Google is getting more aggressive about “helping you make searches faster and get customized experiences in Search, Maps, Now, and other Google products.” This “translates” into monitoring your search activity in order to monetize you – YOU are the product. These are not your friends just trying to be caring, so beware of your privacy settings. Have you noticed ads repeatedly popping up elsewhere on your browser for items you have comparison searched on Google after you clicked several of the convenient picture shopping links? Google’s privacy policy enables the company to share data across a wide variety of services. These embedded services include millions of third-party websites that use Adsense and Analytics. In the summer of 2016, Google quietly dropped its ban on personally-identifiable info in its DoubleClick ad service. You can control your Google Experience and turn off the blue toggle switches to protect your privacy, although you may also lose some functionality you enjoy. If you don’t want push notifications from Google+ you can just say “NO THANKS!” In addition, you should control what information is collected through a Privacy Checkup of what you share on YouTube. Facebook also has Basic Privacy Settings & Tools you should visit and use. Here’s a handy link to Epic.org’s Online Guide to Privacy Resources.

AARP’s Bulletin has an article about how to Boost Your Brain Power. Here are some key research findings regarding boosting your cognitive reserve: Activity –  brisk walking for 40 minutes four times a week, increases blood flow to the regions of the brain shown able to grow new cells. Eat a Mediterranean Diet and maintain good gut bug flora. Mindfulness – pay attention to what you’re doing. Meditation, yoga, a walk in the woods: focus your mind and relax. This may build clearer memories. Unplug and don’t let your smartphone hijack your attention span. Watch your numbers – keep cholesterol and blood pressure numbers in an acceptable range; limit sugars and prevent or treat diabetes. Don’t smoke tobacco. Don’t fall and get a head injury. Prioritize sleep. Learn something new – remain curious and continue to grow as a person. Socialize – Don’t live alone and party with others to avoid depression. Cognitive reserve is “the combination of a person’s innate abilities and the additional brainpower that comes from challenging the mind. Studies show that diverse, mentally stimulating tasks result in more brain cells, more robust connections among those cells, and a greater ability to bypass age- or disease-related trouble spots in the brain. The more you work your mind, the greater your cognitive reserve. And the greater your reserve, the greater your ability to withstand the inevitable challenges of aging.” "Unfortunately, there is no pill or procedure to help you maintain your memories (yet). Forget digital-brain-games and don’t sweat using antiperspirants with aluminum. Vitamin supplements such as E and Ginsing won’t help either and the efficacy of Prevagin is questionable." Check out Brainblogger for the best and worst of Neuroscience and Neurology.

Locavesting is “a call to rethink the way we invest so that we support the small businesses that create jobs and healthy, resilient communities.” Just as “Buy Local” campaigns have found that a small shift in purchasing from chains to locally owned enterprises can reap outsized benefits for a community, so, too, can a small shift in our investment dollars. The phrase Locavesting was coined by journalist Amy Cortese in 2008 (and the title of her book published in 2011) to capture the ‘citizen investor’ phenomenon she saw taking hold in the wake of the financial crisis.” The Local Crowd is crowdfunding like Kickstarter, except with a distinct local investment focus. The Local Crowd is a Wyoming, LLC founded on the belief that strong local economies hold the key to a strong national economy. Their model “combines the power of Internet crowdfunding with a strong educational focus designed to increase the knowledge base and sophistication level of rural entrepreneurs and investors in using the Internet to raise money and make investments in local companies.” They offer a “full-service package including locally-based crowdfunding software, consulting and instruction–including webinars, seminars, workshops, retreats, classes (in-person and online), and courses for groups and individuals.” Local Futures, also known as the Economics of Happiness, is a pioneer of the new economy movement, dedicated to the renewal of community, ecological health and local economies worldwide. Local Futures is offering a FREE webinar on Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. PST – a deeper dig by Shaun Chamberlin and Helena Norberg-Hodge into the work of the late Dr. David Fleming, author of Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy – a different vision for a post-growth society. Register Here. This event is jointly organized by Local Futures and Transition US. Check out DarkOptimism (Shaun Chamberlin’s blog), which “offers a better future for a troubled world… unashamedly positive about what kind of a world humanity could create, and unashamedly realistic about how far we are from creating it today.” This 2 ½ minute YouTube video highlights the benefits of localization. “Now is the time to repair and restore the atrophied social and ecological structures on which most human cultures were built – not only because we miss them dearly, but also as an absolute practical priority, for they are the only basis for a nourishing and cohesive society that might survive the turbulent times to come. This work could become the story of our times, and living it imbues our days with joy and meaning.” #LocalInvesting #LocalFutures #Locavesting #GlobalEconomy #Localization #TheLocalCrowd

In the YouTube video (above) Rev. Carol Devine, Director of Blessed Tomorrow, interviews Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jones about Season of Creation. on EcoAmerica,'s weekly podcast Let’s Talk Climate. They discuss the history and significance of this time period, the many resources available, and how clergy and lay leaders can get involved. In 2000, St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Adelaide, South Australia, celebrated the first Season of Creation. Since then, churches around the world have joined in celebrating Creation and deepening their commitment to climate solutions in the fall of each year. This year the Season is from September 4th to October 2, 2022. Greenfaith is organizing a worldwide campaign called Faiths 4 Climate Justice between October 2nd and November 6, 2022 (the eve of the COP27 climate talks). Download the Action Guide. Additional church climate action resources are found on the Preaching For Gods World website. Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas is Missioner for Creation Care; Creation Care Advisor for the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA and the Southern Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ. She writes a blog full of resources at RevivingCreation.org

Honest To Goodness Honest to Goodness (2019) by Martin Prozesky explores what it means to be a Christian when governed by ethical values.” Prozesky is an academic theologian and ethicist who points to “goodness as the reality that drives everything that is noble and lasting valuable in our existence. Goodness itself requires that we make every effort to protect and enhance all that is already good in the world, and to transform all that is not good.” This scholarly book traces the author’s semi-autobiographical “ethical and spiritual odyssey’’ over a span of 50 years in the Episcopal and Anglican tradition. His faith evolved from his early years of conservative Christianity, then gradually adopting more liberal views, and finally ending up embracing progressive Christianity. He found a “new Christian radicalism far closer to Jesus himself and the great spiritual and ethical movement he launched.” Prozesky’s most important contention of the book is: “Supreme goodness is the only true foundation for faith and practice, and everything in Christianity, and every other faith and philosophy, must align with and serve it or lose moral depth, spiritual credibility, and power.” He lists principle facets of goodness: love, truth, justice, respect, generosity, active care for others, freedom without harm, inclusiveness, non-violence, respect for life, tolerance, equal rights for all, gender justice, beauty, open-mindedness, judicious criticality. Love and truth are foundational. Truth-loving includes unfailing respect for factual evidence and logical consistency. Using the norm of “perfect goodness”, Prozesky concludes that “too many of the very influential belief and practices of conservative Christianity prove too flawed to merit continued acceptance. He agrees with John Shelby Spong who “showed us convincingly, as one who knows his Bible backward, that Scripture contains material that is unethical about the environment, women, homosexuality, children, Jews and what he calls ‘certainty’ – the belief that Christianity has a monopoly on religious truth.” As South Africa navigated through apartheid, it became “abundantly clear that Christianity can be shockingly ambivalent about central ethical values like truth and socio-economic justice.” In his loving critique of conservative and liberal Christianity, he laments that “worship and belief are treated as the main business of conservative Christian churches, having priority over ethical practices.” Biblical fundamentalists tend to be inward-looking, in a self-perpetuating way. Religions should be a comprehensive value system first and foremost, rather than belief systems. He slowly evolved into progressive Christianity and a panentheistic understanding of Godhead. The Abrahamic concept of God as a supreme personal being “is simply too restrictive to do justice to a goodness that is too rich and deep to be adequately contained in any of the models and metaphors we may employ.”He now rejects a belief that God could “ordain the ultimate cruelty and injustice of eternal punishment to those who do not embrace Christ as the only savior. To be clear Prozesky, is not suggesting an “embrace of materialistic atheism and the belief that the universe of matter and energy that science studies is the only reality, which makes religious faith in transcendence just a delusion.” He sees the cosmos as the ultimate reality – this isn’t primarily about beliefs, doctrines, and creeds but in goodness, love, and concern for truth. I feel a resonance with Prozesky’s critique of conservative and liberal Christianity. My personal faith journey has evolved from traditional biblical Presbyterianism, prompted by a quest for the historical Jesus and “living the questions” into a progressive understanding. My path includes some of the same scholars he mentions: N. T. Wright, Marcus Borg, John Dominick Crossan, John Shelby Spong and Lloyd Gerring, but added mystic activist Matthew Fox and contemplative Richard Rohr. I appreciate the author’s unique perspective from South Africa and his centering on ethics. It makes me wonder if an ethics-first approach could persuade white evangelical followers of Donald J. Trump to re-evaluate the cognitive dissonance of his personality, temperament, and policies with the core value of goodness. The book is not easy to read because it’s scholarly bent slowly takes the reader through the thought processes of various other scholars to understand nuanced points of agreement and/or disagreement. Concepts are introduced in one chapter and later elucidated in subsequent chapters or Parts. While informative, this style is at times gives more detail than is desired. As such, the book is not easy to skim and get the gist of what is most important. Nevertheless, I recommend the book as it continues to entice me into greater interest in ethics as a unifying focus – more powerful and universal than religion. I was disappointed that for a book of 309 pages there is only one paragraph on the ethics of saving the earth and its inhabitants from the perils of climate change. Martin Prozesky is a research fellow on the faculty of theology and religion at the University of the Free State in South Africa. He studied theology at Rhodes and Oxford Universities and at the former Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He did his doctorate on Friedrich Schleiermacher, and has been a visiting scholar at universities in South Africa, the United States, Trinity College, Oxford, and Australia. He is the author of six books. Honest to Goodness is currently available on Kindle for $2.99 instead of the $38 list print price. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

The Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP) was signed by Governor Kate Brown two years ago by executive order EO 20-04. Brad Reed, Campaign Manager for Renew Oregon says, "OCAP mobilized a broad array of state agencies to respond to the climate crisis and make a transition to a clean energy economy in multiple sectors including transportation, public health, clean energy & buildings, natural & working lands, and to hold the state’s largest climate polluters accountable." Highlights of the Plan include: 🏭 The Climate Protection Program took effect on January 1, 2022. 🚛 Two major Clean Trucks rules passed. 🌡️ Worker protection from extreme heat & wildfire smoke rules are nearly finished. 🌲 First time in state history, we have a concrete goal for Oregon's forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands to capture and store millions of tons of greenhouse gases. 🔥 The "Future of Methane Gas" is under discussion.. "One thing I know is these kinds of things get better when people show up to demand change.". With great regard for Governor Brown’s leadership and the hard work from directors and staff at the state agencies, I can’t think of a single one of OCAP’s many highlights that hasn’t gotten better because people like you showed up to write an email, make a public comment, testify in front of a commission, or share your story with decision makers." #ORClimateAction

Empathy and respect. That is what will result in better conversations between conservatives and liberals according to 2015 research by Robb Willer, sociologist at Stanford University and Matthew Feinberg, Assistant Professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto, co-authors of How to Make Effective Political Arguments. “Research suggests such moral rhetoric is largely ineffective for persuading those who do not already hold one’s position because advocates advancing these arguments fail to account for the divergent moral commitments that undergird America’s political divisions.” Willer cited a 2007 study by Jesse Graham, Jonathan Haidt, and Brian A. Nosek: Liberals and Conservatives Rely on Different Sets of Moral Foundations. They found that liberals consistently showed greater endorsement and use of the Harm/care and Fairness/reciprocity foundations compared to Ingroup/loyalty, Authority/respect and Purity/sanctity foundations, whereas conservatives endorsed and used the 5 foundations more equally. Put another way, liberals should appeal to values of moral purity, patriotism, respect for authority and loyalty in trying to persuade conservatives, while appealing to the values of fairness, preserving the environment and doing no harm are more likely to persuade liberals. Daniel Schultz writes about How Liberals Should (and Should Not) Talk about Values: “Start with a story. Drop the labels, the identities, the principles, and tell a story. As it unfolds, let the values come through…People will listen to a concrete story and absorb its message much more quickly than an abstract argument. The goal is to find powerful stories that prompt people to understand the world in a different way. It’s really hard to do.” “Morality contributes to political polarization because moral convictions lead individuals to take absolutist stances and refuse to compromise.” But moral reframing (being more careful about how we communicate) can lead to greater cooperation and collaboration. After all, we are all in this together. #conservatives #communication #liberals #moralvalues #Respect #storytelling #politicalpolarization #Empathy

On November 17, 2022 the Creation Justice Church program of the United Church of Christ (UCC) had a one-hour YouTube webinar on Becoming a Creation Justice Church. Click here to watch the webinar. "As Christians, this is our first calling in the Bible. It is also a calling that has been integral to the DNA of the UCC as a denomination and the historic role played by the UCC’s Commission for Racial Justice in launching the environmental justice movement. In the face of the climate crisis," ~ UCC Creation Justice Church program As the UCC’s Minister for Environmental Justice, the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt introduced the program and hosted four church leaders who have helped lead their church into becoming Creation Justice Churches: Barbara Smith-Bacon from First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota, Florida Rev. Robert Grabill from the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College Rev. Nancy Leckerling from First Congregational Church in Guilford, Connecticut As a member of the SNEUCC Environmental Ministry Team, Rev. Leckerling was instrumental in expanding the Conference's "Green Congregations" program for UCC churches, and IREJN’s "Green Houses of Worship," a four-tiered recognition program for environmental ministry. Claire Stiles from Lakewood United Church of Christ, St. Petersburg, Florida Rev. Berndt spoke about the four elements of discernment: 1. theology and worship; 2. institutional life and practice; 3. circles of awareness and advocacy; and 4. connecting to a broader movement. He offered a strategy addressing these elements in each quarter of the year. This webinar is part of a special series of Thursdays for the Soul webinars focused on twelve Just World Covenant programs in the United Church of Christ. One of these programs will be featured on the third Thursday of each month. "The Creation Justice Church program has provided a path of active hope for a growing number of congregations." ~ UCC Creation Justice Church program

COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, scheduled to end Friday, November 18, 2022, lingered as nations clash. As NPR puts it, "The main sticking point in negotiations centers on the issue of loss and damage – the question of what developed countries, which contributed the most to climate change, owe to smaller, developing countries, which are suffering its effects now." Before coming ill with COVID, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry noted on November 17th: "Seventeen of the 20 countries in the world most affected by climate change are in Africa. Collectively, they've contributed roughly 0.55% of all emissions warming the world." Vulnerable countries have very little power to affect what rich countries do, shy of walking out on negotiations. Finally on November 20, 2022, the UNCC issued the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. which: "Recognizes that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions of 43 per cent by 2030 relative to the 2019 level. Also recognizes that this requires accelerated action in this critical decade, on the basis of equity and the best available scientific knowledge, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty..." "Reiterates Articles 2, 4, and 9 of the Paris Agreement and highlights that about USD 4 trillion per year needs to be invested in renewable energy up until 2030 to be able to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and that, furthermore, a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require an investment of at least USD 4–6 trillion per year..." "Let’s be clear. Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address." ~ UN Secretary General The Guardian reports: China and US renew commitment to tackling climate crisis but differences remain. Xie Zhenhua said he’d had ‘very constructive discussions’ with John Kerry at Cop27 but there’s no change on finance issues "Overall progress to address global warming and pay for its effects is looking grim. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions must be cut in half this decade to avoid runaway sea level rise, deadly heat waves, mass extinction of animals and plants and a variety of weather disasters. Right now, countries have collectively promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions by only about 3% by 2030. ~ NPR Professor Jem Bendell's blog post of November 18, 2022- Capitalism Versus Climate Justice – thoughts on my first and last experience of climate COP said we have "a capitalism and consumer culture problem... we are beginning to see a global ‘disaster capitalism’ where businesses are seeking subsidies from the state for their various schemes... the failure of humanity to bend the emissions curve over the last 30 years is because of the dominant expansionist logic of global capitalism that it is so widely ignored." Colombian President Gustavo Petro gave a speech at COP27 where he made it very clear we can’t tackle climate separately from "the exploitative and extractive global systems that serve the rich." COP27 was the first time Professor Bendell mentioned ‘Deep Adaptation’ (seeking to reduce harm and save more of the natural world while/despite anticipating the breakdown of most modern societies in the near term) as an ethos and framework at a UN event. In November 2021 Bendell co-wrote with Rubert Reed about the ‘Davosification’ of COP calling for system change - "the Davosified elite at COP26 have no intention of a significant course-correction." "The climate agenda must be reclaimed from elites" ~ Professor Jem Bendell Click here to listen on SoundCloud as Michael Dowd narrate Bendell's recent blog post. On a positive note, a October 26, 2022 New York Times Magazine article by By David Wallace-Wells Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View says "scientists believe that warming this century will most likely fall between two or three degrees. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.)" "Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years." ~ NY Times Magazine Image: IAEA Imagebank, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Oregon Coast Energy Alliance Network (OCEAN) is "a cross-cultural community-based organization with the mission to explore the opportunities and challenges of floating offshore wind and other advanced energy technologies. Learn about floating offshore wind systems of tomorrow on the OCEAN website - guiding principles, challenges, potential ecological impacts, newsletter, and membership "OCEAN is promoting a “bottom up” process of front-loaded stakeholder engagement designed around our coastal community perspective and interests. Their goal is to inform and influence coastal energy projects and policies when they are in the earliest, formative stages to maximize the benefits to our coast’s citizens, ecology, and economy." Learn more about oceans and climate from the SOCAN website, which has 94 posts related to the subject!.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! A table grace from BrianMcLaren.net. "For this breath, for this heartbeat For this meal with these companions For the web of life of which we’re part We give thanks with all our hearts. For sun and rain, for soil and season, For ocean, mountain, forest, meadow, For the web of life of which we’re part We give thanks with all our hearts. For all to whom this food connects us From field and farm to store and table For the web of life of which we’re part We give thanks with all our hearts. For bread and wine upon this table For this deep mystical communion For the web of life of which we’re part We give thanks with all our hearts."

Northern Oregon, east of Mt. Hood has recently gained some attention as a leader in renewable energy with Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility - the first wind-solar-battery hybrid plant in the United States. Located in Lexington, Oregon this facility is owned by Portland General Electric and NextEra Energy. The Bonneville Power Administration which constructs electric facilities necessary to transmit power, is also the federal marketing agent for power from all of the federally owned hydroelectric projects in the Pacific Northwest including the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River. BPA now markets the electricity from thirty-one federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries, as well as from the Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear plant located on the Hanford Site in eastern Washington. The map above shows the location of Oregon's electric power generation by type and major transmission lines in FEMA's Region X . It also shows a threat to the electric power grid from a future megathrust earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) . The FEMA report gives this dire warning: "During the 2016 Cascadia Rising Exercise, which considered a catastrophic 9.0 earthquake and tsunami event that resulted in the destruction of the infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest coastline, the unprecedented challenges associated with the restoration of energy infrastructure were recognized. It is expected that a complete societal collapse could result from an extended mass power outage lasting longer than several weeks to months. Extensive mass care support and requests for life sustaining services can be expected to be overwhelmed in a catastrophic event." According to OEM, the last major (8.0-9.0 magnitude) Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami occurred in 1700. "History has shown, and scientists confirm, this quake occurs, on average, once every 200 to 500 years." The Oregon Department of Energy has links to help you Get Ready. Also isit ready.gov to learn more about emergency preparedness. The Great Oregon ShakeOut will occur this year on 10/20/22 at 10:20 a.m. Your involvement inspires others to practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On or other protective actions and to become better prepared to survive and recover! Register here. Download the FEMA Mobile App, which allows you to receive real-time weather alerts, send notifications to loved ones, locate emergency shelters in your area, and more.

October 1, 2022 at 12 p.m. PDT on Zoom, the Work That Reconnects Network is presenting a webinar Ecological Civilization: Humanity's Transformational Alternative. Register Here.* October 2 to November 6, 2022 - GreenFaith is organizing Faiths 4 Climate Justice, a month-long, global, multi-religious campaign to address climate justice. October 4, 2022 11 a.m. PDT on Zoom. - Pushed to Poverty: Women, Girls, and the Climate Crisis. Richenda Fairhurst's Faiths4Future welcomes international human rights attorney Nesha Abiraj, Diplomatic and Advocacy liaison to Stop Ecocide International who works with communities of faith to address the climate crisis by ending ecocide. Register here. October 4, 2022 4 p.m. PT on Zoom - Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth presents Fighting Climate Change - Student Movements Globally. Hear how your voice and your congregation can be a critical part of the advocacy for change. Register here. October 4, 2022 7-8:30 p.m in person - Candidates Forum on Climate and Environment. at Medford Public Library, 205 S. Central Ave., Medford. Meet & Greet from 8:30-9:00 p.m. Organized by SOCAN. Invited: U. S. Congressional District 2: Cliff Bentz (R), Joe Yetter (D) Jackson Co Commission Position 1: Rick Dyer (R), Denise Krause (D) Jackson Co Commission Position 3: Al Densmore (I), Colleen Roberts (R) October 6-7, 2022 - BTS Center is offering online Convocation 2022: Imagination and Collective Liberation for a Climate-Changed World. Register here. October 7, 2022 The Climate Reality Project is presenting 24 Hours of Reality: Spotlight on Solutions and Hope. For 24 hours straight they’ll be sharing stories about ways people are tackling the climate crisis in our communities. Register here. October 8, 2022, 10:00 a.m PT at Pony Espresso in Ashland - Southern Oregon Chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby gathers for national Zoom link and Stephen Perkins and Quill Robinson from the American Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing young people around environmental action through common-sense, market-based, and limited-government ideals. October 11, 2022, 11 p.m. PT - Richenda Fairhurst's Faiths4Future presents Nonviolent Direct Action: Why youth are walking out and organizing, a conversation with William H. Morris climate organizer with GreenFaith and Victoria Wingell, forest campaigner for Oregon Wild. Register here. October 12, 2022 10 a.m. PT on Zoom - UCC Creation Justice webinar How Faith Communities Can Benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act. Register here. October 12 & 26, 2022 6-8 p.m. PT on Zoom - Water Solutions Summit - Continuation of a series hosted by the Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance held on Wednesday evenings. This Summit is an overview of our regional watersheds and water issues. Call 541-530-8454 or email info@southernoregonpachamama.org for more information. Register here. October 18 - November 15, 2022, 2:00-3:15 PT on Zoom - GreenFaith and The BTS Center are hosting a 5-week book study of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet (2022). Join an interfaith conversation on how to dismantle systems of oppression to protect people & planet. Intersectional Environmentalist (IE) is a non-profit, "climate justice collective radically imagining a more equitable + diverse future of environmentalism". "IE focuses on achieving climate justice, amplifying historically excluded voices + approaching environmental education, policy, and activism with equity, inclusion and restorative justice in mind." Register here. October 18, 2022, 7-8:30 p.m PT in person - Candidates Forum on Climate and Environment at Medford Public Library, 205 S. Central Ave., Medford. Meet & Greet from 8:30-9:00 p.m. Organized by SOCAN. Invited: Senate District 3: Jeff Golden (D), Randy Sparacino (R) House District 4: Christine Goodwin (R) House District 5: Sandra Abercrombie (R), Pam Marsh (D) House District 6: Dan Davis (D), Kim Walden (R) House District 56: Jonathan Chenjeri (D), Emily McIntire (R) October 20, 2022, 6 p.m. PT on Zoom - Circle Faith Future and Faiths4Future are hosting a special meet the authors event: Wake Up, Take Heart: A Creation Care Study for the Local Church. Authors Rev. Bob and Anita Dygert-Gearheart will join us for a virtual conversation about the curriculum Wake Up World, sharing about what inspired them and how the curriculum could be used in community. Register here. October 25, 2022, 6:09-7:00 p.m. PT - SOCAN Monthly Meeting: Climate-induced Forest Change. Register here.

The United Church of Christ’s Creation Justice Webinar series, on the second Wednesday of each month, "brings leaders in the field of environmental justice into conversation with an interfaith audience seeking to put their values into action as caretakers and protectors of God’s creation." The topic of this month's Creation Justice Zoom Webinar on Nov 9, 2022 at 10 a.m. PT is Centering Africa at COP27. Register here. This webinar will "center the climate concerns and issues faced by Africa, the continent that bears the least responsibility for the climate crisis yet is most vulnerable to its destructive impacts." The United Nations Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Conference COP27 will take place November 6-18, 2022 where leaders from the world’s nations will be convening in Egypt. While this summit has been described as "the African COP," activists from the continent have asserted that they are already being shut out." "A prominent concern for African nations at COP27 is the matter of who will pay for the increasing losses and damages inflicted by the climate crisis. Over the past 50 years, climate exacerbated drought has led to a loss of an estimated $70 billion in the Horn of Africa and southern Africa, while the cost of rising sea levels is projected to reach $50 billion by 2050 for islands and coastal areas." "Of far greater significance than what can be expressed in monetary amounts is the enormous loss of life that has occurred. Over the past 50 years, drought led to the loss of over a half million lives, while flooding has claimed the lives of 20,000.." Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and Rev. Michael Malcom, Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People's Justice Council will moderate these three panelists on November 9th: Ineza Umuhoza Grace from the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition Dr. Tinashe Gumbo from the All Africa Conference of Churches Rev. Michael Kalito from Theological Education by Extension in Zambia (TEEZ). Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and UCC Creation Justice will send you a link to a recording of it.

Greenfaith is promoting a Multi-faith Climate Justice Symposium on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 7-9 a.m. PT Register here. This event is organized by the Laudato Si Movement, GreenFaith, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, and Supreme Muslim Council of Kenya, and co-sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). This half-day symposium will introduce the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, its pillars, and the religious foundations for its support. Treaty Initiative is an emerging campaign for a binding international agreement that would be a complement to the Paris Agreement. Such a Treaty would require: An immediate end to new fossil fuel projects A rapid transition to 100% renewables and a fair phase-out of fossil fuels A just transition to an environmentally sustainable future for workers and communities most affected by climate change and by this transition These three pillars are what is required to address the climate crisis in a manner that reflects widely shared religious and moral values and consistent with what science tells us must be done to avoid truly disastrous climate change impacts. The Treaty Initiative has already attracted support from over 100 Nobel Laureates; 40 cities including London, Paris, Los Angeles, and Sydney; 250 parliamentarians including elected representatives from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan; over 1,000 NGOs and 2,500 scientists and academics. Interpretation for this event will be provided in Swahili, Spanish, and French. Register today to reserve your spot!

The ecoAmerica report, Mental Health and Our Changing Climate, produced with their partner the American Psychological Association, takes a revealing look at the anxiety that climate change has created in our nation’s youth as well as adults. At a time when positive action is most needed, it offers concrete, helpful suggestions to strengthen resilience. "A majority of Americans support action to ensure a healthy future for ourselves and our children. America has the wherewithal to lead our nation and the world to ensure that the social determinants of health — and mental health — are supported versus hindered by the state of our climate, communities, and natural places." ~ ecoAmerica To hear the major findings of this report from the authors and to preview the action steps for communities, individuals, practitioners, and policymakers watch the video. Read the full report HERE. and share on Social! "Now is the time to elevate faith’s leadership role in providing inspiration, hope, and commitment with respect to our duty to care for creation." ~ Blessed Tomorrow Additional Mental Health and Climate Resources Mental Health - Our Changing Climate Impacts, Inequities, Responses (2022) American Climate Leadership Summit session 5 Steps to Effective Climate Communication resource and handout My Neighbor is Hurting: How to Serve Those Experiencing Climate Stress and Grief (A Blessed Tomorrow Let’s Talk Climate episode) May is Mental Health Awareness Month blog featuring guidance for building community resilience against the climate change impacts on mental health #ClimateChangesMentalHealth, #MentalHealth #ClimateChange

On November 3, 2022, 9 a.m. PDT on Zoom - Institute For The Future (IFTF) is having a Foresight Talk: How to Forecast Environmental Change without Being an Environmental Scientist. Register here "How do you comprehend the future of climate change at a planetary scale? Join IFTF Distinguished Fellow Mike Liebhold to learn how he uses combinatorial forecasting and systems thinking to track changing ecosystems, behavioral systems, and core technologies such as green computing and climate modeling. Drawing on his decades of experience, Mike will walk us through the current planetary crises he’s tracking and share a few concrete methods for tracking them." "Mike Liebhold is now retired but actively researching the applications of technology to restore future planetary environmental health. Previously, Mike served from 2003-2019 as Distinguished Fellow and senior technology researcher at the Institute for the Future, interpreting technological underpinnings of tomorrow’s world, including whole systems, data networks, immersive media, spatial and contextual computing." ITFT has has a newly redesigned website. Check it out. You will probably want to download ITFT's 2021-2031 Map of the Decade called Building Climate- Positive Organizations. The Map is a series of deep-dive forecasts designed to help your organization identify opportunities for transformation that you can act on today to become climate-positive." IFTF offers courses on Futures Thinking, Collaborative Foresight, Forecasting Skills and Urgent Optimism on Coursera. Coursera also has nearly 200 courses on climate change from various universities, some of them free! What a great resource!

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 is the deadline for Oregon voter registration for the November 8, 2022 General Election. If you are already registered you will have received a Voter' Pamphlet from the State of Oregon. Oregon Ecumenical Ministries (EMO) has also published in The Voice it's Voters Guide to 2022 Oregon Ballot Measures where they explain why they recommend YES votes on all four measures: Right to Health Care - Vote YES on Measure 111 Remove Slavery as Punishment for a Crime - Vote YES on Measure 112 Government Accountability - Vote YES on Measure 113 Reduction of Gun Violence - Vote YES on Measure 114 EMO has adopted a Statement of Social Principles that guides their public policy work. In this statement, they have identified core principles and areas of social concern, including: Peace and Global Justice Human Rights & Religious Freedom Environmental Stewardship Economic Justice Family and Community Well-being Public Witness and the Common Good "Our faith traditions call us to be thoughtful and active advocates for peace, social justice, human dignity and environmental stewardship. EMO seeks to empower people of faith and all Oregonians to fulfill their role in the democratic process." Please thoughtfully consider arguments offered by both supporters and opponents of each measure. Engage the wisdom of your own tradition and engage in a thoughtful process of discernment in exercising your civic duty to vote, "Voting is not only our right, it is our power.” ~ Loung Ung Oregon League of Conservation Voters has also recommended YES votes on statewide ballot measures 111, 112 and 113 as well as endorsements for other political candidates. Vote411 brought to us by the League of Women Voters Education Fund has personalized voting information if you enter your address. Note: Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon does not speak for The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; they release all public policy statements through the Oregon Catholic Conference.

Two great spiritual teachers (Matthew Fox and Andrew Harvey, join to discuss Our Global Dark Night With Joy, Resolution, and Passion on April 9, 2022 10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT and 2 - 4:00 p.m. PDT with an Integration Session April 23, 2022 10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT. "Our workshop is an unique opportunity to merge our interconnected visions." ~ Andrew Harvey As longtime spiritual friends, both of these master teachers welcome this unique opportunity to merge their interconnected visions of how to meet our global dark night with joy, resolution and passion: to put love into action, to preserve both our planet and the democratic institutions and practices that can still effect vibrant solutions and birth transformative possibilities. Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to come together with like minded people concerned with humanity during this volatile time. For details and registration click HERE