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Archive for October, 2015
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Wednesday, October 21st, 2015This is a test
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015This is a test.
Faith-Based Response to Climate Change
Monday, October 19th, 2015
Interfaith Response to Climate Change
This evening, I attended the Fall 2015 Conference offered by Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light (RI-IPL). RI-IPL is one of forty state organizations affiliated with the national Interfaith Power & Light movement. RI-IPL’s membership includes twenty local congregations and faith organizations committed to fulfill the moral responsibility of faithful stewardship of Creation. To that end, RI-IPL works with local faith-based organizations to raise awareness about climate change, related spiritual teachings and practice responses. RI-IPL also engages with the religious community to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
This evening’s conference featured a keynote address delivered by Curt Spalding, the Administrator for Region 1 (New England) of the Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to joining the EPA, Mr. Spalding had served for twenty years as executive director of Save the Bay in Rhode Island, a 20,000-member environmental advocacy and education organization. Mr. Spalding addressed resilience planning efforts for climate change in New England, including pilot projects to support community sustainability and urban revitalization. He responded to questions from the conference participants, including the work done to de-commission nuclear power plants in New England.
The keynote address was followed by break-out sessions as round-tables discussing a variety of local initiatives. I learned a great deal about the work being done at the grassroots level to support a sustainable environment. To see photographs from the conference, click this link and be sure to follow for the announcement for next year’s conference or for events from other state chapters of the Interfaith Power and Light movement.
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Sunday, October 18th, 2015This is a test.
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Saturday, October 17th, 2015This is a test.
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Friday, October 16th, 2015This is a test.
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Thursday, October 15th, 2015This is a test.
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2015This is a test.
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
Tuesday, October 13th, 2015
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
Today is the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, (IDDR) a tradition that began in 1989 when the United Nations General Assembly designated an annual date to promote a global culture of disaster risk reduction including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is responsible for promoting the events around October 13th. In 2011, UNISDR launched a Step Up Initiative to focus on different partnerships each year, beginning with “Children and Young People” (in 2011), emphasizing, for example, safe schools. In 2012, the focus was on “Women and Girls”, particularly important as they often live in more hazard-prone areas. I was stunned to read that in certain communities devastated by the Asian tsunami, all of the casualties were female as they were working in the low-lying areas while the men moved to higher elevations for work. Another issue relevant to women and girls that we tried to develop in our UNISDR reporting is the need for safe evacuation facilities for women and girls. In 2013, the Step Up partnership was people living with disabilities and in 2014, it was older people. This year’s theme is “Knowledge for Life”, with an emphasis on local knowledge, or indigenous traditions, that help to manage disaster risk in the community. I was trying to come up with an example from my own experience and what immediately came to mind was the advice of my grandfather (who was a fireman) to protect glass windows with masking tape during a hurricane. Should the force of the wind shatter the glass, the masking tape makes the fragments less likely to disperse and cause injury.
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Sunday, October 11th, 2015This is a test.