Plan to join in, become active, and make a difference

WVIPL is a group of West Virginians from various faith traditions who take seriously the threat of climate change to our communities and the environment. We heed the urgent call to care for creation by promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sound policy that protects our people and communities from environmental (and intersecting) injustices.

With membership including both faith leaders and laypeople alike, we are a state affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light network. We welcome all who share in our mission to join us as a member or an ally.

Interested in our work? Want more information? Contact us!

INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT

Forest Path --> www.CO2covenant.org

>> The mission of Interfaith Power & Light is to be faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

Dear Friends,

These are historic days, as we witness the peaceful transfer of power to a new president. I revere our democratic principles but I am concerned about our new president’s agenda. He has indicated he will roll back critical environmental and climate protections, weaken the EPA, and take the U.S. out of the historic Paris climate accord. We must not let that happen.

Now is the time to renew our commitment and redouble our efforts to protect Creation and be the stewards of this planet. We will stand up to those who would harm Creation and we will defend vulnerable people and communities who are suffering the impacts of extreme weather, pollution, and sea rise. Join me in renewing your commitment today.

Our cause could not be more urgent. Scientists announced this week that 2016 was the warmest year on record. The amount of heat we are putting into the Earth’s atmosphere each year is equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding across the planet every day.

Yet I have hope because people are waking up to the existential threat to Creation posed by global warming, and they are getting involved. Houses of worship are going green. And every day I hear about the amazing work you and your faith communities are doing.

Many IPL congregations are hosting vigils for the Earth this weekend. Join a vigil. Pray, be in community, and act.

More than ever, your voice matters. We need your help to build a bigger, more committed, more powerful, values-based movement to protect Creation. Please join with IPL and pledge to redouble your commitment to the Earth and each other. Become even more involved with the IPL affiliate in your state.  Invite more people, and other faith communities, to address the climate issues affecting your city and state. Let your elected officials hear from you — often. Take the lead on local initiatives.

Take the pledge today. Together, we will prevail.

Keeping the faith, The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham
President, Interfaith Power & Light

Address: Interfaith Power & Light
369 Pine St., Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94104

See also: http://www.interfaithpowerandlight.org/

I.P.L. 2014 Annual Meeting

Greetings from Susan Stephenson, Interfaith Power & Light, August 20, 2015

The Obama Administration and the EPA have announced first-ever regulations to control methane emissions from oil and gas sites around the nation. Our IPL urged the EPA to take action on methane last year.

Industrial leaks from oil and gas infrastructure are like an invisible oil spill happening every day. Methane is also a toxic pollutant and a potent greenhouse gas that is harming communities around the country. It contributes to ground-level smog that disproportionately impacts children, the elderly and the poor who tend to live in closer proximity to pollution sources. Justice demands that we protect these vulnerable populations from this insidious threat.

There’s a lot more to do, as these standards will only address new and modified oil and gas sites. But existing and abandoned wells, drilling and transportation infrastructure are still a major risk and contributor to climate change.

Top Five (5) Reasons Methane Matters, IPL, August 20, 2015

The EPA’s Proposed Methane Pollution Standards for the oil and gas industry are a critical component of the Obama administration’s strategy to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Here are five things you may not know about methane – and why curbing it matters for the climate.

1) Methane is responsible for up to 25% of the warming we are currently experiencing. Methane (CH4) is the most prevalent greenhouse gas after CO2 and the EPA has inventoried its sources and impact on global warming: http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html

2) Methane traps 80 times as much heat over a 20-year period as carbon dioxide. While methane’s lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter than CO2, it is much more efficient at trapping radiation. In order to respond quickly to climate change, cutting methane emissions is critical. http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html

3) Industry wastes millions of tons of gas through leaks and flaring every year. NRDC, Sierra Club, and other environmental groups published a report earlier this year showing how EPA could cut methane emissions in half by reducing waste at existing oil and gas infrastructure nationwide: http://docs.nrdc.org/energy/ene_14111901.asp

4) The technology to prevent methane and toxic air pollution is widely and easily available and affordable. The Environmental Defense Fund conducted a 16-part study on methane leakage and identified many cost-effective tools to plug the leaks that are available now. https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-studies

5) Addressing methane pollution is an important piece of the Obama administration’s plan to cut global warming pollution by 26-28% by 2025. This pledge was made to the U.N. in advance of the international climate conference in Paris at the end of 2015.https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/31/fact-sheet-us-reports-its-2025-emissions-target-unfccc

Every journey must begin with a first step, and this is a big one. We will be encouraging the EPA to implement these new standards expeditiously and to expand upon them during the 60-day comment period.  Will you stand with us?

Sincerely, Susan Stephenson, Executive Director, Interfaith Power & Light

See our web-site: www.interfaithpowerandlight.org