Uncategorized

The impacts of climate variability and change affect everyone, but they disproportionately affect socially vulnerable populations, as they are the ones with the least resources to prepare and recover from impacts. Understanding where these concerns sit within a broad spectrum of stressors and challenges is important in order to identify opportunities to effectively communicate challenges and increase community resilience.

This week, NC Interfaith Power & Light facilitated an Inclusive Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building session at the 2016 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference. Participants engaged in dialogue about their experiences with climate-related impacts that are anticipated to affect vulnerable or marginalized communities in the Carolinas. Proven examples of programs and adaptation models were shared to demonstrate successes in preparing communities to face these challenges.

Speakers included Jacqui Patterson – Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Rev. Leo Woodberry – Director of the Kingdom Living Temple in Florence, South Carolina, and Dr. Ronny Bell – Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and Director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Ongoing goals of the workshop

• To help participants consider how they can bring more inclusivity into their climate and weather work
• To identify action steps that climate professionals and communities can use to incorporate considerations for relevant impacts to vulnerable populations into their work
• To discuss climate-related impacts within the broader spectrum of challenges faced by vulnerable populations in the Carolinas
• To explore common language among community members, extension professionals, and scientists that can further foster collaborative engagement among these groups

The workshop was designed for conference attendees who live in or work with communities with socially vulnerable populations and to facilitate dialogue between community members and climate professionals seeking to provide communities with information and support. Participants will continue collaborating as a network to develop action steps to incorporate the ongoing goals of the workshop and considerations for communities across the Carolinas.

For more information about the session and how to engage in the network contact: susannah@ncipl.org.

We are thrilled to share that Penny J. Hopper has been awarded “Woman of the Year” by the League of Women Voters of Carteret County, NC.

Penny joined NC Interfaith Power & Light in 2008 as a Steering Committee Member. A year later, she became the Secretary and in 2014 was elected to Vice-Chair. Her roles beyond NCIPL’s Executive Committee include chairing the Leadership Council, serving on the Worship Working Group, as well as serving as the coastal liaison between NCIPL and the Sierra Club, and being actively involved in her Unitarian Coastal Fellowship Green Sanctuary Committee. She retired from teaching Biology at Carteret Community College in 2010 and has been a full time volunteer environmental activist since that time.

Click here to read Penny’s story sketched in last year’s Coastal Review publication.

We are blessed to have Penny’s leadership as part of our state-wide Creation Care initiatives and I hope you will join me in congratulating her for this well deserved recognition!

Penny Hooper’s acceptance for “Woman of the Year” Award – August 25, 2016

A big THANK YOU to the League of Women Voters for organizing this competition!

This is an opportunity to highlight on Women’s Equality Day the good works done throughout our community by many different women over the years.

I was honored just to be nominated for the award, and I was totally surprised to hear from Carol Geer that when the votes were counted this year, I had won. I am so sorry that I cannot be with you to celebrate, but I am in Indiana attending my 50^th High School Reunion, which obviously only happens once in 50 years!  Thanks to Lucy Bond who nominated me for delivering these brief remarks.

I feel very strongly that this award is a recognition of the work each of us does in our community. It is not about us as individual women, but it is about being involved and active in our places of business, in our churches, in our civic groups, and in our community in general. I realize that Carteret County is a better place because all of us are working together to make this a better place for all.  As we approach Labor Day, let me say thank you to each of you for the work you do.

Some folks might ask the question, “Why bother going to meetings, making phone calls, organizing folks, and volunteering your time and energy? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to just relax and enjoy life on our beautiful Crystal Coast?” I came across this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson which captures one of the reasons we all do what we do. I have taken the liberty of changing his pronouns to the feminine gender since this is Women’s Equality Day.

Here’s what Emerson had to say:

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no woman can seriously help another without helping herself.

We are all richly blessed by the work we do and the connections we make through that work.

As I worked this past year with a group of folks gathered under the banner of “Concerned Citizens” to stop offshore oil drilling on the mid-Atlantic Coast, I came to realize once again, that the important things in life are not your political party, the color of your skin, your gender, your age, your religion, or any of those things. The important thing for each of us is to act out of a place of love, not hate, and to share that love with others for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

We all CAN and DO make a difference by working together in our community.

Thank you for all that each of you do. And thank you again to the League of Women Voters for providing this wonderful recognition every year. I am truly honored!

Penny Hooper
pjhooper@ec.rr.com

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan education and advocacy organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. To conduct voter service and citizen education activities funds come from the League of Women Voters Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization. The League of Women Voters, a membership organization, conducts action and advocacy and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.

Energy usage is soaring in NC as we all try and stay cool during the long days of heat & humidity this summer. It’s a great time to highlight an opportunity for your congregation to work with NC Interfaith Power & Light’s emPOWERerd program.

NCIPL is currently working to strengthen the community of faith-based organizations in North Carolina that focus on energy efficiency and sustainable energy use so they can more easily learn from and help each other. NCIPL offers support to congregations in the form of energy audits and energy data assessments to help congregations find opportunities to improve their energy efficiency. NCIPL offers the energy savings analysis at no charge to faith communities.

Many congregations in North Carolina have already done a great deal already to improve their energy efficiency, which reduces pollution and supports human health. But, we’ve seen that continual efficiency improvements are possible as equipment and strategies improve, and that significant dollars can be recovered for the ministries and missions of the faith community.

This summer we launched a new campaign helping congregations to more easily access easy-to-read energy data reports. The program is called TEAM Spirit, a collaborative program with NC faith communities, NC Interfaith Power and Light, and NC Sustainable Energy Association.

In partnership we can provide a portfolio of services that educate and empower NC congregations about energy use, efficiency, and their relationship with their utility providers. The TEAM Spirit program incorporates tools, resources, utility data collection and analysis, and energy advisor services to educate and empower congregations to take action, reduce energy use, and save money.

The goal is to provide a professional perspective on how your building uses energy and provide you with educational material about low and no-­cost changes your congregation can make to reduce its carbon footprint and utility bills.

The way we power our world harms the earth as well as ourselves. We can be better stewards of our resources by producing electricity sustainably and investing in energy efficiency so we use less electricity.

Please reach out to NCIPL Program Director, Susannah Tuttle at susannah@ncipl.org to connect, share your work, and ask for any help benchmarking your energy use. www.ncipl.org.

Thank you for for your interest in connecting, together WE WILL create a cleaner, safer, healthy future for all!

On May 11^th NCIPL hosted the 2^nd Annual Faith Voices for Clean Energy Advocacy Day. Members of faith communities from across the state met with representatives of the NC General Assembly to hear their vision for North Carolina’s energy future and to express our support for new and existing clean energy policies.

Throughout the legislative session you can participate virtually in the Faith Voices for Clean Energy campaign by sending emails to your members of the NC General Assembly through NCIPL’s online system.

Clean energy policies in NC are generating billions of dollars for the economy and creating thousands of full time jobs across the state. There are currently over 26,000 full time equivalent (FTE) clean energy employees in NC who are generating $7 billion (45% increase since 2014) in gross revenues for our state’s economy. North Carolina’s clean energy policies are also saving ratepayers money. A 2015 study by RTI International and ScottMadden found that North Carolina’s Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) policy has saved customers $162 million since 2007 and will save them an estimated additional $489 million by 2029.

North Carolina’s clean energy polices help to care for Creation by significantly reducing pollution across the state, which contributes to healthier communities and a better quality of life for all North Carolinians.

CLICK HERE to let your legislator know you support new and existing clean energy policies in North Carolina.

#AllAreCalled
#ActOnClimate
#FaithInAction