special Advisor on Climate Justice to UCC General Minister and President John C. Dorhauer The book is very readable and inspiring. It may push you to participate in bold activism and even non-violent, civil disobedience, but it offers few specific details for immediate action. For this I would turn to the 2017 book Drawdown (offering the 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming) and its updated online version Drawdown Review 2020. For federal policy activism I recommend Citizens Climate Lobby. For local and Oregon measures participate with SOCAN. Pachamama Alliance also offers outstanding educational programs on climate change solutions. Personal actions are important, but only collective actions aimed at systemic root causes will be effective to reach drawdown and reverse the current trend of global warming. Actions to reverse global warming have been fragmented with overlapping and competing initiatives. A climate church should support effective initiatives not reinvent new ones. Although informed by science the book is not technical and largely ignores specifics of addressing climate-change denial other than acknowledging how psychologically difficult it is for people to enter into the fray. The issue has become so politically charged and a conversation downer. Religious institutions may acknowledge climate change with hesitation, even reluctance or focus on small individual actions such as changing lightbulbs or improving church facilities. Individuals often feel overwhelmed and powerless in the face of organized opposition. We are preoccupied by day-to-day concerns and want to avoid depression, which results in inaction. I appreciated the useful footnotes for each chapter, but the book has a more inspiring and motivational tone rather than scholarly. There are biblical references in the book, but they are used more prophetically than as proof-texting why religious people should be committed to reversing climate change. It’s much more about collective rather then individual salvation. Antal quotes Bill McKibben who says: “the most important thing an individual can do about climate change is to stop being an individual.” The book provides questions at the end of 12 sections/chapters which makes it convenient for group book study in 6 sessions. I look forward to re-reading this important book together with new friends (from other religions, denominations and no religion), probably with weekly zoom discussions. Education, motivation and collective empowerment are first steps to action. Today there is even more urgency for mankind to take broad systemic actions to reverse the negative effects of climate change. We have a climate emergency. You can purchase Climate Church, Climate World on Amazon kindle for $14.46. Jim Antal is an award-winning activist and public theologian. Find out more at Antal’s Website Rick Bonetti

SOCAN’s Ashland Climate Action Project: The Future of Natural Gas Speaker Christy Anderson Brekken, President of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Boar will speak on The Future of Natural Gas April 28, 2022 from 6-7 p.m. on Zoom. Registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAoceCsrTMtHdXYtX4Mr15Oa8MmvMQ8Mw5S “We have little time to de-carbonize our energy systems. The science of climate change is clear; alternative technology is available and economically feasible. Now is the time for government policy to speed the transformation to a clean energy economy." ~ SOCAN "This program will unpack the authority of different government bodies to set clean energy policy and current opportunities to advocate for reducing methane from the use of natural gas in our energy system.”

From Methodist minister David Felten in Fountain Hills, AZ (where I worked for 16 years and lived in nearby Scottsdale): “For those who, like me, are so over the whole substitutionary atonement thing, here’s some encouragement from 12th-century theologian Peter Abelard (who opposed Anselm and the whole bloody, guilt-ridden satisfaction theory that still dominates most churches):" “Christ died neither because a ransom had to be paid to the devil, nor because the blood of an innocent victim was needed to appease the wrath of God, but that a supreme exhibition of love might kindle a corresponding love in the hearts of [all] and inspire them with the true freedom of [being children] of God.” May your Easter celebration not be about a once-upon-a-time story, but a rising up of hope in world entranced by despair. ~ Robin Meyers & Bruce Sanguin Felten is author of Living the Questions.

Unitarian Universalist Ministry For Earth "seeks environmental justice, beloved community and the flourishing of all life." Spring for Change: a Season of Sacred Activism is from March 20, 2022 (Spring Equinox) through May 22, 2022 (International Day for Biodiversity). This is an invitation to the Unitarian Universalist faith community to embody the transformational, regenerative power of Spring through sacred activism for Earth and all our relations. The 2022 Spring for Change theme is Get Rooted, Get Ready! During this Season of Sacred Activism Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone and Aly Tharp will be hosting three Eco-Ministry Community Support Calls for ministers, religious educators, eco-ministry professionals and lay leaders to find joy, resources and community support for their work! Calls will be one hour, and will include role-based breakout groups. Are you planning something exciting for Earth Day/Month? Are you looking for inspiration and ideas to catalyze your community? Are you losing steam and needing a morale boost? These calls are for you! Register for one or more community calls: April 7, 2022 at 1 PT May 5, 2022 at 1 PT May 19, 2022 at 1 PT

“Using our shared humanity to bridge divides.” Harmony Interfaith Initiative is “an educational community organization affiliated with The Charter for Compassion, with the goal to spread the message of harmony to people of all faiths.” They are offering a 4 week course Working Together Towards Harmony: Using Our Shared Humanity to Bridge Theological and Ideological Divides starting May 21, 2018. It includes interactive sessions, downloadable audio recordings for each session, worksheets, PDF documents, and a free PDF edition of Interfaith Minister Gudjon Bergmann’s book, Experifaith: At the Heart of Every Religion. The cost of the course is $15. All proceeds go to fund The Charter for Compassion. Register by clicking here. Learn more from the Harmony Interfaith Initiative website: “Harmony Exists on a Wide Spectrum – As humans move from acrimony to harmony, they go through a wide spectrum, anything from ceasing hostilities to increased tolerance and understanding, finally moving into cooperation and culminating in fellowship. The goal is to work towards harmony, not achieve it from the first moment. The Human and Ideological Personas – According to Padraig O’Malley, who was instrumental during the Northern Ireland peace process, each human being is a mix of two personas. One persona is human and shares a number of elements with other human beings. The other persona is ideological and often quite divisive. When people clearly understand the difference between the two personas, they can better communicate with each other, reduce the likelihood of dehumanization, and increase their ability so see similarities. Using Human Experiences to Build Bridges –  From breaking bread with strangers to working together for the good of the less fortunate, face-to-face human experiences have historically been essential to the bridge building process. By exploring a variety of experiences that people can create to connect with each other, our aim is to expand horizons and open up new possibilities when bridge building efforts are needed in the community. Dialogue Principles for Respectful and Effective Communications – The ten interreligious dialogue principles created by Dr. Leonard Swidler provide a template for all types of difficult discussions where divisions exist. The principles focus on respect, effectiveness, and humility, and can be applied much more widely than in interfaith settings. The dialogue guidelines set parameters and reduce the likelihood of tempers flaring during discussions. The Attraction–Repulsion Axiom – The attraction–repulsion axiom states that as an attraction to one thing grows, repulsion to its opposite is automatically triggered. Knowing about this inborn tendency, and having plans for what to do when it surfaces, will reduce the likelihood that love for one thing will turn into hate for another.” The Experifaith model rests on the notion that “the religions of the world are not the same, but they converge at the point of experience. With a sole focus on experience, the model identifies and validates two major experiential paths that are found in all religions and spiritual traditions: The path of Goodness is external in nature. It is expansive and focuses on increasing capacity for love, compassion, and empathy. The path of Oneness is internal in nature. It is introverted and focuses on detaching from all the elements that are not permanently present. To learn more about the model, visit www.experifaith.org or buy the book. Tags: Harmony, Building Bridges, Interfaith, Communication

John Cassidy of The New Yorker, in reviewing Adam Tooze’s book Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World (2018) says the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis produced a lost decade for European economies and helped lead to the rise of anti-establishment political movements here and abroad. “September 15th marks the tenth anniversary of the demise of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, which presaged the biggest financial crisis and deepest economic recession since the nineteen-thirties. After Lehman filed for bankruptcy, and great swaths of the markets froze, it looked as if many other major financial institutions would also collapse. On September 18, 2008, Hank Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, went to Capitol Hill and told congressional leaders that if they didn’t authorize a seven-hundred-billion-dollar bank bailout the financial system would implode. Some Republicans reluctantly set aside their reservations. The bailout bill passed. The panic on Wall Street abated.” For a view from the other side of the pond, check out David Runciman of University of Cambridge Talking Politics August 29, 2018 podcast interview of Adam Tooze. Geo-politics and economics only make sense together. China’s investments in the U.S., the banking crisis and oil prices are part of the picture. Runciman argues in his 2018 book is How Democracy Ends that rather than experiencing a return to the 1930’s “we will continue to trust in democracy long after it has ceased to work.” His recent Darwin lecture on Trump as conspiracy theorist can be seen here. Democracy has died hundreds of times, all over the world. We think we know what that looks like: chaos descends and the military arrives to restore order, until the people can be trusted to look after their own affairs again. However, there is a danger that this picture is out of date. Until very recently, most citizens of Western democracies would have imagined that the end was a long way off, and very few would have thought it might be happening before their eyes as Trump, Brexit and paranoid populism have become a reality. Meanwhile Goldman Sach’s so-called bull-bear indicator, which examines five market factors, indicates that “the likelihood of a bear market occurring is at its highest point since around the mid-1970s… and a period of lower returns should be anticipated.” A month and a half ago Morgan Stanley warned to “prepare for the biggest stock-market selloff in months.” John Hussman, whose claim to fame includes forecasting the market collapses of 2000 and 2007-2008, has repeatedly called for sharp stock market decline with his oft-repeated mantra of “overbought, overvalued, overbullish.” Truthdig’s Nomi Prins writes and speaks about the Banks That Run the World and Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World Probably the most dismal view is espoused by Chris Hedges who recently wrote Conjuring Up the Next Depression and the book America: The Farewell Tour. Watch his recent YouTube video here.

Southern Oregon University invites the Rogue Valley community, and beyond, to their annual Earth Day Extravaganza on April 22, 2022 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at The Farm at SOU, located at 155 Walker Avenue, Ashland Oregon. There will be exhibitors, entertainment, an ecoquest adventure, educational mini-workshops, games and more, all in celebration of the 52nd Earth Day. Hands-on education and engagement activities will be offered for audiences of all ages! Mini-workshops and activity stations by SOU’s Masters in Science in Environmental Education students Pollinator Art Walk and Talk featuring artist Shoshana Dubiner’s art installation panels in the Farm’s Food Forest Tours of The Farm at SOU! The Earth Day Extravaganza offers a unique opportunity to engage with the community and share opportunities for action and education for the health of our planet and people. Exhibits will be related to environmental conservation, sustainability, sustainable living, or social justice and equity.

Creatively United’s next webinar in our Climate and Artists Series will include inspiring interviews on a wide range of projects that are charting the future towards healthier, happier communities. In keeping with this season’s overall theme of Regeneration, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, we will explore new technologies that break down barriers to net zero carbon living, including re-designing communities for the future with emphasis on: Zero waste buildings and harmless homes Creating cohousing as sustainable living Healthy energy & healthy homes Living forest communities, art & conservations Overcoming barriers to EV charging stations in stratas Can't make the live webinar? No worries. By registering for this free webinar, you will receive the replay link to watch at your convenience. Presenters include: Order of Canada award-winning singer/songwriter, Ann Mortifee, plus Jack Anderson, Helen Boyd, Jim Bronson & Sandi Goldie, Jim Connelly, Arno Keinonen, Doug Makaroff, and Roy Yeske. Register Here For Free About Our Presenters Jack Anderson launched Greenplan in 2001. His educational background comprises of architecture, urban design and ecological community design. He has 15 years experience for provincial and local government agencies, including: the City of Nanaimo’s first Planning Department; the City of Nanaimo’s first Park planner in the Parks and Recreation Department; and, from 1993 to 2000, within the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Building Inspection and Planning Departments. Helen Boyd is a registered nurse and mental health therapist who is passionately committed to conserving and enriching our planetary health for generations to come. She is the BC Representative of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment and board member and liaison to the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Jim Bronson comes to climate activism as a scientist, Sandi Goldie as a teacher, and both as lovers of the natural world who want the best possible future for their grandchildren. In 2018, they began leading classes based on solutions to the climate crisis outlined in Paul Hawken’s book Drawdown, and were founding members of Drawdown BC. They lead online Saturday Solutions Synergy Sessions every two months, where people from the US and Canada meet to inspire one another with their work for a healthy planet. They moved to Oregon in 2021, where they are helping to create River Song, a co-housing community which is implementing cooperative living in a sustainable way. Jim Connelly is an estimator with more than 30 years of experience with Nickel Bros. He will share the many benefits of moving homes vs. demolishing them. Arno Keinonen is an innovator and pioneer dedicated to finding low carbon building solutions. His own home was created to become one of the world’s first test cases for disruptive and revolutionary new technology. He will share an update on what has been learned from this process since Creatively United produced The Harmless Homedocumentary in 2019. Doug Makaroff is the Executive Director of The Trust for Sustainable Forestry, a registered Canadian charity. Doug has 31 years of experience as a sustainable urban planner and real estate developer; creating new towns and walkable neighbourhoods with a mix of uses, ages and incomes. From 2006 to the present, Doug has focused on building conservation communities in BC; where light-on-the-land development is clustered on 5 to 15% of the land base, with the remainder of the forest land conserved or dedicated to the most sustainable forms of eco-forestry. He will share how this model is an alternative to clear cutting and suburban sprawl that also provides jobs and homes, while saving trees. Ann Mortifee, is an award-winning musician, artist, author, environmental activist and Order of Canada recipient and the co-founder and chair of The Trust for Sustainable Forestry. In 2002, Ann established the first Conservation Community on Cortes Island in British Columbia by registering a new land use zone (Community Land Stewardship Zone) as an alternative to suburban sprawl and deforestation. Not only is Ann a sought-after keynote speaker and facilitator of workshops on creativity and consciousness, but her dedication to human and planetary healing has resulted in Ann receiving numerous awards and recognition, including Queen Elizabeth II Silver and Diamond Jubilee Medals and being recognized as the YMCA’s Woman of the Year. Roy Yeske with more than 30 years of experience on strata councils and 35-years as an electrical engineer, manager and administrator at Saskpower, was well positioned to initiate, lead and manage his strata building’s conversion to full LED lighting and successfully install EV Ready Infrastructure to all 30 parking stalls in the building’s parkade for significant cost savings to the residents. He will share advice and tips on the many benefits these types of conversion offer and how to move projects like this forward with resistant stratas or building owners/managers.

Addressing the Climate Crisis in Oregon 2022 Legislative and OCAP Progress: Thanks to the Governor’s 2020 Executive Order 20-04, and passage of several bills addressing elements of the climate crisis, Oregon has started to regain climate leadership and resume its historic role at the forefront of environmental protection. The March Southern Oregon Climate Action Now general meeting, scheduled as a ZOOM program from 6:00 – 7:00 pm March 29, 2022 will offer a summary of what happened during the 2022 legislative session and what is happening on the agency front in response to the Executive Order. The program will feature Rural Oregon Climate Political Action Committee Director Hogan Sherrow, and SOCAN cofacilitator Alan Journet, both of whom have been monitoring developments and engaging where opportunities were offered. There is no charge for joining the ZOOM meeting, but participants must register. These meetings are free and open to the public Link to Register: bit.ly/SOCAN-MarchMtg