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An Open Letter to Governor Cuomo

January 9, 2013

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo,

New York Interfaith Power & Light is a non-profit organization made up of 90 congregations of all faiths located throughout the state of New York. We are deeply concerned about the environmental and health affects of high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, and are particularly concerned about the impact on our climate from methane leaks.

In the past we have called for the precautionary principle to be applied. We have not joined the anti-fracking coalition because we realize that these are hard decisions for communities of faith in the area currently being targeted for drilling. Now that a decision is at hand, however, it is clear that serious questions are yet to be answered about both health and climate impacts. Applying the precautionary principle, it is clear that it would be inappropriate to open New York to high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing at this time, with the current state of drilling technology and environmental science.

We are writing to you to add our names to the letter previously sent to you and signed by hundreds of other faith leaders:

As people of reason and faith, care of the earth, its inhabitants, and future generations are of great importance to us. We have been supportive of the current moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction in New York so that impacts can be assessed. However, in light of mounting evidence of significant harm to the environment, human health, and communities in areas where fracking has occurred and indications that the DEC could soon begin issuing permits, we are now compelled to speak out in opposition to use of the technology as it has been presently developed.

Fracking activities underway in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have been shown to cause significant and irreversible damage, both above and below ground. As proposed, the technology constitutes a grave danger to land, air, and water resources of our entire region, should it come to New York. While we appreciate the economic difficulties of neighbors, we believe it is a moral obligation for all of us to work together toward addressing human needs while building a sustainable future that is respectful of the earth and the well-being of future generations who shall inherit this world. The intrinsic beauty of our planet and abundance of life it sustains are far beyond the capacity of humankind to create; however they are not beyond the capacity of humankind, as creatures with intelligence and compassion, to protect.

In consideration of the above, we join the numerous clergy, religious leaders, and communities of faith who have signed a resolution in support of bans on the use of hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of natural gas throughout the past several months since the ceremony of the blessing of the waters at Cooperstown. Furthermore, we strongly encourage the pursuit of sustainable economies, renewable energy, and conservation so that New York may be an example of good stewardship of the earth and an advocate for the well-being of its inhabitants.

Sincerely,

The Board of New York Interfaith Power & Light

Gerard A. Falco, Esq., Board Chair
Harrison, NY

Dr. Patricia Townsend, Vice-Chair
Amherst, NY

J. Henry Neale, Jr., Esq., Treasurer
White Plains, NY

Sister Mary Ann Garisto
Bronx, NY

Rev. Henry Frueh
Queensbury, NY

Elysa Hammond
New Rochelle, NY

Rabbi Linda Motzkin
Gansevoort, NY

Edward Smyth
Wyantskill, NY

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POSITION STATEMENT: High-volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing

New York Interfaith Power and Light Position Statement on high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing
January 9, 2013

New York Interfaith Power & Light calls upon the DEC and Governor Cuomo to prohibit high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing at this time.

New York Interfaith Power & Light is a non-profit organization representing 90 congregations of all faiths across the state of New York. We regularly communicate with more than 1600 people via email. We are a part of the national Interfaith Power and Light movement, with chapters in 39 states and we address climate change from a faith perspective.

We support creation stewardship, including intelligent energy use, energy efficiency, and community health. It has become clear that serious questions are yet to be answered about both the health and climate impacts of high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).

Scientists continue to gather evidence about methane leaks from fracked wells (Pétron, G. et al. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D04304, 2012). Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and leaking methane will likely negate any climate benefits that fracked gas has over coal.

Evidence of other health and environmental concerns continues to mount as well. And there is not sufficient corresponding evidence that the natural gas industry has adequately addressed these safety concerns.

Our previous position statement on hydrofracking calls upon the EPA to use the precautionary principle when assessing this type of natural gas extraction. The precautionary principle states that if a practice has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, that the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those promoting the practice. In this case that would be those entities promoting hydraulic fracturing.

Now that a decision is at hand it is clear that serious questions are yet to be answered about both health impacts and climate impacts. Applying the precautionary principle, it is clear that it would be inappropriate to open New York to high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing at this time, with the current state of drilling technology and environmental science.

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Holiday Light

candle_light_wallpapers_11As the days grow shorter with less sunlight, people around the world have ways in which we celebrate our faith with light.

Diwali is a five-day celebration held in November this year. It is the Hindu festival of lights that celebrates the New Year. The word “Diwali” means “rows of lighted lamps. During Diwali, people light hundreds of small oil lamps, called diyas, and place them around their homes. Firecrackers light the sky, dispelling darkness and ignorance and spreading the radiance of love and wisdom, in Hindu symbolism.

Diwali is also celebrated by Sikhs, who mark the occasion when Guru Ji obtained the release of 52 kings and princes who had been unjustly imprisoned. Good had overcome evil and light overcame the darkness.

Bodhi Day was on December 8th, and marks the day when Buddha attained enlightenment. Often, Buddhists will string multi-colored lights throughout their homes to symbolize the many paths to enlightenment. It is also traditional to light a candle each night for 30 nights beginning on Bodhi Day.

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights and began this year at sundown on December 8th. Hanukkah commemorates efforts to restore the Temple in Jerusalem.  During the restoration, some people found there was only enough oil to light the lamp for one night, but miraculously, it burned for eight.

Christmas on December 25th, celebrated by Christians, is also associated with light, with some of its customs deriving from pre-Christian religions’ recognition of the Winter Solstice in areas that adopted Christianity.

Kwanzaa, beginning on December 26th and ending on January 1, is not a religious holiday, but for many it has spiritual overtones. Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by some African Americans and is centered around seven principals; Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Seven candles represent the seven principals.

As we near the end of the year, we can take time to pause for reflection and for planning for 2013. In that spirit, we offer suggestions for ten ways to bring light into your life, and the life of your religious community, in order to lighten your footprint.

  • Caulk windows, doors, and anywhere air leaks in or out. Do not caulk around furnace exhaust pipes or your water heater.
  • Replace incandescent light bulbs with a compact fluorescent ones.  This will not only save energy, it will save you money.
  • Clean or replace furnace and air-conditioner filters regularly.
  • Wash only full loads in a dishwasher and use the shortest cycle that will get your dishes clean.
  • Defrost refrigerators and freezers before ice becomes ¼ inch thick.
  • Try going without meat for at least one night per week. Buy organic, locally-grown foods.
  • When you use your washing machine, make sure it has a full load of clothes. Use cold water for the rinse cycle.
  • Unplug electronics, battery chargers, and other equipment when not in use. Taken together, these small items can use as much power as your refrigerator.
  • Make your own holiday gifts. This could turn into a fun tradition!
  • Enable “power management” on all computers and turn them off at night. Laptops use up to 90% less energy than desktop models.

Happy Holidays and peace to all.

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The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy devastated coastal areas in New York City and the surrounding region. While power is back on and life is returning to normal in most neighborhoods, hard hit areas are still in need of assistance as they struggle with a continued lack of electricity, serious damage to buildings, and, in many cases, the loss of friends and neighbors.

Congregations throughout the region were profoundly affected, with many houses of worship experiencing flooding or wind damage, or extended periods with electricity. And faith communities have responded to the disaster by opening their doors to storm victims, coordinating relief efforts to get supplies and volunteers to stricken areas, and making sure that people displaced by the storm had somewhere to go for prayer and comfort.

NYIPL member congregations in New York City have experienced the storm’s impact in a very immediate way. Below are some of their stories:

  • The Cathedral of St. John the Divine suffered significant damage to trees on the grounds, but no serious damage to the building. The Cathedral Community Cares program has been coordinating volunteers to aid in relief efforts both at the Cathedral and in damaged areas. They are assembling a guide for people who want to help out that will be posted on their website shortly. For more information, visit cathedralnyc.org and the Cathedral’s Facebook page.

    Stjtd_peacock
    One of the Cathedral of St. John Divine’s famous peacocks in front of downed tree limbs. Photo credit: Isadora Wilkenfeld.
  • St. James’ Church is working closely with the Episcopal Diocese of New York to coordinate relief efforts, including food drives and housing for displaced families. They are encouraging their congregants to work through establish relief agencies like Episcopal Relief and Development. For more information, visit stjames.org and the Church’s Facebook page.
  • St. Michael’s Church is also working with the Episcopal Diocese of New York’s storm relief efforts.  The Church has coordinated with congregations in the most affected areas to bring supplies and volunteers to where they are needed. St. Michael’s congregants made thousands of sandwiches at the Church and transported them to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, which had lost power after the storm. For more information, visit saintmichaelschurch.org and the Church’s Facebook page.
  • Sisters of Charity of New York collected more than $10,000 for storm relief efforts, and has been transporting vanloads of much-needed supplies to Mount Loretto, which is serving as the Archdiocese of New York’s primary receiving center for Sandy aid on Staten Island. Sisters of Charity has also helped direct supplies to Queens Congregations for United Action, an interfaith coalition, which is coordinating relief efforts in the Rockaways, Howard Beach, and Broad Channel. For more information, visit scny.org.
  • Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Church’s basement flooded, destroying food supplies for Trinity’s Services and Food for the Homeless program, which serves hundreds of people a day through its soup kitchen and food pantry.

 

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Internships Available

AriannaLast year Arianna Varuolo-Clarke, then a high school student, served as an intern with New York Interfaith Power & Light.

Now in her first year of college, she continues her work with us as a member of our Communications Committee. Here is a video she produced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Do you know a student who is looking for an internship or an opportunity to do a special project? NYIPL has fun, challenging, and rewarding opportunities available. Call Janna at 315-256-0078 to learn more.

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Over 1000 Congregations Preached-In

This past weekend, more than 1000 congregations nationwide participated in our Preach-In on Global Warming. People of faith all across the country heard the message that climate change is a moral issue.

“In the face of potentially catastrophic climate change, it is crucial that religious leaders engage their faith communities in conversation about our religious obligation to protect the earth,” said Rabbi Linda Motzkin, who serves Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs and also sits on the board of New York Interfaith Power and Light.

“The annual Preach-In is an opportunity for many congregations that never hear about climate change to become aware of the dangers we face and the need to take action,” said Sister Mary Ann Garisto, a Sister of Charity who serves on New York Interfaith Power and Light’s board. “As Christians and as people of faith we must realize that it is a moral issue, and we need to be concerned about what’s happening to our earth,” she said.

In addition to hearing sermons and participating in discussions on climate change, congregations sent tens of thousands of valentines to President Obama asking him to “love the earth” and to keep his promise to have an impact on climate change.

 

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Speak Out Against Hydrofracking Now!

Hydraulic-FrackingBarnettShaleDrilling-e1320158260740Governor Cuomo issued NY State regulations on high-volume hydraulic fracturing in preparation for the possibility that the state will go ahead with this form of drilling of gas wells next year.  A 30-day period for public comment began on December 12.  Public comment is hindered by the sloppy way the regulations are presented and, more seriously, by the fact that the review by health experts was not yet completed and incorporated.

You may comment directly on the Department of Environmental Conservation website.

If you are uncertain what to say about particular regulations, help is available on a website produced by Sandra Steingraber, in association with a long list of grassroots organizations in New York State.  Their campaign, based on the Advent calendar concept, seeks 30 comments in 30 days from each participant in order to flood the DEC with public concern about fracking. Each day Sandra comments on one regulation in her lucid style, with links to the scientific support.

New York Interfaith Power and Light also has a position statement you are free to refer to as you contemplate your own comments.

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Choosing Your Climate Words Carefully

“Global warming” is an accurate but sometimes misleading term.  The seemingly slight increase in average temperatures at the surface of the earth’s land and oceans that is occurring can produce large changes in flows of air and water currents that lead to “global climate change, “ which is a neutral term for what is already going on world-wide.  “Warming” sounds a little too cozy.  Who among us New Yorkers wouldn’t want to be less chilly after all – unless, of course some of those climate changes include droughts in some places and floods in others.

Words matter, as those of us who write or preach know. We often like to use the newer term “climate instability” or “catastrophic climate change.” The truth of the matter is that changes in ocean currents or the melting of permafrost that leads to large releases of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, may push us over a tipping point to sudden climate disasters, the timing of which is unpredictable.

A more serious misnomer is the term “fossil fuel,” Calvin DeWitt, Emeritus Professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, writes in the September-October issue of Sojourners magazine.  Earth is sustained as a habitable abode by a great longstanding natural system of carbon sequestration, whereby plants through photosynthesis took carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stored it as peat, coal, natural gas, and petroleum.

If we use the term “fossil carbon” instead of “fossil fuel”, we recognize that, as DeWitt writes, “…carbon is much more than fuel: It’s the backbone of all life, a major atmospheric regulator of Earth’s climate, and a moderator of the acidity of the world’s oceans. Burning Earth’s great system of carbon sequestration is disastrous for the biospheric economy—and therefore for our own.”

If we consciously replace the term “fossil fuel” with “fossil carbon,” we may be more careful in how we treat it.

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Book Review: Almost Amish by Nancy Sleeth

Almost Amish CoverThis latest effort by Nancy Sleeth, author of Go Green, Save Green, provides and excellent path to the melding of one’s Christian faith and the stewardship of the world we live in.

Nancy has used the numerous examples of the Amish as a means through which we can simplify our lifestyle and in the process establish and strengthen our connection to God.   While many may view this as a step backward to the past, Nancy has made a great case through the examples of her own life of the numerous benefits to simplification.

Almost Amish provides many points for all of us to ponder on how today’s lifestyles are making us busy, but at a cost of losing our relationships to God, family, friends and community.  The book will make you question what you are truly seeking from life.  The book is very much about establishing covenantal relationships and the placing of God and community above self.

I highly recommend this book to those who not only want to preserve and protect the world we live in, but to those who would weave the elements of their Christian Faith into the life they live.

Thanks to Nancy and her daughter Emma, for enabling me to review this book.

Review by Ed Bennett