Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Living Earth: Remembrance

Pass the (genetically engineered) stuffing!
By Mary MinetteELCA Director for Environmental Advocacy and Education

You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.The pastures of the wilderness overflow,the hills gird themselves with joy,the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,the valleys deck themselves with grain,they shout and sing together with joy.- Psalm 65:11-13

Did you know that 68 percent of all corn and 91 percent of all soybeans planted in the United States in 2009 were varieties that have been genetically modified to survive the application of certain commercial herbicides (mostly Monsanto's Roundup) so that farmers can more easily control weeds?

And that 63 percent of corn planted in the U.S. in 2009 contained a gene from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, that produces a protein toxic to certain types of insects, so farmers can use fewer pesticides?

Given those numbers, it is likely that the cornbread that you use to make stuffing this Thanksgiving or the grain that your turkey ate on its way to your table contain genetically engineered (GE) crops.

What does this mean for you, and for the food supply of our country and the rest of the world?

The companies that have developed these seeds argue that they allow farmers to greatly increase their yield per acre and will be needed as the earth's population grows larger. Farmers say that they are able to apply fewer chemicals to their fields, helping the environment and saving them money, time and fuel. Proponents argue that in the future GE crops will help to manage agricultural risk from drought, pests and disease to make the world's food supply more secure, and that genetic modification holds the promise of developing more nutritious crops. And because farmers do not have to till their fields to remove weeds each year the carbon in the soil stays put rather than being released into the atmosphere, helping to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

However, not everyone is thrilled by increasing acreage planted in genetically modified seed. Some worry that GE crops may not be safe for humans and animals to eat. Thus far, studies of the most common genetically modified food crops have failed to show that they pose any such health risk; however, the massive growth in their use has taken place over a relatively short time period and the long term impacts are not yet known.

Others argue that pollen from genetically modified crops can easily become commingled with pollen from conventional crops. Pollen drift has already led to disputes between organic farmers and their neighbors growing GE crops. Pollen drift from GE crops tolerant of herbicides could potentially lead to "super weeds" resistant to commonly used herbicides and "super bugs" resistant to Bt. If this occurs, farmers will have to return to using more toxic herbicides and pesticides at the expense of the environment.

Some say that the promise that genetically modified crops will help to feed the world ignores structural problems with the world's food supply. They argue that overall supply is not the problem; other factors including unequal distribution of food and international trade policies that favor wealthy countries over poor countries are the root causes of global hunger.

Still others argue that the increasing use of GE crops in agriculture is assisting in the consolidation of our food system and the decline of small farms, as the influence of large agricultural corporations grows through the use of their genetically modified seed and related products.

These are all things to ponder this Thanksgiving, as we enjoy the fruits of the harvest and remember in our prayers those around the world who continue to live with chronic hunger.

Learn More and Speak Out
The ELCA has a social policy resolution on genetically modified organisms and is developing a social statement on genetics. A draft of the social statement will be available in mid-March 2010 and the ELCA Task Force on Genetics will be asking for your input and comments in hearings around the country from March through November of next year. Keep an eye on the ELCA’s website (www.elca.org/socialstatements) for the draft social statement and opportunities to comment!

A Prayer for the Journey
O Lord, maker of all things, you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living creature. We praise you for crowning the fields with your blessings and enabling us once more to gather in the fruits of the earth. Teach us to use your gifts carefully, that our land may continue to yield its increase, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.- Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 62 (Augsburg Fortress 2006)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Stop Moutainton Removal on Coal River Mountain

ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10TH SPEAK OUT FOR THE MOUNTAINS!
Join in a faith day of action against mountaintop removal coal mining

"Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice."- Micah 6:1

Mountaintop removal coal mining is a practice used primarily in the Appalachian Mountains, where the tops of mountains are removed to expose seams of coal; earth and rock from the mountaintop is then dumped in neighboring valleys. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 1,000 miles of streams in the Appalachian region have been buried by fill from mountaintop mines and at least 800 square miles of mountaintops have been lost forever. Mountaintop removal mining provides jobs in one of our country's poorest regions, but at the expense of the land, water, culture and community of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn more about mountaintop removal here.

Several years ago, at the urging of several synods in the Appalachian region, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a social policy resolution that expressed great concern about the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and advocated for an end to it.

In the years since that resolution passed, numerous efforts have been made to slow or halt the practice of mountaintop removal mining. The ELCA has continued to urge both an end to the practice and the development of alternative energy sources that may become a source of jobs and economic growth in the Appalachian region and beyond.

We need your help now to stop one of the most destructive of these mines from destroying yet another mountain!

Blasting recently began on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, and the West Virginia DEP has confirmed that coal is being moved off the mountain. This was devastating news to advocates in nearby communities who have rallied around an alternate plan to build a wind farm on Coal River Mountain, the highest peak ever slated for mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and one of the last intact peaks in the Coal River Valley. The proposed wind farm has the potential to provide electricity for over 70,000 homes, as well as to create good, permanent jobs for the community. When fully operational, the mountaintop removal mine will stripmine over 6,000 acres of Coal River Mountain -- close to 10 square miles that will be forever changed and no longer useable for wind power.

God entrusted stewardship of the land and water to our care (Genesis 2:15). As part of our call to be stewards of creation, we have a duty to use the land responsibly, to manage it so that it serves the good of all, and to protect it for future generations and for all life. Send a message to the Environmental Protection Agency asking them to intervene and end the Coal River Mountain mining project.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Stop MTR on Coal River Mountain

Dear Lisa Jackson,
As a person of faith, I believe that we are called to be stewards of the Earth and to manage our land, water and other resources for the benefit of all of his creation and for future generations. I am greatly troubled by the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains -- this practice favors short term economic gain over the protection of these ancient mountains and the unique culture and communities that depend upon them.

Recently, mining operations have begun on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. This mountaintop removal mine has been opposed by many in the surrounding communities, who favor building a wind farm on the mountain as a way to protect it for current and future generations, provide energy for more than 70,000 homes, and create good, permanent jobs for residents of the surrounding area. This project would epitomize the clean energy future that President Obama spoken of so often; the mountaintop removal m ine that will prevent it from becoming a reality is a symbol of the dirty energy status quo.

I thank you for all that you have done so far in your term as administrator to slow the growth of mountaintop removal mines, and urge you to intervene in any way possible to prevent the mountaintop mine on Coal River Mountain from further damaging the mountain. I also urge you to lend your support to local community members fighting to establish a wind project on the mountain as a sustainable alternative to the mountaintop mine.

We are called by God to till and tend God's garden; mountaintop removal mining flies in the face of God's call to stewardship. I urge you to continue to do all that you can to ensure a cleaner, and less destructive, energy future for our nation.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)