• Mountaintop removal sites, even those that have been closed for decades, continue to harm water quality, poisoning aquatic life and damaging the health of all those who live downstream.¹
• Infants have as much as a 42% higher risk of birth defects in mountaintop removal communities. ²

Last year we saw legislators in Washington continue to threaten the few regulations which protect God’s rivers and streams from the destructive effects of this kind of mining. We know that these attacks will only increase in the coming year. For those of us who care about God’s Creation and our neighbors in Appalachia, now is the time to speak up.

Mountaintop removal destroys and pollutes the homes of our neighbors in Appalachia. Mountaintop removal is what it sounds like; in order to reach coal seams, companies blast the tops off of mountains, then often place the resulting rubble in neighboring valleys and streams. Mountaintop removal sites pollute watersheds for years after the coal has been removed. All the creatures and people who live downstream suffer.

We know that many of you have long opposed mountaintop removal coal mining because of the irreversible destruction it does to God’s mountains and people. Our faithful voices will only become more important in the coming year. Please join us in continuing to raise our voices against mountaintop removal by signing the NCC’s petition today.

¹“Cumulative impacts of mountaintop mining on an Appalachian Watershed”

² “The association between mountaintop mining and birth defects among live births in central Appalachia, 1996–2003″

King would not be silent on Earth’s plight

(Re-posted with permission of the author.)

By DR. MYRON F. MCCOY (president of St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City)

***

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7, NRSV)

There was no room for Him among people, in the inn. And so He was born among the animals. The most humble yet warm and inviting place, a manger, a feeding trough, we imagine stuffed with hay, a soft and inviting place for a newborn. No newborn nursery for Him. Nothing fancy. Nothing even ―human. He was born among the animals.

On this Lord’s Day, we confront an earthy reality: the Lord of all dwelling among the beasts. He was to meet beasts again, in the wilderness of Judaea, where wild beasts dwelt (Mark 1:13). And he had a love for the creatures with whom we share creation: birds (Matthew 6:26; Luke 3:22; John 2:14), sheep (Luke 15:4ff.), foxes (Matthew 8:20), cattle, oxen and donkeys (Luke 13:15), just to name the ones in Scripture. By inference, if on the day of his birth He lay in a manger, we may assume there were sheep, and perhaps goats and donkeys as well, and maybe even horses and camels, since this was an inn.

How beautiful and mysterious that the incarnation took place among animals. They welcomed Him, we may presume. I find that my friends who are dogs, cats and horses generally welcome me without judgment and accept me with eager anticipation. A new-born baby must have been a cause for great curiosity among them!

There is a legend that the animals can speak on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I wonder what they would say to us. Would they thank God for the gift of Christ, as we do? They will if we show the same love and respect and trust for them as Jesus did, daring to be born among them. When God came to walk with us in the per-son of Jesus, God started among animals, sharing space with them. I wonder if we can learn to share our space with them lovingly, respectfully, gratefully, kindly, responsibly.

We are called as followers of the Lord Who came on Christmas Day to live lives of gratitude, and to love our neighbors. And our neighbors are not just our human neighbors, though they are our nearest kin. We share the earth in a delicate balance with neighbors non-human, who outnumber and pre-date us by a great order of magnitude. Our particular gifts, skills and adaptations do not make us better than our animal neighbors: they give us a greater responsibility to enjoy, defend and live in dynamic harmony with the biosphere. Seven billion humans have placed a great load on this planet; can we so live as to love all our neighbors, sharing resources, habitat and lifestyles mutually energetic and life-giving?

Instead of piling up stuff on Christmas day, give the gift of love, respect, fun and generosity by including animals as God did on the very first Christmas. Be merry!

What can we do?

• Consider blessing animals on Christmas Day. This is easily as good a day as St. Francis Day, or the Environmental Sabbath in June. Say “thank you” to the animals for welcoming Jesus.
• Give a gift to your local Humane Society or Animal Shelter.
• Consider volunteering time with an organization working with animals: a therapeutic riding center, a raptor rehabilitation pro-gram, or a dog rescue group. Support and volunteer with an animal rights organization such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Audubon Society, or the National Humane Society.

More Information:

• Readings from a Christian perspective include Christianity and the Rights of Animals (New York: Crossroads, 1987) and Animal Theology (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994) by Andrew Linzey; and Ask the Animals (Harrisburg: Morehouse, 2006) by Elizabeth Canham.
• From an interfaith perspective: Blessing the Animals (Woodstock, Vermont: Skylight Paths, 2006) by Lynn L. Caruso.
• From scientists, three wonderful and thought-provoking books: Reason for Hope (New York: Warner, 1999) by Jane Goodall; The Ten Trusts (New York: Harper One, 2003) by Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff; and The Animal Manifesto

Prayer:
O God, in Whose love we celebrate today, thank You for Your greatest gift, the gift of Yourself in Jesus Christ. We are grateful that You came to walk among us, embracing the whole of creation by being born among the animals. Give us a childlike delight and joy in our animal neighbors. Watch over and protect them. Help us to always live kindly and respectfully with them, taking delight in their amazing abilities, their beauty, their play, and their right to share the earth with us unmolested. On this most holy day, we thank You for all our neighbors, and ask that the generosity You have shown to us may be the mark of our lives as we live on this earth; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Stan Adamson is Pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Boulder, Colorado, the first PC(USA) Earth Care Congregation in Colorado. He has been blessing and welcoming animals in the worship life of St. Andrew for two decades. He shares his life with his wife Clare, his Cairn Terrier friend Maggie, and three Arabian horses, Kally, New Moon and Kara.

http://presbyearthcare.org

Find Presbyterians for Earth Care on Facebook.

Returning to my desk, I decided to check the latest news from the budget debates in the House of Representatives, and saw that, among many other anti-environment riders (additional items attached to a bill, which may have little or nothing to do with the original bill), was a provision to prohibit the EPA from creating or enforcing stream buffer zone rules at surface coal mining sites. Stream buffer zone rules stipulate that land may not be disturbed within 100 feet of a stream, and are of some help in protecting watersheds from the effects of mountaintop removal mining. Thankfully, this rider, and most of the worst anti-environment riders, did not get included in the final version of the budget bill, but the incident serves as a reminder that God’s mountains and flowing streams, and the homes, health, and livelihoods of our neighbors in Appalachia, continue to be vulnerable to attacks by proponents of mountaintop removal mining.

Almost simultaneously, a new scientific study was published in the prestigious peer reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, by researchers at Duke University, offers more strong evidence of the destructive effects of MTR on water quality, and thus on everything and everyone downstream from MTR sites. You can read the full text of the study here.

Now is the time to speak out as faithful voices against the destruction of our Creator’s majestic mountains and the polluting of the homes of some of our most vulnerable neighbors. To help the NCC take action against mountaintop removal, sign our petition to stop this destructive, unjust practice. You can also share our new worship resource  on MTR with your faith community.

For more information, contact me, Will, at william@nccecojustice.org.

Today, we might very well ask how many people would give a child a toy with chemicals that can interfere with their neurological, reproductive, or hormone development when they ask for a rattle or a plastic building set.

A new report out today by Safer Chermicals Healthy Families, SAFER States, and Maine’s Environmental Health Strategy Center found that 280 toys had bisphenol-a (BPA) in them and 291 paints had nonylphenol ethoxolates (NPEs). Additionally, BPA was used in almost all baby bottles until the last year or two and NPEs are also found in detergents and personal care products.

Both chemicals are endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors interfere with the endocrine system, which regulates neurological, reproductive and hormonal activity in the body. These chemicals are particularly damaging to children and a fetus. NPEs are also persistent in the environment, bioaccumulate of the food chain (becoming more toxic as they move through Creation) and are toxic.

As people of faith we are called to care for the health of all God’s children. Right now the federal law that is supposed to protect us from toxic chemicals is badly broken. This past summer and fall Senators Inhofe (R-OK) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) held bipartisan talks to discuss ways to improve the federal Toxic Substances Control Act to protect the most vulnerable. In this season of Advent, I am hopeful that Congress can do the right thing in 2012 and make chemicals safe for children, workers, and all God’s Creation.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, you can call for protection of all God’s children from toxic chemicals here.

* * *

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: „You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40, NRSV)

I saw a lone fir tree last week, looking like it was ready to be decorated for the Christmas season. But it is not. It is planted in soil covering a cement cap that shields soil so contaminated by dioxin, it could not be remediated. This is the former manufacturing home of DDT and Agent Orange.

I saw this on a tour of the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ, named because it developed inside the railroad tracks crossing the city. Today the majority of the population is African American, Latino and foreign born, moderate to low income, and approximately 75% of the population has less than a high school education. People who don’t live there know this section as having the best Portuguese restaurants in the state, yet it is a food desert. On this tour, what I saw was environmental racism. This is not the reflection of a person who has experienced the injustice in this community, but of a white, middle-class person who toured it one day and saw circumstances that would not be tolerated in my neighborhood.

What I saw is a community that suffers from the cumulative impacts of multiple injustices:

• The dioxin-laden site, along with other pollutants from numerous old industrial sites, contaminated a 13 mile stretch of the Passaic River. In many neighborhoods, the rivers play a large part in the community, this river does not. The Ironbound abuts Newark Airport and is surrounded by five major New Jersey highways – its air is polluted by emissions and noise.
• Port Newark is also adjacent to the Ironbound and 7,000 trucks regularly service the port. Trucks idle for hours at the port waiting to load cargo and drive through the Ironbound. Community members did a truck count once for 2 hours at 6 intersections and counted over 2,000 trucks.
• Port Newark is also a visual reminder of the US trade deficit, with towering piles of empty shipping containers (a visual eyesore as well).
• There is a lack of recreational opportunities – not many parks, others closed because of contamination. One chemical company, as part of restitution, built a recreational center. The pool had to be suspended above ground because of the contamination in the soil at that location. Covanta operates the largest incinerator in the state here (over half of the trash comes from New York City). And the air scrubbing equipment is not as advanced as the other installations in the state.

In this season of anticipation of the birth of Jesus, I am drawn to his commandments. If we love God, we need to love all of God’s creation. Can we do this and tolerate multiple injustices to the earth in one place? Can we love our neighbor and tolerate multiple injustices to our neighbor’s community?

But in this season of hope –I saw great hope. The Ironbound Community Corporation is very engaged in helping residents organize and advocate to remediate the current problems, and prevent further cumulative impacts. They provide awareness tours. They advocated keeping a medical waste facility from being built. They are involved with the planning process for the restoration of the river banks. They are saving the few parks they have.
In this season of anticipation of the birth of Jesus, I am drawn to his commandments. If we love God, we need to love all of God’s creation. Can we do this and tolerate multiple injustices to the earth in one place? Can we love our neighbor and tolerate multiple injustices to our neighbor’s community?

What can we do?

• Always respect a community suffering from environmental injustice and how they are working to make their situation better.
• Provide support by writing letters and standing with the community when asked.
• When you throw out your trash, think about how to create less going to incinerators.

More Information:

Read the Environmental Justice Principles:
http://www.ejnet.org/ej/principles.html

Look at the web to see if your state posts DEP environmental mapping tools. Read the Executive Summary of the United Church of Christ’s report on Toxic Waste and Race:
http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/2007%20UCC%20Executive% 20Summary.pdf

Prayer:
Gracious God, in this season of anticipation and hope, care for those who are impacted by environmental injustice; keep them safe from further injustices; give them strength in their work for justice. Open the eyes of the unaware. Help us all to tend your wondrous creation, working towards a healthy earth that will lift everyone. Amen

Sue Smith is the Treasurer of Presbyterians for Earth Care, a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, NJ, a GreenFaith Fellow, and a student at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Photo courtesy of the author.

There is not a single member of Congress at the meetings or who plans to attend. Had members of Congress not attended in the past, this wouldn’t be so surprising but for the last few big negotiating meetings the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee have attended these events as well as their staff.

This year = no members and only a small handful of staff.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/climate-change-battle-framed-in-moral-terms-by-environmental-coalition/2011/11/30/gIQA4NhADO_blog.html

Unfortunately, this reflects the apparent lack of interest that we see on Capitol Hill for addressing climate change in a way that recognizes the impacts it is already having on vulnerable families and communities around the world. Can we ignore the floods and droughts and increasingly intense weather that are happening around the world as well as here in the US.

Just 2 examples:

- 13 million people are starving in the horn of Africa

- just days before the climate negotiations began, floods destroyed 700 homes in Durban 

Should members of Congress be in attendance? How can the US do a better job of engaging in the global effort to address climate change?

Click here to read the article about China’s proposed emissions reductions:

http://www.britishbusinessfinder.com/news/article/China+readies+big+climate+offer,+India+mulls+support

Besides the fact that we know everyone has arrived safe and sound and is in full swing at the climate negotiations, it looks like China has prepared a set of legally binding commitments that would force the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions after 2020. As the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, this is a potential breakthrough in the negotiations.

http://twocircles.net/2011nov29/china_readies_big_climate_offer_india_mulls_support.html

Now the question is – what will India do? India is the fourth largest emitter and has not put a similar proposal on the table.

Also, how will the US respond?

Let the negotiations begin!

We had thousands of individuals and congregations from all over the country take the time to sign postcards. One story in particular is inspiring. Rock Spring Congregational (UCC) in Arlington, VA found out about the Do it in Durban campaign with only a few weeks left. By the time everyone had signed the postcards there was very little time left before colleagues left for Durban so Rev. Janet Parker, determined to get the postcards in with the rest sent her postcards overnight to us in our office! Many thanks to Janet (picture below) and Rock Spring Congregational Church for their time and effort!! 

We will be keeping folks up to date on what is happening in Durban over the next 2 weeks through blog posts and facebook messages. If you have any questions, feel free to be in touch so we can let you know what is happening. We will also be sharing the experiences and stories of 3 colleagues who are attending the conference to represent the US faith community and their denominations. The participants are:

• John Hill from the United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
• Mike Schut from the Episcopal Church
• Bill Somplatsky-Jarman from the PCUSA

will all be attending the climate negotiations at some point over the next 2 weeks. They will be sharing their experiences with us and we will make sure to get share them with you!