Climate Justice - A Lenten Journey of Discovery

Climate Change and Food Security – A Story

Written by Mary Minette, Director of Environmental Education and Advocacy, andDavid Creech, Director for Hunger EducationEvangelical Lutheran Church in America

He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous.- Isaiah 30:23

In the small community of Las Jolotas, Nicaragua, subsistence farmers like Felicita and her son Ariel are already facing the impacts of climate change. Ever since Hurricane Mitch devastated western Nicaragua in 1998, rainfall patterns have grown increasingly unpredictable. Some years the rains fall late; other years the rains fall too hard, and there is no way to predict what type of year it will be. If the rains arrive late, seeds die without producing any harvest. If the rains cause flooding, seeds are swept away.

Farmers in Las Jolotas traditionally save just enough seeds from the previous harvest to plant during the next rainy season. If those seeds are lost, the results are devastating. Farmers may have to borrow money at high rates to purchase more seeds for planting, and may have to take on additional work to pay the loans back. Some farmers have stopped planting during the rainy season, choosing instead to migrate to El Salvador, Costa Rica, or even the United States to look for work. Family members left behind struggle to keep food on the table and children in school while their land lies fallow.

To support Felicita and her family as they try to adapt to the effects of climate change, The Lutheran World Federation - working with the Faith and Hope Lutheran Church of Nicaragua - helped them dig a shallow well. The water from the well is gravity-fed to irrigate crops during the dry season. Thanks to the well and Felicita's hard work, her lush garden - full of beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, and yucca - thrives in the middle of the dry summer months. Felicita will use the garden to feed her family and small farm animals. If there are leftover vegetables, she will sell them for added income.

The well protects Felicita and her family from uncertain weather patterns. In turn, the increased food security ensures that they will have enough to eat and will not have to migrate to faraway places, disrupting and perhaps ending Ariel's schooling and leaving their culture and community behind.

Solutions like this will need to be joined with other, much larger efforts, if subsistence farmers around the world are to adjust to the impacts of climate change that are already occurring. International development agencies are working hard to adapt to and address this new reality, but significant aid from governments and international agencies will be needed to ensure that families like Felicita's are able to survive and thrive as the earth's climate continues to change.

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)

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)

"The Shack"

"Our earth is like a child who has grown up without parents, having no one to guide and direct her. ...Some have tried to help her, but most have simply tried to use her. Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her, with no consideration other than their immediate needs. And they give little thought to their own children, who will inherit their lack of love. So they use her and abuse her with little consideration, and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fists at God" (The Shack, Wm. Paul Young).

Make a Phone Call for God's Creation

Call your Senators and ask them to support strong climate legislation this year. The U.S. Senate was supposed to take up climate and energy legislation this fall, but now they are saying they won't address climate change this year, if they even do it at all. This delay is unacceptable--climate change is a matter of great urgency for the future of God's creation and for people living in poverty around the globe who are already facing the impacts of a warming planet. Call: 1 888 784-0527

They need to hear from as many people as possible to ensure they address climate change now and not later. Give your Senators a call this week and tell them to pass climate legislation this year.

As people of faith, we are called to use our voices to speak out for justice for God's people and God's Creation. Call your Senators and tell them God's whole earth is good.
Call Today.

Here's How:
1. Dial the toll-free number 1-888-784-0527. Click here to if you do not know your Senator.
2. Once connected to the Capitol Switchboard, ask for one of your Senator's Offices.
3. Then, when you are connected, leave a message with the person who answers the phone.

Here's an example:"Hi. My name is ___________ and I am a constituent. As a person of faith, I believe that the Senate must address climate change this year. It is time for us to be good stewards of God's Earth and seek justice for all of God's people."

4. Repeat the steps with your 2nd Senator's office. Thank you for helping to ensure a strong climate bill.

Starbucks Pilots Coffee Cup Recycling Program

by Lauren Hasler

Approximately 3 billion Starbucks coffee cups are sent to the landfill each year, but a new recycling program in New York may help to curb that statistic.

Through a partnership with Green Global USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR), seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan began participating in a pilot program last week. Paper coffee cups will be collected and combined with old corrugated cardboard (OCC) for recycling.

Starbucks has a goal to create a comprehensive recycling solution that will make the cups easier to recycle by 2012. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com
Until now, the thin polyethylene plastic coating that prevents liquid leakages has made it difficult for most commercial services to process the cups. For this reason, disposable coffee cups are only accepted for recycling in some communities in the U.S.

However, preliminary trials done at Western Michigan University’s Coating and Recycling Pilot Plant on samples of the cups found they are recyclable and re-pulpable.

Global Green USA reports that every year, 58 billion paper cups are used in the U.S. at restaurants, events and homes. If all paper cups in the U.S. were recycled, 645,000 tons of waste would be diverted from landfills each year.

According to Annie White, director of CoRR, “The lessons learned from the cup recycling pilot can be applied to the recycling of hamburger, pizza and French fry containers, and all sorts of other paper food packaging.”

Cups will be collected in special paper liner bins along with OCC and delivered to Pratt Industries to be recycled. “Within 72 hours after being discarded, the cups collected in this demonstration program will be component in linerboard used to form New York’s take-out pizza boxes,” White said.

The results of the pilot program will be available in November.

DUSTY MAGAZINES? October Magazine Drive at Our Savior's

Fall is here! I have always loved fall. Not just because of the gorgeous fall colors, warm sun and crisp air, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils... but also because it feels like a time of new beginnings. Yes, fall means the end of summer, but it is also the beginning of a new season, a new school year, and new opportunities to get inspired about caring for God's amazing creation.

This Sunday was Rally Sunday at Our Savior's - the first day of the new Sunday School year. To help teach our children about the importance of caring for creation, each Sunday School class will build its own recycling box to be used for recycling paper used during class on Sunday mornings.

To decorate their recycling boxes, the students will cut out pictures and words that portray or describe something of God's creation from magazines. Here is where you come in: we need magazines!

Our Savior's is holding a magazine drive during the month of October for materials to use in the Sunday School Recycling Box Project. When the students are finished decorating, the left-over magazines will be taken to the recycling center. So bring your magazines to church during October; collection boxes will be placed in the back of the Sanctuary. You were going to recycle you magazines anyway, right? Let us reuse them first and then we'll recycle them for you!

Take this opportunity to care for creation by recycling your used magazines, but so much more importantly, by helping us teach our children the importance of our Christian role as Earthkeepers.