|
Global
Eco-Justice E-Newsletter
2006 Archive
Cotton-July
| Climate-Aug | Water-Sept
| Trade-Oct | Food-Nov/Dec
2007
E-Newsletters
 Nov-Dec
Focus: Food!
*
Introduction
* Hors D'Oeuvre
* Congregational Spotlight
* Special on Food, Farming and Trade
* Agenda for Change in the U.S. Farm Bill
* Take Action
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INTRODUCTION
With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas in front of us,
food looms large in the landscape of holiday celebrations.
What do we eat and why? Where do we buy our food? Who is impacted
by our choices? Answers to these questions impact economic
and environmental realms and so we thought we'd focus this
November-December issue of Global Eco-Justice on FOOD.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A FEW HORS D'OEUVRE
"At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving"
resource
The National Council of Churches in Christ produced a resource
this Thanksgiving called "At the Lord's Table."
This great new resource is a guide for study, worship and
action on food concerns related to eco-justice. The resource
is available online at http://www.nccecojustice.org.
While there, you might check out the Faithful Harvest and
Food and Farming pages (http://nccecojustice.org/faithharvesthome.html
and http://nccecojustice.org/foodhome.html)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We Are What We Eat (PCUSA policy)
In 2002, the 214th General Assembly approved a report that
helps Presbyterians to examine the scriptural, theological,
and ethical concerns in modern agriculture, farming, and food
choices. This thorough and thoughtful policy is well worth
reading and sharing with others, in your church and in your
presbytery.
http://www.pcusa.org/acswp/pdf/we-are-what-you-eat1021.pdf
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Earth Sabbath, Earth Justice: Protecting
God's Gifts of Food and Fuel
Have you ever thought about how far food has traveled to your
table? Or what impact climate change will have on global food
production? Join members of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation
and others to examine the interconnections between faith,
food, fossil fuels, energy and climate change at our national
PRC eco-justice conference at Mo-Ranch Presbyterian Center
Oct 25-28, 2007. Save the date and keep watch for more information
soon to come: http://www.prcweb.org
CONGREGATIONAL
MODEL: SPOTLIGHT on Rose City Park Presbyterian Church (Portland,
OR)
Rose City Park Presbyterian Church hosts the Hollywood Farmers'
Market (HFM) every Saturday morning from March-October. The
market averages 4,000 visitors per week and its partnership
with the church, says church member Charlotte Matthews, "has
been fantastic." She has served for five years on the
Board of the Hollywood Farmers' Market (two of those years
as Chair) and believes that both the church and the market
have benefited greatly from the mutual relationship.
The
Market draws attention to the church, its mission and opportunities.
And, the church lends support to the market while fulfilling
commitments to its own mission. For instance, deacons dish
ice cream at the Market twice each summer, donating the proceeds
to emergency food distributors in Portland. Also, church members
fill volunteer spots the fourth Saturday of each month, serve
on the Board, and glean
leftover produce for a Sunday morning produce table at church.
Church
member and HFM Board Member Doug Robertson says, "When
we started gleaning produce after we became a HFM sponsors,
the amount of money raised by the produce table for our Deacons'
Fund increased by about $1500 per year, so we are able to
support more helping agencies at a higher level, and we typically
take anywhere from a couple up to a dozen+ boxes of produce
to the Blanchet House or the Portland Rescue Mission, since
our parishioners cannot possibly use all the produce or bread
we glean. So, the food we glean all gets used and benefits
a lot of people: the farmers who don't just "dump"
their leftovers (which they very much appreciate), our parishioners,
the Deacons Fund recipients, and the homeless who get fresh
produce and artisan baked bread at the missions."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 SPECIAL
SECTION: FOOD, FARMING AND TRADE
As we seek the root causes of hunger and poverty, we are brought
face to face with the far-reaching changes occurring in the
control of the land and of agricultural markets. We find that
the U.S. agri-food system creates low crop prices, bolstered
by government subsidies. This system is destroying small farmers
and communities in developing nations while also harming rural
communities in the U.S.
"Forty
percent of the world's population make a living from the production
of food or fiber, so fair farm and trade policies must be
implemented if we are to avoid increasing poverty and instability
around the world," says Andrew Kang Bartlett of the Presbyterian
Hunger Program.
If
we are serious in wanting to address global hunger and poverty,
then we must reform this system of dependence on subsidies
and overproduction in the U.S. We are called as Christians
to raise our voices in the coming Congressional debate around
the Farm Bill. We can advocate for policy changes that help
family farmers in the U.S. and around the world save their
farms, feed their families and educate their children.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
AGENDA FOR CHANGE in the U.S. Farm Bill
*
Shift taxpayer dollars to programs that help conserve
land for future generations, help resource-poor minority farmers
and promote rural development.
*
Reduce commodity subsidies that distort trade.
*
Protect the right of governments in developing countries
to protect their own agricultural markets.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TAKE ACTION:
*
Build Your Local Food Economy. Change will be positive
to the extent that our thoughts and actions are well-intentioned
and implemented locally - in your life and
in your family, community and outward. Grow food, support
local farmers by buying local, seasonal foods. Find farmers
markets and locally-grown food at http://www.localharvest.org
* Shape the 2007 Farm Bill. Learn more by downloading
Church World Service's "Sowing Justice" publication
and postcards, and visit the Presbyterian Hunger Program's
Food and Farm Bill Education and Action Site @ http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/farmbill
[coming soon!]
* Support the Campaign for Fair Food. Learn more about
the campaign history and the action steps you can take at:
http://www.pcusa.org/fairfood/briefing-1006.pdf
* Save the Date and plan to attend Oct 25-28, 2007 PRC
conference on faith, food, and fuel! See
announcement above.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 October
Focus: Trade
"...the
international trading system must incorporate the basic norms
of social justice and environmental sustainability..."
- Hope for a Global Future; 208th PC(USA) General Assembly
(1996)
* Trade
Agreements
* General Assembly Actions on Free Trade
* What is Fair Trade?
* Finding Fair Trade Products
* Taking Action
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TRADE
AGREEMENTS
International
trade is an important way that the United States engages with
the world. However, even ardent supporters of international
trade have begun to admit that trade can produce both "winners"
and "losers." Recent international trade policies,
designed and enforced by unelected bankers, CEOs and consultants,
have caused tremendous damage to the environment and to people--especially
in poorer communities and countries.
Read about
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Free Trade
Areas of the Americas (FTAA)-which would extend the provisions
of NAFTA to all thirty-four countries of Latin America (except
for Cuba), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and bilateral
free trade agreements (FTAs) at http://www.pcusa.org/trade.
Has the PC(USA)
taken a stand? YES.
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY ACTIONS ON FREE TRADE
In 2003,
the General Assembly of the PCUSA passed an overture that
opposed the FTAA in its current form: http://www.pcusa.org/trade/ftaa.htm#ga.
In 2004, the General Assembly similarly passed an overture
opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
and any Free Trade Agreement that failed to protect workers'
rights, human rights, food security, and environmental standards:
http://www.pcusa.org/trade/statements.htm#caf.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WHAT
IS FAIR TRADE?
Fair Trade
is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency,
respect AND a fair price for a producer's product. Fair trade
contributes to sustainable development
by providing fair wages, and better working conditions and
rights for marginalized producers and workers - especially
in the global South. Fair Trade establishes more direct relationships
between producers and the people who buy their products, assisted
by organizations that provide technical and capital assistance,
raise public awareness and demand, and campaign for changes
in the rules and practices of
international trade.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FINDING
FAIR TRADE PRODUCTS
* The
Presbyterian Coffee Project encourages use of Equal Exchange
coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate for your home, office, congregation,
or school!
http://www.pcusa.org/coffee/
* Domestic
Fair Trade is a cutting-edge initiative to help U.S. farmers.
Read more at http://www.equalexchange.com/dft/
* Clothing
can be considered "fair trade" when it is made in
good worker conditions, such as the PCUSA program SweatFree
Ts: http://www.pcusa.org/sweatfree.
Learn
more about SweatFree Communities, go to http://www.sweatfree.org
* SERVV
International offers a variety of gifts that make a difference,
from a range of developing countries: http://www.agreatergift.org/
* Eco-Palms.
Did you know that more than 300 million palm fronds are harvested
each year for U.S. consumption alone? Your church can help
to protect the rainforests in Guatemala and Mexico whose canopy
provides shade for palms to grow. At the same time your church
can help to improve the local communities that depend on palm
forestry. Over 81,000 fair rade palm fronds were sold to churches
in over 34 states
for Easter and Palm Sunday 2006! Visit the Web site below to
order certified fair trade palm fronds for Easter and Palm
Sundays in 2007, or for any occasion.
http://www.cinram.umn.edu/projects/stewardship.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TAKE
ACTION!
* Plan
a group study on trade with one of our recommended
resources at http://www.pcusa.org/trade/resources.htm
* Support
Fair Trade: Find a variety of ways to engage in fair trade
at
http://www.pcusa.org/trade/supportfairtrade.htm
* Policy
Advocacy: Ask your Members of Congress to approve a Farm
Bill in 2007 that allows small producers a place in the market
and drives federal aid to family farmers instead of the largest
producers. For background and more information, see http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/primer.php
* Oppose
the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement
If NAFTA and CAFTA are any indication, the US-Peru FTA will
cause lost livelihoods in rural communities, reduced access
to life-saving medicines, an erosion of labor and
environmental protections. To learn more see http://www.citizen.org/documents/PeruFactSheet_FINAL.pdf.
To contact your congressperson, consider using the American
Friends Service Committee's easy online action guide: http://www.afsc.org/trade-matters/trade-agreements/Peru-resources.htm
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 September
Focus: Water
Is
it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also
muddy the rest with your feet?
- Ezekiel 34:18
* Water
Sucking Lawns
* Water (Wow!) Basics
* The PC(USA) on Water
* Water: Who Owns It? Me, You or God?
* Waves of Change, Rivers of Doubt (via radio
waves)
* Global Thirst for Bottled Water
* Learning the Ways of Water
* Action: 5 Choices in Watereaction or Watery
Action
- "Remember
the Poor"
- Show
the "Thirst" film
- The
Tap Water Challenge
- Sign
the declaration in defense of water
- Living
Waters for the World
* P.S.
Blue October
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WATER
SUCKING LAWNS: Redefining American Beauty, by the Yard
A "delawning"
movement is sprouting up around the U.S., as a handful of
homeowners switch from resource-intensive grassy green expanses
to drought-tolerant, native, and/or edible gardens. "It's
about shifting ideas of what's beautiful," says Fritz
Haeg, an L.A. architect whose Edible Estates project transforms
front yards into fruit and vegetable gardens. A new report
from the Public Policy Institute of California provides more
fodder for the anti-lawn set: It asserts that thirsty home
landscaping will suck up a troubling amount of water in the
state over the next 25 years if the love affair with lawns
continues. California is expected to add 11 million new residents
by 2030, with at least 50 percent settling in hotter inland
regions where single-family homes with lawns are common, according
to the report. Some neighbors, however, don't appreciate creative
gardening. "What happens in the backyard is their business,"
said one man who lives near a yard now being used to grow
195 various edibles. "But this doesn't seem to me to
be a front yard kind of a deal."
http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=7303
links to NY Times article by Patricia Leigh Brown
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WATER
BASICS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE
PC(USA) ON WATER
Humans
are making excessive demands upon, and doing reckless damage
to, the lakes and streams, the ground water, and even the
oceans...
Meanwhile,
most Third World nations cannot afford the systems that would
provide safe drinking water...
[H]uman
beings [must] practice wise, humble, responsible stewardship,
after the model of servanthood that we have in Jesus.
-- From
"Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice" (1990
General Assembly)
You can order the study guide @ http://www.pcusa.org/environment/resources.htm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WATER:
WHO OWNS IT? Me, You or God?
1)
TAP WATER MIGHT FIT YOUR BILL BETTER THAN BOTTLED
Chicago Tribune - September 10, 2006 | By Gregory Karp
Paying hundreds of times more for something you've already
paid for is probably the silliest of all spending habits.
Yet Americans spent some $10 billion on bottled water last
year. That's right. Big companies sell plain water in a bottle.
Cynics might say that's akin to selling ice to Eskimos. Tap
water is so cheap and convenient it's dispensed from several
faucets in your home and available free at public drinking
fountains. Read the full story @ http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/cms/page1459.cfm
2)
WATER: MAKING PRIVATE A GIFT OF GOD (AND A PUBLIC GOOD)
One of the most visible examples of corporate control of water
is bottled water. It is the fastest growing sector of the
US beverage market and is a $55 billion a year business globally.
Just three corporations, Nestlé, Coke and Pepsi, make-up
almost half of the US bottled water market and in the last
ten years, the consumption of bottled water has doubled. Right
now, in the US, over half of the population drinks bottled
water. Take the Tap Water Challenge for yourself, and try
tap taste testing in your congregation. Download
the Tap Water Challenge Tool-Kit
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WATER
& RADIO WAVES:
Waves of Change, Rivers of Doubt: Global Water Issues and
Solutions
Water...
it's the source of all life. 70 percent of the planet is covered
in it, and more than half of your body is made up of it. We
use water everyday to refresh, revive, to subsist... yet,
water resources are growing increasingly scarce around the
world and access to potable water is alarmingly difficult
in some regions.Listen to this water special from the National
Radio Project @ http://radioproject.org/archive/2006/3406.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GLOBAL
THIRST FOR BOTTLED WATER
A recently
released study says that global consumption of bottled water
has grown by 57 per cent over the past five years, despite
the fact the product is often no healthier than tap water
and costs up to 10,000 times more. The study, by the Earth
Policy Institute, notes that 40 per cent of bottled water
comes from a municipal source rather than a natural spring,
including leading US brands such as Coke's Dasani and PepsiCo's
Aquafina. The report's authors complain that the $100 billion
spent each year on bottled water is nearly seven times the
sum invested in providing safe drinking water in developing
countries. In addition, bottled water creates unnecessary
waste, strains scarce water resources and uses vast quantities
of energy to produce and transport. For more information,
visit http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0b7de26e-9c35-11da-8baa-0000779e2340.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LEARNING
THE WAYS OF WATER
1)
PC(USA) Water for All Web site http://www.pcusa.org/trade/thirst.htm
2)
Presbyterians for Restoring Creation - H2O: How to Overcome
the Bottled Water Habit http://www.prcweb.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources&fuse=water
and download the Bottled Water Campaign brochure at http://www.prcweb.org/DOCS/waterbrochureFINAL.pdf
4)
Water: A Sacramental Commons Web site from National Catholic
Rural Life Conference http://www.ncrlc.com/water_commons.html
5)
Church World Service resources on water http://www.churchworldservice.org/Educ_Advo/resources.html
6)
Presbyterian Women's Horizon Magazine on water
http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/horizons/hrznmrap05/hrznmrap05.htm
7)
Water and the Community of Life from Maryknoll Office
for Global Concerns http://www.pcusa.org/trade/downloads/waterlife.pdf
8)
Booklet to share with mission partners -- Water for life:
community water security Published by the Hesperian Foundation,
this booklet provides practical guidance on how communities
can achieve access to water. It explains the relationships
between water security and health and outlines how to develop
a plan for community water security, plan improvements to
the water supply, protect groundwater sources, collect rainwater,
transport and store water safely, and make water safe for
drinking and cooking. The booklet advocates partnerships between
government and communities to provide water security and argues
that water privatization can lead to raised prices. A final
section highlights international agreements that protect the
human right to safe water. The 52-page PDF is available @
http://www.hesperian.info/assets/Water_EN.pdf
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WATER
ACTION
1)
"Remember the Poor"
Advocate
for access to, and provision of, water as critical to achieving
the Millennium Development Goals and build grassroots support
for Congressional legislation that supports universal access
to water worldwide. Church World Service makes this easy at
http://www.churchworldservice.org/Educ_Advo/water/index.html
_____
2)
Show the award-winning film - "Thirst" - in your
congregation
To borrow
the film, email
Andrew Kang Bartlett. Download the study guide and find out
more at http://www.pcusa.org/trade/thirst.htm#thirst.
_____
3)
Try Out the Tap Water Challenge: Pitting bottled water against
good old tap water!
The Tap
Water Challenge was developed as a way to educate and engage
people in our community about this critical corporate accountability,
human rights and environmental issue. We can turn the tables
on the bottled water market with our Tap Water Challenges.
People take a blind-folded test that pits pricey bottled water
against good old tap water--and most find that they can't
tell the difference! The Tap Water Challenge has taken place
in cities across the country this past spring, directly involving
thousands of people and reaching millions more through over
75 news stories!
Everything
you need is found in Corporate Accountability International's
Tap Water Challenge Organizing Kit @ http://www.pcusa.org/trade/downloads/tapchallenge.pdf
_____
4)
SIGN ON to the Joint Declaration of the Movements in Defense
of Water - Mexico City, March 19, 2006
"From
March 14 to 19th, we, human beings with a holistic vision
of life, activists from social movements, non-governmental
organizations, and networks that struggle throughout the world
in the defense of water and territory and for the commons,
have shared ideas, struggles, worries and proposals. At the
same time we have realized how our struggles have brought
change around the world, slowing the process of water privatization.
Now that we are not on the defensive, we are capable of promoting
concrete proposals advancing in the life of every corner of
our world.
Read the
full statement at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/statements/smtWaterDefense060319.asp
and consider having your congregation and presbytery sign
the declaration by writing to comdainfo@hotmail.com.
_____
5)
Living Waters for the World Needs You!
You can
change lives throughout the world by giving of your time and
talent to support the mission of Living Waters for the World.
Get involved in a "Clean Water Mission Team." This
great program, initiated by Hunger Action Enabler, Wil Howie,
trains and equips mission teams to bring the gift of clean
water to communities in need. No prior experience necessary,
just a desire to serve - come to Clean Water U to learn how
clean water may flow. http://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org/
_____
P.S.
BLUE OCTOBER
What
is Blue October?
Today, one in 6 people lack access to safe, affordable water,
and 2 in 5 lack access to adequate sanitation. Amid this crisis,
some of the worlds wealthiest corporations--like Suez and
Coca-Cola--are looking to profit, often at the expense of
the poor. As God’s people, we are called to this task--respectfully
taking care of God’s creation for its own sake, so that
present and future generations may live on it and enjoy all
of its fruits. A vibrant international movement is challenging
the corporate control of this precious resource, and protecting
water as a public good and a God-given right. Learn more about
Blue October @ http://www.blueoctobercampaign.org/wordpress/?page_id=24
Previous
Eco-Justice e-Newletters are archived @ http://www.pcusa.org/trade/eco-archive.htm.
The upcoming October Eco-Justice issue will focus on Trade
and Globalization.
If you
find this e-newsletter to be helpful, encourage others to join
@ http://www.pcusa.org/trade/ecojustice.htm#signup
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Climate
Change
This month's newsletter looks at our main themes (Water, Trade,
Globalization and Poverty) through the lens of Climate Change.
This summer's heat waves, the popularity of the movie "An
Inconvenient Truth," and continued natural disasters
around the world make it clear that we need to learn more
about the ways human being are changing the world's climate--and
to act quickly. Our education and action efforts should touch
arenas of personal lifestyle, corporate responsibility, global
warming policies, energy efficiency, and research and development
of sustainable, renewable energy sources.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CONTENTS
* Climate and Poverty
* Climate and Water
* Climate Change Movies for Congregations
* Climate and the Global Economics of Energy
Production (Ethanol, Nuclear,
Coal, Renewable Future,
Wind)
* New Climate Change Policy Introduced
* Climate Change Actions - 4 Steps
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLIMATE AND POVERTY
Poverty, hunger and climate change are related--those that
feel the effects of climate change most (drought, flood, heat
waves) are those who live in places without infrastructure
and other protections. The new Hunger Program web site on
climate change explores these issues more here: http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/features/climate.htm
A recent story in ABC World News Tonight reports the detrimental
effects of global warming will have on the food supply, which
will particularly affect the world's most vulnerable people.
Read the article here:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/GlobalWarming/story?id=2277893&page=1
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLIMATE AND WATER
With the predicted effects of climate change including sea
levels rising, glaciers melting, and droughts/floods, climate
change is affecting the world's water. Read more at the EPA's
site about global warming and water resources:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/content/ImpactsWaterResources.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLIMATE CHANGE MOVIES FOR CONGREGATIONS
Presbyterians for Restoring Creation (http://www.prcweb.org)
recommends two movies that currently are being offered to
congregations: "An Inconvenient Truth" and "The
Great Warming." Through Interfaith Power and Light (IPL
- http://www.theregenerationproject.org)
congregations can opt to receive a free DVD of "An Inconvenient
Truth" to show in their church during the first week
of October. IPL also provides promotional and educational
materials for a discussion. "The Great Warming"
includes emerging voices of American Evangelicals and James
Woolsey, a former CIA Director and Presbyterian. To find out
how to arrange a screening of the film at your congregation,
contact Chris Gordon at 212-396-9464.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLIMATE AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMICS OF ENERGY
PRODUCTION
A. Ethanol: Some critics say ethanol's
boom could eventually strain the demand on corn and raise
food prices--for a fuel that not everyone believes is even
a cheaper or better alternative to traditional gasoline. Christian
Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0719/p01s02-usec.html
B. Nuclear Energy: The Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) has not changed its 1981 policy that while
nuclear supplies are long lasting, the major weaknesses of
nuclear energy still outweigh its benefits. Weaknesses include
the possibilities of major accidents, the threat of sabotage,
the dangers of weapons, and the toxic disposal of nuclear
waste. A new conflict about nuclear has arisen: once the waste
is buried, how do we communicate to future generations for
hundreds of thousands of years to stay away from the toxic
site?! Read more here: http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/08/08/stang/
C. Coal: The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) voted this year to abandon the mountaintop removal
of coal because of the loss of life, livelihood, and land
that results from this practice. Read the resolution: http://72.54.6.218/Business/Business.aspx?iid=504
D. A Just Vision for a Renewable Energy
Future: This thought-provoking article from the National
Catholic Rural Life Conference encourages us to pursue alternative
energies without compromising land or food sources. http://www.ncrlc.com/magazine-webpages/07_Gronski06.html
E. Wind: Wind, solar, geothermal,
wave and other energy alternatives are quickly gaining ground
and are sustainable, competitive energy sources. However,
they all compete with misunderstandings, misinformation, and
myths about them. In this article from Ode magazine, 5 myths
of Wind Power are deconstructed (to prove that they are not
actually sporadic and impractical, too expensive, a danger
to wildlife, undermining local economies, and ugly): http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4353
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEW CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY INTRODUCED
Right before the August 2006 recess, Senator Jeffords and
Representative Waxman introduced new climate change legislation
in Congress. Senator Jeffords and 9 Senate colleagues introduced
a bill on the Senate floor called the Global Warming Pollution
Reduction Act. To read a summary of Global Warming Pollution
Reduction Act, follow this link: http://jeffords.senate.gov/climate_bill.pdf
Representative Waxman and 12 of his House colleagues introduced
the Safe Climate Act 2006 in the House. To read more about
the Safe Climate Act 2006, go to http://www.house.gov/waxman/safeclimate/index.htm.
Be sure to thank your Senator or House Representative if they
are a cosponsor on either bill. If they aren't, let them know
that you are a Presbyterian who believes that caring for earth's
climate systems is a moral imperative! Send an email about
these bills: http://www.nrdcaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=53666
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION! 4 Steps
This summer at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly,
a policy was passed to encourage Presbyterians to live "carbon
neutral lives" (neutralizing the effect of our personal
greenhouse gas/ carbon emissions). http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/features/climate.htm
1) It is critical that we all reduce our energy consumption!
For some ideas, this online consumer's guide from the American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy offers tips and ways
to save energy in your home: http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/
2) At the Assembly, the Hunger Program and Presbyterians
for Restoring Creation worked with a company called NativeEnergy
to offset emissions from the Assembly by purchasing "renewable
energy credits." Join the fun by offsetting some of your
personal carbon emissions from your summer travels: http://www.nativeenergy.com/traveler/.
3) Find out ways to help your company, or a business
with which you interact, reduce their carbon footprint at:
http://www.grist.org/biz/tp/2006/08/15/footprint/
Also, there are online carbon calculators intended for companies.
Two good ones are from the Climate Neutral Group: http://www.climateneutralgroup.com/site/calculator/232.html?clienttype=business
and the Australian firm Climate Friendly http://www.climatefriendly.com/business.php.
4) Last but not least, help your congregation become
an Electric Steward Congregation: http://www.pcusa.org/energy/congregation.htm
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cotton
- July 2006
Dear
Global Eco-Justice Members,
You have
joined a virtual community of people. Most of you are Presbyterians;
some of you are not. Some of you are already activists; some
are not (yet). We welcome all. An E-Newsletter (though that
may be too grandiose a name for it) will be sent once a month
touching on water, trade and globalization issues and how
they impact the world's most vulnerable people and communities
- and you. It will not be comprehensive, but will especially
focus on things we suspect Presbyterians will be interested
in. The goal is to keep you updated and to inform your engagement.
Presbyterian
for Restoring Creation and I at the Presbyterian Hunger Program
will compile the e-newsletter items. This is a distribution-only
list, but please send me items that you feel should be shared.
The following gives you a sense of what kinds of items will
be shared, and it will only get better once Rebecca Barnes-Davies,
coordinator for Presbyterian for Restoring Creation, returns
from China and can help with the content. This month, our
lens is COTTON.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
JULY'S
FOCUS: COTTON AND...
* Cotton and Suicide
* Cotton and Subsidies
* Cotton and Dumping
* Cotton and Your Body
* Cotton and the Environment
* Cotton and Why Organic?
* Act with Enthusiasm
COTTON
AND SUICIDE
WHY
ARE INDIAN COTTON FARMERS COMMITTING SUICIDE? And what
can be done to help them?
By Marco Visscher
On January
10 of this year, Jamuna Ramdas Ade decided she'd had enough.
The cotton farmer from the Indian state of Maharashtra was
so deep in debt that she swallowed a mouthful of monocrotophos,
an insecticide so poisonous it is banned in Europe and the
United States. An excellent new magazine, ODE, has the full
article here: http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4331
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COTTON
AND SUBSIDIES
FROM
LOUISVILLE TO MALI: US AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY
By Rasa Zimliki (Oxfam) and Andrew Kang Bartlett
"The
low cotton prices caused by US cotton subsidies have a ripple
effect in West Africa," explained Seydou Coulibaly. "In
my village we have difficulties paying for the costs of basic
education, health care and even drinkable water."
Read the
article about Coulibaly and his meeting with local farmers
and students at the University of Louisville.
http://www.pcusa.org/trade/downloads/mali.pdf
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COTTON
AND DUMPING
FACT:
Cotton was exported from the U.S. at an average price of 47%
below the cost of production.
If you
read the Louisville to Mali article, you see the personal
and community fall-out from agricultural dumping. In fact,
much of the debate in free trade agreements and in World Trade
Organization negotiations revolves around the economic destruction
caused by dumping subsidized goods on poorer nations. You
and your congregation can use David Pedulla's (2005 PHP intern)
study guide on the topic to educate yourselves about this
critical issue.
http://www.pcusa.org/trade/downloads/dumping.pdf
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COTTON
AND YOUR BODY
Sweat-Free
T-shirts come direct from the Nueva Vida Womens Sewing Cooperative
(COMAMNUVI) and Fair Trade Zone in Nicaragua - http://www.fairtradezone.jhc-cdca.org.
The co-op was created with the assistance of Jubilee House
Community, with seed money provided by the One Great Hour
of Sharing, and the shirts are distributed by the Presbyterian
Hunger Program.
Get them
at http://www.pcusa.org/sweatfree/shirts.htm
and wear them with pride!
Read more
about the cooperative and its members: http://www.pcusa.org/sweatfree/workers.htm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COTTON
AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The current
production of cotton is not only environmentally unsustainable,
it undermines the necessary conditions for future cotton production.
See World Wildlife Fund's primer and ideas about how to reduce
water use in cotton production at:
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/
agriculture_environment/commodities/cotton/environmental_impacts/
The Sustainable
Cotton Project is another good source: http://www.sustainablecotton.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COTTON
AND WHY ORGANIC?
Despite
cotton's image as being a natural and pure fiber, conventional
cotton farming takes an enormous toll on the air, water, soil
and people who live in cotton growing areas. In the United
States, 1/3 pound of agricultural chemicals are typically
used in the production of a single cotton T-shirt.
Learn
more about the environmental impact at http://dancekorean.net/cotton.htm
Find out
about alternatives at http://www.pcusa.org/sweatfree/learnmore.htm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ACT
WITH ENTHUSIASM
(Enthusiasm comes from the Greek - ehthusiasmos, from which
came ethousiazein, meaning, 'to be inspired, to be possessed
by a god...')
The PC(USA)
General Assembly has asked us to oppose free trade agreements
that fail to protect labor rights and the environment. http://www.pcusa.org/trade/action.htm#cafta
URGENT
ACTIONS:
Congress set to vote on US-Peru Free Trade Agreement
http://act.oxfamamerica.org/campaign/
perufta_congress?qp_source=0706%5fact%5fpc%5fperufta
Stop the
Oman Free Trade Agreement
http://www.citizenstrade.org/stopoman_05102006.php
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cotton-July'06
| Climate-Aug'06
| Water-Sept'06
|
