Links to websites
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Most of this study’s endnotes, as well as some of its sidebars, captions, action items, and suggestions for leaders, point to in-depth information immediately available on the web. Readers can avoid typing in the URLs themselves by finding the note on this page. Especially helpful for Bible study leaders and those wishing to investigate issues further.
Lesson 1: Environmental Justice
Sidebar
Dioxins, synthetic materials, plastics, superfund sites
- Dioxins: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dioxins-and-their-effects-on-human-health
- Superfund sites: https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4103533-map-shows-the-contaminated-superfund-sites-closest-to-your-home/
Endnotes
2 United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Learn about Environmental Justice,” epa.gov/environmentaljustice/learn-about-environmental-justice.
4 For a timeline of the development of environmental justice from 1968 to 2016, see epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-timeline. The video “The Road to Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice” (youtube.com/watch?v=Sx93yKLxSyk) tells the story in the voices of many who were involved in the environmental justice movement.
6 “Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States,” p. xii, available here: ucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ToxicWastesRace.pdf.
7 “Hazardous Waste, Race and the Environment” is available here: presbyterianmission.org/resource/hazardous-waste-race-and-environment.
8 See presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/earth-care-congregations.
9 See presbyearthcare.org.
10 Read here about the 2018 overture “On Responding to Environmental Racism and to Promote Environmental Justice” and its resolution, as well as subsequent actions: presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/environmental-issues/environmental-racism-justice.
11 Read here about the PC(USA)’s 2018 resolution supporting carbon fee and dividend: presbyterianmission.org/eco-journey/climate-change-resources/carbon-pricing.
12 Read here about several resolutions coming out of the 2022 PC(USA) General Assembly, including divestment from five fossil fuel industries. (Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Philips 66, and Valero Energy): pres-outlook.org/2022/07/general-assembly-instructs-pcusa-to-divest-from-five-fossil-fuel-companies.
13 Read about the Church Rock spill here: “Tragedy at Church Rock: Superfunds and the Marginalization of Navajos,” Intermountain Histories, https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/379
14 Read more about the partnership of the Presbyterian Committee for the Self-Development of People with the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment here: presbyterianmission.org/story/advocating-for-environmental-justice.
Suggestions for Leaders
Online Bible concordance: https://www.biblegateway.com/
Lesson 2: Land Justice
Endnotes
20 The report is available here: bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/inline-files/bsi_investigative_report_may_2022_508.pdf.
2[1] See Charles F. Sams III, “Tribal Co-Management of Federal Lands” (March 8, 2022), on the Department of the Interior website, doi.gov/ocl/tribal-co-management-federal-lands.
22 Chelsey G. Armstrong et al., “Historical Indigenous Land-Use Explains Functional Trait Diversity,” Ecology & Society 26:2 (2021), ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss2/art6; Erle C. Ellis et al., “People Have Shaped Most of Terrestrial Nature for at Least 12,000 Years,” PNAS 118:17 (April 19, 2021), pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2023483118.
23 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Forest Governance by Indigenous and Tribal Peoples: An Opportunity for Climate Action in Latin America and the Caribbean,” https://www.fao.org/3/cb2953en/cb2953en.pdf.
24 Gabriel Popkin, “‘Forest Gardens’ Show How Native Land Stewardship Can Outdo Nature,” (National Geographic, April 23, 2021, nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/forest-gardens-show-how-native-land-stewardship-can-outdo-nature?loggedin=true&rnd=1681835170451. (note: the article is free to view but website will ask you to enter your email.)
25 The story of the Yurok land restoration is told in this How to Save a Planet podcast: gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/5whko6o. Jim Robbins, “How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature” (Yale School of the Environment, June 3, 2021, https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-returning-lands-to-native-tribes-is-helping-protect-nature offers the broader story of which the Yurok is a part, including the return of lands to Indigenous peoples globally.
Lesson 3: Food Justice
Sidebars
- Redlining: “What is Redlining?” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/what-is-redlining.html
- GI Benefits: https://www.history.com/news/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits
- Diversified farming: https://food.berkeley.edu/about-us/research-centers/center-for-diversified-farming-systems/what-are-diversified-farming-systems/
- Fair trade: https://www.fairtrade.net/about/how-fairtrade-works
Action item
Movie: Kiss the Ground, https://kissthegroundmovie.com/
Endnotes
30 Madeleine Thomas, “What Happened to America’s Black Farmers?” (Grist, April 24, 2015, grist.org/food/what-happened-to-americas-black-farmers).
31 Alan Rappeport, “Climate and Tax Bill Rewrites Embattled Black Farmer Relief Program” (New York Times, August 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/business/economy/inflation-reduction-act-black-farmers.html.)
32 See also Leah Penniman, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018) and Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists (HarperCollins, 2023), as well as the website of Restore Forward, a coalition of Black women dedicated to farming, diversity, and justice: https://restoreny.org/home/.
34 One example of this argument can be found in Ian Angus, “Food Crisis: World Hunger, Agribusiness, and the Food Sovereignty Alternative (Part Two; Climate and Capitalism, April 29, 2008, climateandcapitalism.com/2008/04/29/food-crisis-world-hunger-agribusiness-and-the-food-sovereignty-alternative-part-two).
37 Learn more at: Black Church Food Security Network (https://blackchurchfoodsecurity.net/).
38 Soul Fire Farm: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/. The reparations maps can be found at: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/get-involved/reparations/.
40 See for instance Gina Lazaro and Mary Jo Meisner, “Bringing Visibility to Migrant Workers and the Latinx Communities: A Conversation with Mónica Ramírez (Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, March 29 [https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/bringing-visibility-to-migrant-workers-and-the-latinx-communities].
4[1] See their work at: https://www.icekenya.org/agro-ecological-farming-enhancing-farmers-livelihoods/.
Lesson 4: Water Justice
Sidebar
Endnotes
42 The PFAS Project Lab Tag: West Virginia, (pfasproject.com/tag/west-virginia). The story was documented in Robert Billot’s book Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont (New York: Atria Books, 2020).
43 “Biden-Harris Administration Takes New Action to Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution,” March 14, 2023 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/14/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-new-action-to-protect-communities-from-pfas-pollution/).
44 Melissa Denchak, “Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know” (National Resources Defense Council, Nov 8, 2018, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know.
45 Rick Rojas, “Mississippi’s Capital Loses Water as a Troubled System Faces a Fresh Crisis” (New York Times, Aug 30, 2022, nytimes.com/2022/08/30/us/mississippi-jackson-water.html).
46 Elena Bruess, “How Fracking Has Contaminated Drinking Water (Consumer Reports, Dec 3, 2020, consumerreports.org/water-contamination/how-fracking-has-contaminated-drinking-water-a1256135490/).
47 Jon Hurdle, “Fracking Company to Pay for Public Water System in Rural Pennsylvania Town” (Inside Climate News, Nov 30, 2022, https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30112022/fracking-pennslyvania-settlement-shapiro/).
48 Debra Kelly, “The Real Reason You Should Stop Buying Bottled Water” (Mashed, updated March 10, 2020, mashed.com/33857/real-reason-stop-buying-bottled-water). See also Tull, Inhabiting Eden, 75.
49 Jacey Fortin, “Facing Droughts, California Challenges Nestlé over Water Use” (New York Times, April 29, 2021, nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/nestle-water-california.html); Julie Creswell, “Where Mermaids Play, a Nasty Water Fight” (New York Times, March 8, 2020, nytimes.com/2020/03/08/business/nestle-florida-water.html); Steve Friess, “Where Nestlé Guzzles Water, Michigan Neighbors Take Exception” (New York Times, May 24, 2017, nytimes.com/2017/05/24/business/nestle-michigan-water.html); Tom Perkins, “The Fight to Stop Nestlé from Taking North America’s Water to Sell in Plastic Bottles” (The Guardian, Oct 29, 2019, theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/29/the-fight-over-water-how-nestle-dries-up-us-creeks-to-sell-water-in-plastic-bottles).
50 Gary Nabhan, “Drought Drives Middle Eastern Pepper Farmers Out of Business, Threatens Prized Heirloom Chiles” (Grist, Jan 16, 2010, grist.org/food/2010-01-15-drought-drives-middle-eastern-peppers); Collin Kelley et al., “Climate Change in the Fertile Crescent and Implications of the Recent Syrian Drought” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 17, 2015, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1421533112; Craig Welsh, “Climate Change Helped Spark Syrian War, Study Says” (nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150302-syria-war-climate-change-drought).
51 Owen Mulhern, “Is the Sahara Desert Growing?” (Earth.org, Feb 17, 2021, earth.org/data_visualization/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-sahara-desert).
52 Nancy Juma, “County Government Commits to Plant 40 Million Trees by 2022” (County Government of Kisumu, Oct 22, 2020, kisumu.go.ke/county-government-commits-to-plant-40-million-trees-by-2022); Geoffrey Kamadi, “How ‘Adopting’ Trees Helps Boost Forests and Incomes in Kenya” (Context, July 20, 2022, https://www.context.news/nature/how-adopting-trees-helps-boost-forests-and-incomes-in-kenya?utm_source=news-trust&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=context&utm_content=article).
53 Learn about the Greenbelt Movement here: http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/.
54 Learn about this project at: https://thegreatgreenwall.org/about-great-green-wall. See also https://www.unccd.int/our-work/ggwi and Carolyn Gramling, “Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ Could Have Far-Reaching Climate Effects,” (Science News, January 3, 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/africa-great-green-wall-trees-sahel-climate-change).
55 Sarah Gibbons, “Hurricane Sandy, Explained” (National Geographic, Feb 11, 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/hurricane-sandy.
56 Richard Davies, “Typhoon Haiyan Facts and Figures (Floodlist, Nov 27, 2013, https://floodlist.com/asia/typhoon-haiyan-figures).
57 Gloria Gonzalez, “Why Puerto Ricans Are Bracing for More Blackouts (Politico, March 28, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/28/puerto-rican-blackouts-hurricane-season-00089007).
58 https://www.weather.gov/jkl/July2022Flooding.
59 “U.S. High Tide Flooding Continues to Increase” (NOAA, July 14, 2020, https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/us-high-tide-flooding-continues-to-increase).
60 “Collapsing Fisheries—Have We Reached the End of the Line?” (Oceaneos, https://oceaneos.org/state-of-our-oceans/collapsing-fisheries-examples-of-different-species/).
6[1] Kumar Rahul, “New Zealand Granted Whanganui River Human Rights and Legal Status, World’s First” (The Science Times, March 17, 2017, https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/10507/20170317/new-zealand-granted-whanganui-river-human-rights-legal-status-worlds.htm).
62 Diane Covington-Carter, “Where Rivers Are Granted Legal Status as Persons” (Sierra, May 9, 2017, https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/green-life/when-rivers-are-granted-legal-status-persons).
63 Sarah Pruitt, “How the 14th Amendment Made Corporations into ‘People’” (History, updated Oct 15, 2018, https://www.history.com/news/14th-amendment-corporate-personhood-made-corporations-into-people).
64 Tiffany Challe, “The Rights of Nature—Can an Ecosystem Bear Legal Rights?” (State of the Planet, April 22, 2021, https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/04/22/rights-of-nature-lawsuits/).
65 Omair Ahmad, “Indian Court Awards Legal Rights of a Person to Entire Ecosystem” (Climate Home News, March 4, 2017, https://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/04/03/indian-court-awards-legal-rights-person-nature/).
Lesson 5: Air Quality
Caption
Global Air Pollution: Real-Time Air Quality Index Visual Map: https://aqicn.org/; http://waqi.info/.
Sidebar
- Single-use plastics: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use-plastics-101#why
Endnotes
69 Rion Dundon, “Photos: L.A.’s Mid-Century Smog Was So Bad, People Thought It Was a Gas Attack” (Timeline, May 23, 2018, https://medium.com/timeline/la-smog-pollution-4ca4bc0cc95d).
70 Adam Minter, “Beijing’s Olympic Dream Faces New Threat from Smog” (Bloomberg, Jan 26, 2022, bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-01-26/beijing-olympics-is-facing-a-threat-from-smog).
7[1] “Air Pollution: Current and Future Challenges” (EPA, epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges).
72 The interstate system was also designed to destroy and isolate Black urban neighborhoods; see Deborah N. Archer, “White Men’s Roads Through Black Men’s Homes”: Advancing Racial Equity through Highway Reconstruction (73 Vanderbilt Law Review 1259, March 10, 2020, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3539889); Adam Paul Susaneck, “Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Highway” (New York Times, Sept 8, 2022, nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/08/opinion/urban-highways-segregation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare).
73 American Lung Association State of the Air 2022 Report, Key Findings (lung.org/research/sota/key-findings).
74 Sumaya Addish, “Cancer Alley, Louisiana (1987- )” (BlackPast, July 1, 2021, blackpast.org/african-american-history/cancer-alley-louisiana-1987).
75 Tull, Inhabiting Eden, 124; Living on Earth, “LOE Retrospective: Cancer Alley,” April 8, 2011, loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=11-P13-00014&segmentID=3.
76 Sharon Kelly, “Army Corps Orders Environmental Review of Proposed Formosa Plastics Plant in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’” (Resilience, Aug 19, 2021, resilience.org/stories/2021-08-19/army-corps-orders-environmental-review-of-proposed-formosa-plastics-plant-in-louisianas-cancer-alley).
77 “Environmental Racism in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ Must End, Say UN Human Rights Experts” (UN News, March 2, 2021, https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086172).
78 Erich Hellmer, “Formosa Plastics’ ‘Sunshine Project’ Would Be a Climate Disaster, and Must Be Stopped” (New Bloom, July 29, 2021, newbloommag.net/2021/07/29/formosa-sunshine-project); “Formosa Plastics Agrees to Pay $50 Million Settlement for Polluting Texas Waterways” (Plastic Pollution Coalition, Oct 15, 2019, plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2019/10/15/formosa-plastics-agrees-to-pay-50-million-settlement-for-polluting-texas-waterways).
79 Catherine Boudreau, “Fighting Our Plastic Problem: Bans and Recycling Mandates Gain Steam in the US and Abroad” (Insider, July 13, 2022 businessinsider.com/plastic-bans-and-recycling-mandates-gain-steam-in-us-abroad-2022-7). See also Imogene Calderwood, “16 Times Countries and Cities Have Banned Single-Use Plastics” (Global Citizen, April 25, 2018 globalcitizen.org/en/content/plastic-bans-around-the-world). Recent books are devoted to ridding homes of waste, especially from plastic, such as Bea Johnson, Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste (New York: Scribner, 2013); and Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha, Life without Plastic: The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep Your Family and the Planet Healthy (Salem, MA: Page Street Publishing, 2017).
80 Scott Carpenter, “Why the Oil Industry’s $400 Billion Bet on Plastics Could Backfire” (Forbes, Sept 5, 2020, forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/09/05/why-the-oil-industrys-400-billion-bet-on-plastics-could-backfire).
81 “The Future’s Not in Plastics: Why Plastics Demand Won’t Rescue the Oil Sector” (Carbon Tracker, Sept 4, 2020, carbontracker.org/reports/the-futures-not-in-plastics).
82 Sasha Tenenbaum, “Moms Make News: Celebrating Haaland, Regan, and the Return of Science” (Moms Clean Air Force, March 19, 2021, momscleanairforce.org/moms-make-news-haaland-regan-return-science).
83 Read about the Southern Environmental Law Center here: southernenvironment.org/about-us.
84 Kimberly Amaya and Karla Perez, “Phillips 66 Refineries Are Poisoning Our Communities. We’re Ready to Fight Back” (EarthJustice, May 13, 2020, earthjustice.org/blog/2020-may/phillips-66-refineries-are-poisoning-our-communities-were-ready-to-fight-back).
85 Benjamin Storrow, “How Much Credit Can Beyond Coal Claim for Plant Closures?” (Climatewire, June 10, 2019, eenews.net/articles/how-much-credit-can-beyond-coal-claim-for-plant-closures).
86 Barry Yeoman, “Smithfield Settles Suits over North Carolina Farms, after Losing Appeal” (Ag Insider, November 19, 2020, thefern.org/ag_insider/smithfield-settles-suits-over-north-carolina-farms-after-losing-appeal).
87 Read about the appeal proceedings and opinions here: ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/191019.P.pdf.
Lesson Six: Climate Change
Caption
Climate Time Machine: https://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine
Sidebar
- Greenhouse gases; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): https://www.ipcc.ch/
Action Item
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson TED talk and downloadable Venn diagram: https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/climatevenn
Endnotes
89 According to the Yale Program on Climate Communication’s April 2023 report “Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs and Attitudes” (climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-spring-2023/toc/2), 74 percent of Americans now believe that climate change is happening, and 61 percent understand that it is caused by humans. 44 percent now say they have personally experienced its effects.
90 See their Summary for Policymakers here: ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm.
91 “Synthesis Report of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report: Summary for Policymakers, released March 20, 2023 (report.ipcc.ch/ar6syr/pdf/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf). See also Fiona Harvey, “Scientists Deliver ‘Final Warning’ on Climate Crisis: Act Now or It’s Too Late” (The Guardian, March 20, 2023, theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/20/ipcc-climate-crisis-report-delivers-final-warning-on-15c) and Democracy Now, “U.N. Warns ‘Climate Time Bomb Is Ticking’ as Cyclone Freddy Death Toll Tops 560 in Malawi & Mozambique,” March 21, 2023 (democracynow.org/2023/3/21/climate_ipcc_report).
92 A brief and accessible introduction to the science of climate change is available in Tull, Inhabiting Eden, 135-139. An online excerpt with updates can be read at: https://inhabiting-eden.org/carbon-and-energy/.
94 Jennifer Marlon et al., “Explore Climate Change in the American Mind” (Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, December 15, 2022, climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/americans-climate-views).
95 G. Supran et al., “Assessing ExxonMobil’s Global Warming Projections” (Science 379:6628, January 13, 2023, science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0063).
96 Suzanne Rust, “Report Details How Exxon Mobil and Fossil Fuel Firms Sowed Seeds of Doubt on Climate Change” (Los Angeles Times, Oct 21, 2019, latimes.com/environment/story/2019-10-21/oil-companies-exxon-climate-change-denial-report).
97 Matt Phillips, “Exxon’s Board Defeat Signals the Rise of Social-Good Activists” (New York Times, June 9, 2021, nytimes.com/2021/06/09/business/exxon-mobil-engine-no1-activist.html).
98 In September 2023, the state of California filed a 135-page complaint suing Exxon Mobil, BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Chevron for deceiving the public. The state seeks to create a fund financed by these companies to pay for its loss and damage. See “California Sues Oil Companies Claiming They Downplayed the Risk of Fossil Fuels,” The Guardian, September 16, 2023 (theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/17/california-sues-oil-companies-claiming-they-downplayed-the-risk-of-fossil-fuels). This marks the largest state to date to pursue such a lawsuit.
99 Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1973), 119. Dr. Johnson’s TED talk can be found here: ted.com/talks/ayana_elizabeth_johnson_how_to_find_joy_in_climate_action, and she discusses it here: gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/awhxwvb/dr-ayana-elizabeth-johnson-helps-you.
100 Katharine Hayhoe, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2021). Her 2018 TED talk “The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk about It” introduces the same theme: ted.com/talks/katharine_hayhoe_the_most_important_thing_you_can_do_to_fight_climate_change_talk_about_it. A beautiful condensed version of this message is found here: youtube.com/watch?v=jWu3TlB7XdY.
Lesson 7: Economic Climate Justice
Sidebar
- Central American Dry Corridor: https://www.crs.org/sites/default/files/el-nino-summary.pdf
Endnotes
101 Jason Hickel, “Quantifying National Responsibility for Climate Breakdown: An Equality-Based Attribution Approach for Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Excess of the Planetary Boundary” (The Lancet Planetary Health 4, Sept 2020: e399-e404, sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519620301960).
102 Greg Dalton explores this problem in “A Global Just Transition—For Whom?” on his March 17, 2023 Climate One podcast (https://www.climateone.org/audio/global-just-transition-whom-0).
103 Shannon Osaka, “A $100 Billion Promise Holds the Paris Agreement Together. Now, It’s Coming Apart” (Grist, July 13, 2021, grist.org/cop26/a-100-billion-promise-holds-the-paris-agreement-green-climate-fund).
104 Fact Sheet: President Biden to Catalyze Global Climate Action through the Major Economics Forum on Energy and Climate, April 20, 2023 (whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-catalyze-global-climate-action-through-the-major-economies-forum-on-energy-and-climate). See also Edith M. Lederer, “US Says $100 Billion Soon to Help Poor Nations with Climate” (U.S. News, March 9, 2022, usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-09/us-says-100-billion-soon-to-help-poor-nations-with-climate).
105 John Ainger, “The $100 Billion Hurdle to a Global Climate Breakthrough” (Bloomberg, Oct 15, 2021, bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-15/the-100-billion-hurdle-to-a-global-climate).
106 UN Environment Programme, “What You Need to Know about the COP27 Loss and Damage Fund” (unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-cop27-loss-and-damage-fund).
107 Key Global Migration Figures, 2019-2023 (migrationdataportal.org/sites/g/files/tmzbdl251/files/2023-03/One-pager-2023-EN-Final.pdf).
108 Dan McQuillan, “Innovations at Origin: Water-Smart Agriculture—Agua Y Suelo Para La Agricultura (ASA)” (Catholic Relief Services, June 27, 2019, coffeelands.crs.org/2019/06/innovations-at-origin-water-smart-agriculture-agua-y-suelo-para-la-agricultura-asa). Listen to interviews here: “Climate Change Is Driving Migration. Could Smarter Ag Help?” (How to Save a Planet, Sept 1,2022, gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/wbhx4ae/climate-change-is-driving-migration).
109 Devashree Saha and Jill Neuberger, “Steps to Aid US Fossil Fuel Workers in the Clean Energy Transition” (World Resource Institute, Jan 25, 2021, https://www.wri.org/insights/steps-aid-us-fossil-fuel-workers-clean-energy-transition); Stefan Ellerbeck, “Here’s How the Inflation Reduction Act Is Impacting Green Job Creation” (World Economic Forum, March 13, 2023, weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/us-climate-bill-green-jobs).
110 Mike Williams et al., “The Inflation Reduction Act Provides Pathways to High-Quality Jobs” (American Progress, September 14, 2022, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-provides-pathways-to-high-quality-jobs/).
111 Charles D. Kolstad, “What Is Killing the US Coal Industry?” (Stanford University, March 2017, siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/what-killing-us-coal-industry).
112 Chuck Jones, “The Coal Industry Has Lost Almost One Thousand Jobs Since Trump Became President” (Forbes, March 7, 2020, forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2020/03/07/the-coal-industry-has-lost-almost-one-thousand-jobs-since-trump-became-president).
113 “Manchin Applauds Treasury, Energy Guidance on Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits for Coal Communities” (Democratic News, energy.senate.gov/2023/2/manchin-applauds-treasury-energy-guidance-on-inflation-reduction-act-tax-credits-for-coal-communities).
114 Felicity Bradstock, “Oil and Gas Employment Is on the Rise, but Uncertainty Remains” (Oilprice.com, June 27, 2022, oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-And-Gas-Employment-Is-On-The-Rise-But-Uncertainty-Remains.html).
115 Victoria Masterson, “Jobs in Renewable Energy Are Growing in the US—Here Are the Highlights” (World Economic Forum, July 19, 2022, weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/renewable-energy-jobs-us).
116 Adie Tomer et al., “How Renewable Energy Jobs Can Uplift Fossil Fuel Communities and Remake Climate Politics” (Brookings, Feb 23, 2021, brookings.edu/research/how-renewable-energy-jobs-can-uplift-fossil-fuel-communities-and-remake-climate-politics).
117 Maeve Brennan, “How Addressing Climate Change Can Also Improve Public Health” (Yale Climate Connections, April 16, 2021, yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/04/how-addressing-climate-change-can-also-improve-public-health).
119 “Volkswagen to Spend Up to $14.7 Billion to Settle Allegations of Cheating Emissions Tests and Deceiving Customers on 2.0 Liter Diesel Vehicles” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, June 28, 2016, justice.gov/opa/pr/volkswagen-spend-147-billion-settle-allegations-cheating-emissions-tests-and-deceiving).
Lesson 8: Intergenerational Justice
Caption
Fridays for future: https://fridaysforfuture.org/
Sidebar
- Feedback loops and tipping points: https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/earth-system/climate-system/feedback-loops-tipping-points
- Permafrost: https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/global-carbon-budget-permafrost-feedback-loops-arctic/
Action Item
Yes! Magazine: https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2022/07/27/climate-change-baby-boomers
Patricia K. Tull, “A Faithful Third Act”: https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/a-faithful-third-act/?fbclid=IwAR2S3OO2xMGz6-su-7XiIBpI6fvXaBOa_Xbk_6MwES4SwiDRdwKYW7hQLok
Endnotes
122 Read about the case here: ourchildrenstrust.org/juliana-v-us. The 2020 documentary “Youth v. Gov” tells their story. Also read about other climate litigation here: Mark Clarke, “Climate Change Litigation: A New Class of Action” (White & Case, Nov 13, 2018, whitecase.com/insight-our-thinking/climate-change-litigation-new-class-action).
123 Historic Climate Trial: Held v. State of Montana (youthvgov.org/held-v-montana).
124 Learn about Third Act here: thirdact.org.
125 Information about the Faith Working Group is here: thirdact.org/working-groups/faith.
Lesson 9: Sustaining Creation’s Health for All
Action Item
David C. Holman, “Accounting for Nature’s Benefits: The Dollar Value of Ecosystem Services” (Environmental Health Perspectives 120:4, April 2012, https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.120-a152).
TED talk by Janine Benyus: https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/.
Endnotes
126 Reagan Pearce, “What Are Ecosystem Services?” (Earth.org, Oct 6, 2020, earth.org/what-are-ecosystem-services). See also David C. Holman, “Accounting for Nature’s Benefits: The Dollar Value of Ecosystem Services” (Environmental Health Perspectives 120:4, April 2012, ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.120-a152).
127 “Ecosystem Services” (The National Wildlife Federation, https://nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Understanding-Conservation/Ecosystem-Services).
129 Wilson, Edward O., “The Little Things That Run the World (The Importance and Conservation of Invertebrates)” (Conservation Biology 1, no. 4, 1987, jstor.org/stable/2386020 .
130 See Biomimicry Institute’s discussion and watch a TED talk by Janine Benyus at biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry.
132 See Jangira Lewis, “US Military Pollution: The World’s Biggest Climate Change Enabler” (November 12, 2021, earth.org/us-military-pollution).
Suggestions for Leaders
Earthday Sunday worship: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/earth-day-sunday/
Season of Creation: https://seasonofcreation.org/
Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/
PC(USA) Office of Public Witness: https://votervoice.net/PCUSA/campaigns