Climate Action Ministry Team News
News from The Climate Action Ministry Team, a group of FCCB members and friends addressing the issue of global warming.
Climate Action Screens “Future of Food”
April 26, 2008
The Climate Action Ministry Team will be screening the film “Future of Food” at 7 p.m on Saturday, April 26, in the Small Assembly. The event will also include a “100-Mile Dessert.”
The film tells the story behind the American diet and where our food comes from. It also discusses genetically modified foods, industrial agriculture and how these topics relate to our obesity epidemic, and our destruction of ecosystems for good production. It also highlights Berkeley’s Farmers Markets and the great work that is being done in the Bay Area to respond to these issues.
The dessert points to the value of cooking with ingredients that are grown close to where you live. Bring a dessert to share made from as many locally grown/produced products as possible. A prize will be given to the dessert with the most local ingredients.
Climate Action Visits Solar Living Institute
On Saturday, April 19, the Climate Action Ministry Team sponsored a field trip to the Solar Living Institute in Hopland about 85 miles north of Berkeley on HWY 101. What an amazing place! In 1994 it was a transportation dump site with only one tree—the one with the tree house.
Real Goods Trading Co. bought the property and together with other groups created a 12-acre oasis that models living sustainably in a closed ecological system (such as the earth). The water is solar-pumped from the Russian River Aquafer, and returns to it; the garden, plantings, and trees extend outward in “layers” from the kitchen garden to nut trees, to hardwood trees for furniture and fire.
The large pond has a balanced variety of life, providing for the health of the inhabitants, and the water is purified through a sand filter. In 2000 the Solar Array was built in 8 weeks, produces 160,000 kWh/yr and now nets $50,000 a year providing energy for the local utility district. The solar powered Carousel will be open in a couple of months. The buildings are created from recyled materials using everything from crushed concrete to perscription bottles, and all electricity needs from solar cells. Biodiesel fuel is available for $4.11/gal.
It is a beautiful site and the drive up is magnificent. Solfest XIII will be held August 16-17, but tours are offered Friday–Sunday each week at 11:00 and 3:00.
Climate Action Team 100-mile Potluck Dinner and Movie Night
March 8, 2008
On Saturday, March 8, the Climate Action Ministry Team invites you to its Second 100-mile Potluck Dinner and Movie Night starting at 5:30 pm in the Large Assembly. Most of the food we eat travels hundreds, if not thousands of miles before it is presented on our plates. We challenge you to create a potluck dish with most ingredients grown within 100 miles of Berkeley.
At 7:00 pm we will be showing the documentary film, What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire, which looks at the current global situation and asks: How did we end up in this state of affairs? Why do we keep destroying the planet? What do we truly want? Can we find a vision that will empower us to do what is necessary to survive, and even thrive, in the coming decades? Join us for this powerful film followed by a short discussion.
WING IT! Teams Up with Climate Action for “Hot Earth” Performance
Nov. 9, 2007
On Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 pm, WING IT! Performance Ensemble, directed by FCCB’s Minister of Art & Communication, Phil Porter, will turn its creative gaze directly on questions of global warming and earth care.
Are we going to burn to a crisp in 10 years? Come find out! This multi-talented and exuberant InterPlay-style improvisational ensemble seamlessly weaves storytelling, movement, and live music while confessionally exploring all the personal and political angles of this “hot” issue.
Members of the Climate Action Ministry Team who will be on hand to share information and inspiration for change!
Suggested donation: $20 if you drive, $15 each if you carpool (3 people or more), $10 if you leave your car at home. Tickets are available at church (510/848-3696) or charge by phone by calling InterPlay at 510/465-2797.
More about WING IT! at the InterPlay website.
Climate Action’s Michele McGeoy Featured on Channel 20
Sept 18, 2007
Climate Action Ministry Team member Michele McGeoy, who is also the director of Solar Richmond, has helped start a jobs program to train Richmond residents to install solar panel systems. The program was featured on Channel 20. Watch the video about these new “green collar workers.”
Movie Night: “Who Killed the Electric Car?”
July 27, 2007
The Climate Action Ministry Team invites you to a movie night on Friday, July 27, where they will screen “Who Killed the Electric Car?” This documentary delves into the short life of the GM EV1 electric car—once all the rage in the mid-1990s and now fallen by the roadside. How could such an efficient, green-friendly vehicle fail to transform our garages and skies? Come find out how this important technology might be reclaimed. Popcorn provided! The showing will take place in the Small Assembly.
FCCB Members “Boogey to Church” to Save the Planet
July 15, 2007
Spurred by the Climate Action Ministry Team, many FCCB members left their cars at home and found other ways to get to church on Sunday, July 15. Some took public transportation, some walked or rode bikes and others carpooled to cut down on vehicle use. It was estimated that 30 or 40 cars got a “day of rest” as a result.
Climate Action Ministry Team member Michele McGeoy created tags that were worn by those who took alternative transportation. FCCB members are encouraged to make this a habit as they travel to church and other locations!
Check out public transportation to the church.
80 Gather for Climate Action Rally!
April 14, 2007
80 people from age 8 to 80 braved the rain to attend FCCB’s Step It Up 2007 rally at the busiest intersection in Emeryville—a spot that will be under 5 feet of water without dramatic action to reduce carbon emissions. The large number of people who attended enabled us to cover 3 corners of the intersection. It was an amazing, completely grassroots effort—complete with spontaneous cheers (“carbon, carbon everywhere; come on, Congress, don’t you care?”) and constant honks of support. The eight members of the Climate Action Ministry Team who organized the event were incredibly inspired to see 30 from our congregation and 50 friends and total strangers show up at the event. Folks had heard about the event through Step It Up’s great press efforts, an e-mail that MoveOn sent to its 3 million members, and KPFA, which featured us on their live radio broadcast that morning. The mayor of Emeryville, Nora Davis, showed up to cheer us on and tell us what her city is doing to reduce carbon. Everyone who came signed up to participate in the next Step It Up event. Onward!
See photos of other Step It Up events all over the country!
Climate Action Rally Preparations
April 1, 2007
Organized by the Climate Action Ministry Team at First Congregational Church of Berkeley
On April 14th, tens of thousands of Americans will gather all across the country at meaningful, iconic places to call for action on climate change. They will hike, bike, climb, walk, swim, kayak, canoe, or simply sit or stand with banners proclaiming a call to action: “Step It Up Congress! Cut Carbon 80% by 2050”
FCCB’s Climate Action Ministry Team invites you to participate in what could be the biggest national demonstration for climate change to happen so far. Join us near Emery Bay to encourage the national government to commit to dramatic decreases in carbon emissions by 2050. This busy location was chosen because it will be under water this century if serious action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Step It Up! Campaign is being spearheaded by Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, who we hope will be next year’s FCCB McCall Lecturer.
Saturday, April 14 • 12 noon–3 p.m.
Powell Street and Christie Avenue, Emeryville
Meet in the FCCB parking lot at 11:15 a.m. to carpool.
Banner Painting and Potluck
Saturday, March 31 • 6–9 p.m.
First Congregational Church of Berkeley
Large Assembly, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
Potluck Dinner
A “100-mile meal” challenge! Local, meat-free diets result in significantly less greenhouse gases. See if you can prepare a vegetarian dish using foods grown within 100 miles of Berkeley—but please come anyway if you can’t! Tips for finding locally grown foods in the Berkeley area.
Banner and Sign Painting
Help us prepare signs and banners for the rally! All materials provided—just come with an apron or an old t-shirt to protect your clothes.
Children welcome!
Our faith demands that we protect the Earth’s most vulnerable populations and preserve the Earth as we know it for all generations to come. For more information, find our event at StepItUp2007.org.
Take the “Carbon Challenge”
November 1, 2006
Members of the FCCB community are invited by the new Climate Action Ministry Team to “Take the Carbon Challenge.” Your household pledges to take action during the coming year to significantly reduce your “carbon footprint”—a measure of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with daily activities. First you will measure your household carbon footprint. The committee will then provide you with resources and support in taking carbon-reducing steps, including periodic “carbon anonymous” meetings!
The initial goal is to have 50 FCCB households participate in the challenge and to reduce by 15% this group’s collective carbon footprint by the end of one year. If we succeed, we can create a handbook to promote awareness and action in faith communities around the country.
“Carbon footprint” instructions can be picked up after worship on Sunday in the Large Assembly (look for the participation “thermometer”). If you picked up the instructions already, don’t forget to bring the completed form and put it in the collection box by the thermometer—if you are one of the first 15, you will receive a free carbon-saving compact fluorescent light bulb! There is no cut-off date for participation, but the committee hopes to receive most surveys in November.
The team’s “Challenge” states: “The Earth is in peril. Action at all levels, both individual and collective, is urgently required. If we cannot significantly reduce carbon consumption in Berkeley, within FCCB”s educated, caring and relatively affluent congregation, how can we expect these goals to be achieved in communities across the country? By challenging/ empowering ourselves with the support of our faith community, we can set a shining example of what can be achieved out of love for God’s creation and all of God’s people, those living now and all future generations across the globe.”
Some 60 people attended An Inconvenient Truth on Wednesday the 25th, and over 50 attended Second Hour last Sunday to learn about the Challenge project. Climate Action members Tim Specht, Randy Summers, Rich Wong, Michele McGeoy, Adelina Canez and Nancy Rader, plus GTU student Jenny Veninga participated in the Second Hour panel explaining the theological context and importance of reducing our carbon “footprint.”
Download the instructions for taking part in the “Carbon Challenge”.
You can participate in this process even if you aren’t an FCCB member! If you have found your way to this webpage you can take part!
Resources on Reducing Your Transportation-Related Carbon
December 5, 2006
The Climate Action Ministry Team has organized information to help people find ways to reduce their carbon output. The first topic is transportation.