Elders Climate Action Announces
a New Effort:
Our Congressional Candidates Climate Project
Despite the fact that humanity is facing the greatest threat to the wellbeing of future generations in human history - and the fact that the United States is crucial to any hope for a solution -
climate change has barely been mentioned in the first phase of this year's national campaign season.
This year, we Americans will be electing a new president, a third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives. If we want to make significant progress after the election, we must do everything we can to raise the issue of climate change in the election campaign. That responsibility falls especially to elders, who throughout human history are the people who have had a long view and commitment to future generations. Just as Iroquois elders called for attention to the seventh generation, so must elders today speak out on behalf of the grandchildren and great grandchildren.
To accomplish that, we need elders in as many Congressional districts as possible to participate.
Here's how you can participate in this project:
- Join with one or two other concerned elders in your area to ask your candidates for Congress to complete our ECA candidates questionnaire on climate change.
- Find ways to encourage candidates to complete the questionnaire.
- There are also other ways you can help ECA make a difference on climate change (see our Volunteer Form)
Let us know how you'll get involved by filling out our
Future generations are depending
on all of us!
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Join Elders Climate Action In Washington, DC To
Make A Difference
on Climate Change
June 19-20:
An Elders Climate Action delegation will participate in the
Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) annual Conference.
You'll hear from inspiring speakers and receive the training to be game-changing communicators on this issue, speaking on behalf of future generations. You can register for the CCL Conference now - see details below.
June 21:
Elders Climate Action delegations will meet with Members of Congress or their key staff to deliver our message of concern for future generations, and to build our relationships.
June 22:
We will spend a day creating our vision and building our plan for our next Grandparents Climate Action Day (GCAD) in the Spring of 2017.
Details on the CCL Conference
Several of us participated in the CCL Conference last year, and it was a great experience. Here are some of the details of this year's CCL Conference:
Lifechanging, Empowering and Inspirational!
During the CCL Conference June 19-20 in Washington DC, you'll hear from inspiring speakers and receive the training to be game-changing communicators on this issue, speaking on behalf of future generations.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Mann
 Dr. Michael Mann, one of the most respected climate scientists in America. Dr. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University and director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center (ESSC). In 1998, it was his research - conducted with Raymond Bradley and Malcolm Hughes - that led to the famous "hockey stick" graph that shows the alarming rise in average global temperatures during the 20th Century.
The Rest of the Conference Agenda
In addition to the Keynote Speaker, the CCL Conference will include plenary presentations, and at least six time slots in which you'll have a choice of excellent Workshops.
The Venue
Omni Shoreham
2500 Calvert Street NW (Red Line - Woodley Park)
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 234-0700
Rooms rates are $229 per night, up to 4 people per room. We will be seeking less expensive accommodations for ECA members, so check with us before you make hotel reservations.
Conference Registration
You can register now for the CCL Conference
here.
Use the code ECA for 10% off!
Register for the Conference Only as those of us representing ECA will lobby separately on June 21st, to bring the voice of elders to our Members of Congress.
Sign up for ECA Lobbying
and/or GCAD Planning
Whether or not you sign up for the CCL Conference, you can sign up with ECA to participate in ECA's Lobby Day on June 21st, and/or to participate in ECA's GCAD Planning Day on June 22nd. There will be Conference Call Training prior to June 19th for ECA members who will join ECA's Lobby Day but not participate in the CCL Conference.
Please let us know as soon as possible which parts of this important elders climate action you are interested in participating in by sending an email to info@eldersclimateaction.org. This is not a final commitment - it's to help us plan for housing and space in DC. We'll keep in touch as details are developed.
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VOICES OF ELDERS
Lynne Iser
I am inspired to be an Elder-Activist because of the gratefulness I feel for my years of life experience, the talents and the resources that are mine; and, as an elder I believe that part of the process of a good life completion is the sharing of my gifts for the sake of future generations - that is my legacy, my possible immortality.
So when I look around at our world, that needs so much fixing, I have this feeling that I must do something. No one person can do it alone - we each have a piece of the puzzle - of creating a thriving and just future.
Finally, I am inspired by the words of Agnes Bauerlein, who wrote:
"I realize that the Earth doesn't have to be governed by fear and violence. I simply decided that raising and nurturing... children was too much of an investment to leave unguarded.....I decided to take action myself and not let the future of my family be decided by someone else." Me too!
********************
Richard Jacobs
I have a confession to make.
I'm 85.
But I have a philosophy: "We're never too old to get young!" It's the theme that kicks off a book I wrote,
Wonderlust, published last year by Glenbridge Publishing.
Wonderlust is about my trekking the seven continents, camera in hand, and the lessons I learned - a coffee table book with about 100 photos and 26 lessons.
When I started trekking several decades ago I had no thoughts of writing a book. But, somewhere along the way, I began to see what Thoreau meant when he said, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." Then I picked up on what Jane Goodall - who spent her life studying our chimp cousins in Africa - said, "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." That became
Wonderlust's closing challenge.
So, I had no choice. When I finished
Wonderlust, I asked myself. "What kind of difference did I want to make?" The first thing I did was to pick up the phone and call
Our Children's Trust in Oregon and offer my help. We have some gutsy kids bailing us out of issues we elders should have paid more attention to. Not much later, I came across something on the web about elders,
Elders Climate Action. That fit right in, so I made a second call. In my Wonderings while Wandering, I became convinced that there was a vital role for us elders to play. In fact, I wrote a blog about the important role we have,
The Grandparent's Hypothesis: The Story We Live is What We Leave Behind,
http://theglobalnaturalist.com/2015/07/05/the-grandparents-hypothesis-our-story-is-what-that-we-leave-behind/
We elders must never forget: We're never too old to be young! And when we use our wisdom we can become serious difference makers!
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ECA Volunteers participated in the Florida Interfaith Climate Action Network
2016 National Assembly, Orlando, Florida
The Florida Interfaith Climate Action Network has emerged among a wide variety of religious, spiritual, and conscience concerned persons who see the urgency for changing our national narrative and taking action now. There are many things we all can do to live differently on Earth with all life. Faith narratives, wisdom traditions, and scientific imagination offer much support.
During the last few days in January, ICAN brought together leaders and members of the faith community to learn about the impacts of climate change, network with other leaders throughout the nation and deepen the relationship between spirituality and our planet. Elders Climate Action was fortunate to have two active members participate in this educational and incredibly moving event.
Nationally renowned speakers participated to share their wisdom and experience. Dr. Joel Hunter shared his faith journey to creation care. Dr. Harold Wanless explained why sea-level is rising irreversibly and the time for action is now. Rev. Fletcher Harper shared the variety of religious perspectives to Pope Francis' statement on the environment and poverty. Rev. Gerald Durley addressed the civil rights need for renewable energy and how to relay your message and Dr. Matthew Fox described the spirituality of creation embedded in the histories of many religions and brought forth wisdom that can renew us all.
There were three days of intense understanding, wisdom and connection at many levels. To deepen the experience there was a Network Bazaar and World Café for sharing and networking opportunities.
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The Clean Power Plan
 What Can You Do?
The Supreme Court recently decided to stay enforcement of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, pending a far-fetched legal challenge in the courts. This decision does not overturn the Clean Power Plan or say anything about its legal merits; it simply delays its implementation. While we are confident that the courts will ultimately uphold the Clean Power Plan, this disturbing development makes clear that we must demand that our elected officials act on climate.
One hundred ninety-six countries and governments spoke in one voice at the UN's COP 21 climate conference in Paris last December to say climate change is real, caused by humans, and must be addressed now.
Here's the good news: many states are already moving forward with implementation plans, even though they are under no legal obligation to do so. They realize the importance of the Clean Power Plan and see the opportunities it provides to follow through on our nation's climate commitments and build a thriving clean energy economy.
The National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization, recently posted on their website States' Reactions to EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. This article identifies state responses and actions regarding their implementation of the Clean Power Plan. Although there is a stay, states can continue to work on their own implementation of the plan. To see what your state legislature is doing regarding the Clean Power Plan
Click here.
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Stories of the
Great Turning
Edited by
Peter Reason and
Melanie Newman
This is a book of stories written by people who decided to act, in their own lives, in response to the challenges of our time, and found their own way to make a difference. They are not stories about celebrities or gurus of the environmental movement but honest accounts from people who share a concern for the world we live in and who, in the words of one of the contributors, "just got on with it".
It is a book that takes the question, "What can I do?" and sets out to find some answers using one of our most vital skills: the ability to tell stories in which to spread knowledge, ideas, inspiration and hope.
Read about the transformation of wasteland and the installation of water power, stories about reducing consumption and creating sustainable business, stories from people changing how they live their lives and the inner transformations this demands.
Here is the inspirational forward by Joanna Macy, that is an edited excerpt from the
Stories of the Great Turning.
"Five Ways of Being That Can Change the World" by Joanna Macy
Read Here
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Jeremy Irons is a grandfather with a beautiful message for his granddaughter.
Watch Now
and share with your friends and family.
The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism & Community (trailer)
Climate change is taking place. Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics and spirituality. The focus: how we can live creatively and even joyfully in the face of this catastrophe, and how can we act to staunch the damage and ensure the survival of our planet for generations to come. Watch the
trailer now.
The case for optimism on climate change
Al Gore, TEDtalks
Al Gore's new TED talk asks three questions; Do we have to change? Can we change? And will we change? There is reason for cautious optimism.
Watch now
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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a teachers' guide for children in grades K-3 on energy and its impact on the environment.
The guide has worksheets that are printable or can be used with your grandchildren on a computer screen which spark a conversation with young children about energy and the environment. The guide can be found
here
.
 The Sink or Swim Project
is a website created by Delaney Reynolds, a
sixteen year old student from Miami. The
website contains fun, engaging, educational materials for kids about sea level rise, suitable for children in elementary through high school.
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By Jenny Marienau,
Divestment Campaign Manager
,
350.org
Following the 2015 climate talks in Paris, our world's leaders agreed to aim to keep climate change's global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Remarkably, this is a more ambitious target than the previous commitment to 2 degrees, and it may mean survival for the world's most climate-impacted communities. It also requires us to keep nearly all fossil fuels in the ground. At
350.org
, we know this challenge requires an immediate mobilization by movements and our world's leaders to transition from fossil fuels to a clean and just energy future.
That's why from May 7-15, 2016 we are mobilizing to keep fossil fuels in the ground and accelerate a just transition to 100% renewable energy and a sustainable future for all. We are calling it "Break Free."
This May we hope to see more people than ever commit to joining actions that disrupt the industry's power by targeting the world's most dangerous and unnecessary fossil fuel projects, and supporting the most ambitious climate solutions.
Imagine: tens of thousands of people around the world rising up to take back control of their own destinies. Walking arm-in-arm into coal fields. Sitting down to block the business of governments and industry that threaten our future. Marching in peaceful defense of our right to clean energy.
Plans are coming together quickly all over the world. To join in early and get the latest updates, check out the website at
BreakFree2016.org.
We are close to a historic, global shift in our energy system. The way we get there is by action that confronts those who are responsible for climate change and takes power back for the people so we can shape the sustainable and just future we need.
This is the moment we've been waiting for, let's seize it.
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COMMIT2RESPOND
Focuses on
Climate Justice Month
Over the last few months, Unitarian Universalists have been witnessing for climate justice from Paris to the Pacific Northwest to Washington, DC. Now people of faith and conscience have a chance to collectively take the momentum for climate justice to the next level, with the second Climate Justice Month!
From World Water Day (March 22) to Earth Day (April 22), we will build resistance to climate change and add our moral voices to the movement for climate justice, taking action in our families, communities, and congregations or faith groups.
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Climate Justice in Chicago's Little Village
Erika Street Hopman, Yale Climate Connections,
February 2, 2016
This article demonstrates how a Latino community in Chicago fought for environmental justice when they noticed their local asthma rates were very high.
Read more.
They established the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization in 1994 with a mission
to organize their community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. Visit their
website and see what can be accomplished by a local community and be inspired to act in your community.
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A Louisiana tribe is Now Officially a Community of Climate Refugees
Chris, D'Angelo, HuffPost
February 15, 2016
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Karen Apricot New Orleans/Flickr
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Deep in the bayous of Louisiana, about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, lies the Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny swath of land that's all but vanished into the Gulf of Mexico.
Over the last half-century or so, the island has fallen victim to the irresponsible oil and gas extraction practices and the effects of climate change. Many of its residents, members of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native Americans, have been forced to flee.
Read more
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Why the U.S. is Cutting Carbon Emissions no Matter What Happens with the
Supreme Court
Chris Mooney, Washington Post
February 17, 2016
Last week, the Supreme Court threw U.S. and international climate policy into turmoil by freezing President Obama's Clean Power Plan while it is being challenged before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. But matters took a turn with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose absence from the high court could mean that the plan will ultimately survive.
Read More
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Here are some websites to visit and peruse that may awaken the activist inside you.
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Stay connected via our
ECA website
,
Facebook
page,
bulletins and newsletters for updates and opportunities in
your communities.
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Elders Climate Action
is
a Project of the
Conscious Elders Network
The Conscious Elders Network (CEN) is an educational, non-profit organization fostering a budding movement of vital elders, dedicated to growing in consciousness while actively addressing the demanding challenges facing our country.
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Facebook is an essential tool in getting the word out about Elders Climate Action. Here are a few useful tips to share ECA with your friends and family on Facebook. The more our Facebook page is visited, LIKED, and SHARED, the more people we will reach. In order to be seen, we need you! Learn the
Facebook
basics
here. Like us on Facebook now!
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There are many ways to get involved with Elders Climate Action.
Each person and their efforts can make a big difference!
info@eldersclimateaction.org
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so
let us hear from you on
Facebook
what you enjoyed about this newsletter.
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March,
