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| FCNL Rep Support Grp |UN Rep Support Grp.|Sustainability: Faith & Action Working Grp |
Sustainability: Faith & Action Working Group http://qewnet.ning.com/forum/topics/sustainability-faith-action Louis Quaker Earth Care Witness, Sustainability: Faith and Action Working Group Chicago, Illinois 2011 April 7-10 Roy Treadway – Convener (Click here to read the minutes in pdf format.) The Sustainability: Faith and Action Working Group met on 2011 April 8 and 9. In the absence of Donn Kesselheim , who resigned as clerk for health reasons, Roy Treadway convened the meetings. Present during our meetings were John Fletcher, John Hackman, Tom Small, John Hudson, Dick Grossman, Louis Cox, Ken Lawrence, Noel Pavlovic, Nancy Halliday, and Roy Treadway. We reviewed several projects that the working group is under taking or contemplating. 1. Carbon Footprint at Friends General Conference Gathering (FGC) at Grinnell College, 2011 June -July John Fletcher will administer the Carbon Footprint questionnaire at FGC again this year. He plans to compile data by yearly meeting and location to see if people are changing their lives to be more efficient. 2. Electricity Source Survey Dick Grossman plans to conduct a survey of participants in QEW on their source of electricity by Survey Monkey. Roy Taylor and Roy Treadway will review the survey. 3. Population Pamphlet Consolidation Louis Cox has put all of QEW’s population pamphlets into one consolidated 32-page pamphlet for possible easier use. Each topic will need to be brought up to date and an introduction prepared. The Population Subgroup will review the materials. We could print small quantities at a time and have it available on the QEW website. 4. Men for Men Project One non-Quaker has received support for a vasectomy through this project. We still need to do better marketing and advertising to get more people informed and involved. 5. Population Videos Louis Cox has talked with some of the younger members of QEW about producing a video that might be available on You-Tube and publicized on Facebook. Louis will develop a suitable script and explore this project further. 6. QEW Energy Fund or Grant Ken Lawrence suggested QEW develop a fund to make either loans or grants to help Friends Meetings (or individuals) undertake projects for significant energy efficiency (such as insulation) or renewable energy (such as solar hot water or electricity). Such a fund would allow persons interested in supporting such projects to help meetings which would like to undertake such projects, but cannot afford to do so themselves. Savings from energy efficiency or renewable energy would be returned to the fund to be used again. John Hudson will contact Interfaith Power and Light about their projects for houses of faith. John Fletcher (Convener), Ken Lawrence, John Hackman, John Hudson, and Louis Cox will explore possible ways to move this project forward by the October Annual Meeting. 7. Bio-diversity Dick Grossman and Tom Small will discuss ways of pursuing our concern over loss of diversity of species. We did not feel that the Sustainability: Faith and Action Working Group should be broken up into smaller working groups or disbanded. We should continue our work using sub groups where appropriate. We did wonder if the term “sustainability” had lost its meaning in today’s world or how the focus of Transition Towns of bringing together people to deal with the energy and climate shocks of the future might be part of the working group’s focus. Minutes of the S: F&A meeting in Chicago, Illinois, April 2008 Sustainability: Faith and Action Clerk, Dick Grossman Recording clerk: Noel B. Pavlovic In attendance: Catherine Stevens, David Abazs, Noel Pavlovic, Marshall Gibson, Alan Conner, Marci Ankrom, Nancy Halliday, Hollister Knowlton, Roy Treadway, Judy Lumb, Susan Swanstom, Ruah Swennerfelt, Kristina Keffe-Perry, Mary Gilbert, Ken Lawrence, David Millar, Eric Joy, Mary Jo Klingel 1. Silent worship 2. Discussion of ‘Action’, worship 3. Each person briefly talked about our understanding of what “sustainability” means. Some of the definitions were: whatever we do does not take resources from next generation; does not detract but enables future to have access to resources; meeting the needs of the present without jeopardizing future generations; preserving biodiversity, including all species; the way we live and relate to each other. War is not sustainable. One person saw sustainability in shapes, noting the importance of turning lines into circles. Are we sustainable now? The Ecological Footprint suggests that we have exceeded the planet’s ability to support us by about 30 percent. Our human population is not sustainable. Overconsumption makes things worse. Symptoms of our lack of sustainable lifestyles include loss of wetlands and decreasing water supply, 4. Introductions: each person shared a task that we have done during the past year. The variety was outstanding, with each person having something to report. living in Argentina, getting rid of TV, living in Belize, home energy audit, How to loose 5000 pounds of carbon, doing it too, CSA (community supported agriculture), Meeting reduced significantly energy usage by 37%, bought an Energy Star clothes washer, farm to school produce program, compact fluorescent, only buy used books, LEED certified Peace house on the prairie, rain gardens, new furnace and windows-gas use was ¼ of previous, keep thermostat at 52 degrees and use space heaters where needed, prevent sprawl, walking 1400 miles spreading the earth gospel, thermostat at 55, bicycle trip to FGC, gave up car, limit car use, insulation for the home, gifted with the teens and received a ritual as the water family, use public transportation 5. Nuclear Power Minute: was approved in Burlington, revised and now has been approved. 6. Energy policy and climate change: Ed Dreby composed a statement of what we can do, Keith Helmeith pamphlet about energy policy from a Quaker perspective, It was suggested that we take advantage of other Friends’ groups to coordinate our sustainability activities. Someone mentioned a Pendle Hill meeting in August, David White will look at the draft. We can do more with what can really work? Conserve and simplify 7. Men for Men: There are funds available to pay for three men to have vasectomies, but there has been no interest so far. We agreed that there needs to be more publicity. It has been in BeFriending Creation, not yet in Friends Bulletin, submitted to Friends Journal. We should solicit donations to help pay for more vasectomies for Quaker men. Discussion ensued about the Quaker Condom idea. Ideas included spreading the news to yearly meetings newsletters; green QEW condoms with QEW symbol on one side and ‘make love not war”; they could be distributed at FGC Gathering; link Quaker Condoms to the Men for Men project as well. Friends thought the condoms would disappear when in a basket in the bathroom. 8. Schedule for next meeting. Second Session: 26 April 2008 Clerk, Dick Grossman Recording clerk: Noel B. Pavlovic Keeper of the Heart: Judy Lumb In attendance: Catherine, David Abazs, Noel Pavlovic, Marshall Gibson, Alan Conner, Marci Ankrom, Nancy Halliday, Hollister Knowlton, Roy Treadway, Judy Lumb, Susan Swanstom, Ruah Swennerfelt, Kristina Perry, Mary Gilbert, Ken Lawrence, David Millar, Eric Joy, Mary Jo Klingel, Robert Jones, Brad Hornick, Hollister Knowlton 1. Report on UN activities: Mary Gilbert has been going to the UN for 8 years and it has been a very rewarding experience. She has been struck by the deprivation of information about worldwide events in the US. She has been designated as the interim representative to DPI status and Nominating Committee is searching for an alternative representative. She has observed that there are opportunities to coordinate with QUIF, QUNO, and other international groups through DPI status. The task before the committee was to appoint an interim support committee of oversight for the UN representatives. The committee consists of David Millar, Bill Holken, Catherine Stevens, and Judy Lumb. The committee departed from the room to meet separately to discuss purpose and quidelines. 2. S: F & A will encourage Friends to use their stimulus package for Earthcare. 3. Small grants are available from QEW. Applications are due May 1, and Ruah has received three applications so far. Two additional projects could be funded with the remaining $400. 4. Mary has requested support for her FGC presentation. In her absence, we where unsure how to proceed. 5. S: F & A has $150 budgeted to spend in the 2008 fiscal year. The Finance Committee needs our new budget by August 30. We decided to spend our budget on an advertisement for Men for Men project in Friends Journal. Ruah, Louis, Dick and … will work on coordinating the development of the advertisement. The ad will need to be at Friends Journal by June 9 to be in the August issue. The display ad will cost $40 per inch. 6. Quaker Condoms: We encouraged Dick to pursue the Quaker Condoms in preparation for the FGC meeting.
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