Center for Earth Ethics

2020Visions, The New City: Navigating the Future
2020-12-03 - 2020-12-05 | New York
Navigating the Future, a How-To
Hosted by the forward-looking initiative 2020Visions, The New City: Navigating the Future, December 3–5, will feature a wide range of noted speakers including Andrew Yang, Sir David Adjaye OBE, Matthew Ryder, and Karenna Gore. The virtual conference will explore how technical innovation and imagination can help us rethink urban spaces.
Most events will be free to the public. In addition to film screenings, artist videos, and direct encounters with conference participants, attendees will have an opportunity to imagine alongside some of the most creative minds and global world changers. Also available is a membership model available allowing year-round involvement in the 2020Visions community. Just completing its first year of operation, the bi-coastal 2020Visions is dedicated to deploying the imagination as a lever for global change. Central to 2020Visions’ mission is harnessing the artistic imagination to create new paradigms for society.
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Join Moderator: CEE Director, Karenna Gore and Speakers: Kartik Chandran, Catherine Coleman Flowers, & Paul Gallay for
SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS:
ALL ABOUT WATER
What imaginative solutions are arising to provide clean water, air, and land for all? How do we ensure that lower-income neighborhoods don’t become repositories for toxic waste and other environmental hazards?
Saturday, December 5th at 2 pm
Sign up for the conference and learn more here.

Faith Communities and the Biden-Harris Transition Team
2020-12-08 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Join us on December 8, 12:30-2 pm Eastern for the first of a series of important conversations with faith communities and the Biden-Harris Transition team.
For this first roundtable, we’ll be talking about building bridges with multi-faith communities, climate change, police reform, anti-racism, poverty, immigration, and refugees.
We’re excited to be joined by Josh Dickson (Biden-Harris Transition) with Rev. Dr. Serene Jones (Union Theological Seminary), Eboo Patel (Interfaith Youth Core), Dean Jonathan Walton (Wake Forest Divinity School), Rev. Liz TheoHaris (Poor People’s Campaign), Tatiana Torres (Faith 2020), Rev. Frederick A. Davie (Union Theological Seminary), Karenna Gore (Center For Earth Ethics), Rev. Adam Nicholas Phillips (Faith 2020)
RSVP: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Kva9H8raTSemMiDcNKqbXw

A Climate Convergence: Uniting for Victory 2021
2020-12-09 12:00 - 2020-12-10 20:00 UTC
A Climate Convergence: Uniting for Victory 2021
What is the Strategy for National Climate Legislation?
How Can We All Unite in Common Cause for Success?Register Today!
Wed. Dec 9 & Thurs. Dec.10, 2020
Six Sessions. Noon-2. 3-5. 6-8 pm. ET
Closing Climate Cabaret. Thurs @ 8 pm ET
Featuring
Over 25 Organizations!

1. Sascha von Bismarck, Executive Director, Environmental Investigation Agency
2. Navina Khanna, Director, HEAL Food Alliance
3. Nigel S. Savage, President & CEO, HAZON
4. Niaz Dorry, Executive Director, National Family Farm Coalition
5. Alfred Meyer, Board of Directors, Physicians for Social Responsibility
6. Chad Frishmann, Vice-President & Director of Research, Project Drawdown
7. Rev. Michael Malcom, Founder and Executive Director of the People’s Justice Council & Executive Director, Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
8. Kieran Suckling, Executive Director, Center for Biological Diversity
9. Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary; & Co-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
10. Mark Reynolds, Executive Director, Citizens Climate Lobby
11. Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith
12. Lise Van Sustren, Steering Committee, Climate Psychiatry Alliance
13. Jacqui Patterson, Sr. Director, Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP
14. Michelle Deatrick, Chair, DNC Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis
15. Ken Berlin, President and CEO, Climate Reality Project
16. Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director, Creation Justice Ministries
17. Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
18. Rise & Resist, Climate Team
19. Rania Batrice, Executive Director, March for Science
20. Roberto Mukaro Borrero, President, United Confederation of Taíno People
21. Bob Perkowitz, Founder & President, EcoAmerica
22. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
23. May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org
24. Christine See, Extinction Rebellion NYC
25. Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director, Federation of Southern Coops
26. Tia Nelson, Managing Director Climate, Outrider
27. Peggy M. Shepard, Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
28. Jim Walsh, Senior Energy Policy Analyst, Food & Water Action & more!

Register – Share on Facebook
SIX SESSIONS
WED. DEC. 9. & THURS. DEC. 10.
WED. NOON-2. LEGISLATIVE PLANS & CONGRESS
WED. 3-5 PM. MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ORGS
WED. 6-8 PM. NATIONAL COALITIONS
THURS. NOON-2. POLICY COALITIONS
THURS. 3-5 PM. FAITH ORGANIZATIONS
THURS. 6-8 PM. DIRECT ACTION & YOUTH
THURS. 8-9 PM. CLOSING CLIMATE CABARET

CLIMATE CABARET ★ Featuring Stars of NY Cabaret!
★ Barbara Brussell ★ Matt Berman ★ Mark Arthur Miller ★ Marissa Mulder
★ Karen Oberlin ★ Christine Pedi ★ Meg MacKay ★ Billy Philadelphia
LET’S TALK STRATEGY! WHAT’S THE DEMAND & PLAN!

HOW ARE WE GOING TO SAVE OURSELVES?
Please Share on FB
THANK YOU SYMPOSIUM CO-HOSTS!
Climate Crisis Policy ★ Climate Reality NYC ★ Drawdown NYC ★ Organic Consumers Association ★ Family Farm Action ★ 350 Kishwaukee ★ Hazon ★ Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light ★ Mighty Earth ★ Loretto Earth Network ★ Climate Nashville ★ Climate Chattanooga ★ Climate Reality Project Peconic Region ★ Climate Reality Project Suffolk County ★ Students for Climate Action ★ Climate Reality Project Capital Region ★ Climate Reality Project Westchester ★ Climate Reality Project Rockland ★ Climate Reality Project Finger Lakes ★ Climate Reality Project Chautauqua County ★ Climate Reality Project hudson Valley & Catskills ★ Protect All Children’s Environment ★ Center for Biological Diversity ★ Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy ★ 350 Central Massachusetts ★ Pesticide Action Network ★ 350 Chicago ★ Earth Day Initiative ★ Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community ★ Hugelrado Farms ★ Climate Action Iowa ★ Climate Reality Project Greater NJ Gateway Chapter ★ United Confederation of Taíno People ★ Rise & Resist
Questions for Presenters: Contact@ClimateCrisisPolicy.com
LET’S GET TOGETHER & SAVE THE WORLD!

Register – Share on Facebook

The Institute for Studies in Eastern Christianity (ISEC) Conference
2020-12-11 09:00 - 18:00 UTC
The Institute for Studies in Eastern Christianity (ISEC) of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (formerly the Sophia Institute of Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Studies) is happy to announce the upcoming fall 2020 conference on the theme of

Evil and Spiritual Combat in a Time of Pandemic
The global pandemic has destroyed lives and ravaged society. It has revealed systemic patterns of inequity, violence and neglect, and has lent urgency to address the ecological damage that intensifies fires, floods, and storms. What happens to Orthodox theology, liturgy and practice in these circumstances? How does the church respond to natural and human disaster ? Where do we turn for guidance and how do we serve the people and majesty of God’s Creation?
The Conference will take place on Friday, December 11th 2020 via Zoom. Please register if you plan to attend.
We call on scholars, religious leaders and social activists to offer academic papers related to the conference theme. Please email us a short abstract (200 words), email address and mailing address before November 15.
A day-long gathering (9.00 am to 6.00 pm—with registration beginning at 9), will focus on the various ways the Eastern Orthodox Church, over past centuries and in recent times, has theologized on the questions of the meaning, origins and significance of evil in the modern world and on the role of physical and spiritual combat of evil. This conference will thus address the central topics of ethics, spirituality and asceticism.
We believe that this conference topic will be of great interest to scholars, religious leaders and social activists because of its enormous significance for the life of the world and the meaning of life that is faithful to authentic sources of Christian ethics and spirituality.
The conference conveners plan to produce a scholarly volume of papers presented that will continue the ground-breaking approach characteristic of previous conferences.
The Rev. Dr. Conrad Fischer, Chair of ISEC

Center for Earth Ethics Director, Karenna Gore will participate in the
FIRST SHORT PRESENTATION SECTION: 9:30 – 10:45
THE ASSEMBLY PANEL: SPIRITUALITY AND MYSTICISM IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC (IN ENGLISH)
Virtual James Chapel

John A. McGuckin, Oxford University, UK
Being Locked up, Locked in, Locked out, and ‘Locked and Loaded’ in the Time of Pandemic

Clair McPherson, General Theological Seminary, NYC
A Distant Pandemic Mirror: The Great Plague of the 14th Century and the Mystical Response

Karenna Gore, Center for Earth Ethics. Union Theological Seminary. NYC
Social Distancing, Spiritual Connection and the Return to Earth

John Behr. University of Aberdeen, UK
Respondent: Conrad Fischer, Touro College. NYC
MODERATOR: DANIEL BUDA, UNIVERSITY OF SIBIU. ROMANIA

Read On…

CLIMATE BILL PACKAGE: Organizing to Pass Major Climate Law in 2021
2020-12-16 12:00 - 13:30 UTC
Join the network organizing A Climate Bill Package and seeking co-sponsors in all 435 House Districts. Goal: Pass Major Climate Legislation in 2021.
JOIN AAD & POLICY SECTOR TEAMS: Adopt-A-District. Join Policy Sector Team.
Meetings WEDNESDAY (every 2 weeks).
Next General Meeting Wed. 12/16. Noon-1:30 ET.
Focus: Adopt-A-District & follow up from the Climate Convergence Symposium, Dec 9 -10
Adopt-A-District Today. Already 66 Adopted in 20 States
Register
A “Climate Bill Package” Creates Unified Front for Climate Movement, Preparing Now for Nationally Coordinated Effort in 2021
For Climate Week 2020, a nationwide network has launched a ”Climate Bill Package” campaign, uniting 12 bills spanning key policy sectors. Designed to unite the underlying movements, the bills are collectively supported by over 1200 organizations.
The Climate Bill Package tackles regenerative agriculture, fracking, fossil fuel subsidies, plastics, refrigerants, confined animal feeding operations, toxic pesticides, planting billions of trees, restoring wetlands, environmental justice, and just transition, with additional bills pending that protect international forests, and ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, among others.
Collectively, these have a myriad of climate, environmental and structural benefits, and serve as a strong starting point for core elements of a more comprehensive legislative agenda in 2021.
“Strategically, the package unites movements to increase the political power needed for victory, said Todd Fernandez, Director of Climate Crisis Policy, a digest of climate solutions covering 150 reports and laws. “If we work together, climate activists can defeat the triumvirate of Big Oil, Big Ag & Big Pharma and reclaim our democracy. But we have to be ready.”
The Climate Bill Package network will target all 435 Congressional Districts with an “Adopt-A-District” effort where local organizations form mini-coalitions to secure co-sponsorship of the package. In 2020, the network will target 100 Districts, led by local leaders with Climate Reality, Project Drawdown, Unitarian Universalists, Sierra Club, 350, and more.
Among the many NGOs leading legislative efforts, the network collaborates with the Center for Biological Diversity, Mighty Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Food & Water Action, Family Farm Alliance, Environmental Investigation Agency, Climate Justice Alliance, The Center for Earth Ethics, and The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.
Expectations are high that 2021 will present the first opportunity for huge climate action in Congress. To prepare, the network aims to grow nationwide coalition capacity and infrastructure so that civil society writ large is ready to seize this moment and save our planet from ecological disaster.
The network hosts opening meetings on Wednesday, every two weeks, featuring experts on the legislation and action, with past meetings available on YouTube. They are also reviewing the U.S. House Climate Action Plan to identify what’s good, bad, and missing, to prepare for action in 2021.
2020 CLIMATE BILL PACKAGE
(See: Sponsors, Summaries, Text, Support)
Materials

Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 (H5845 – 2020):

Phases out most common single-use non-recyclable plastic products by 2022

Reforms waste and recycling programs, and establishes nationwide bottle return refund program

Holds corporations responsible for cleaning up plastic pollution

American Innovation & Manufacturing Act (H5544 – 2020)

Bipartisan bill to replace environmentally harmful hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in refrigeration and air conditioning with more efficient cooling products

Creates 33,000 manufacturing jobs and an estimated 2.5M industry jobs by 2027

Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (H7940 – 2020)

Bans pesticides shown to cause significant harm to children, adults, and the environment, some which are already banned or restricted in Europe & Canada

Bans insecticides that lead to pollinator collapse

Protects frontline communities directly impacted by pesticide exposure

Farming & Forests

Farm System Reform Act (H6718 – 2020)

Phases out concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and large factory farms that produce enormous waste and harmful pollution

Offers buyouts to help farmers transition from CAFOs to regenerative practices

Food & Agribusiness Merger Moratorium Act (H2933 – 2019)

Halts the corporate consolidation of the farming industry, which traditionally thwarts efforts on regenerative farming and devastates independent farmers

Climate Stewardship Act (H4269 – 2019)

Supports programs to reduce or offset one-third of agricultural emissions by 2025

Plants 16 billion trees, including 400 million in urban areas

Restores and protects 2 million acres of essential coastal wetlands

Invests in regional food systems, helping small and medium sized farms provide fresh, nutritious food to more people via local systems

Agriculture Resilience Act (H5861 – 2020)

Rewards farmers for promoting healthy soil and carbon sequestration

Supports farmers for practicing pasture-based livestock systems

Provides financial incentives to help farms transition to green energy

New federal programs aimed at reducing food waste

Fossil Fuels

Fracking Ban Act (S.3247 / H5857 – 2020)

Bans fracking nationwide by 2025 and prioritizes transition of fossil fuel workers into good-paying jobs in their communities

Immediately bans new federal permits for fracking-related infrastructure and bans fracking within 2,500ft of homes

End Polluter Welfare Act (H7781 – 2020)

Eliminates up to $150B in federal subsidies to fossil fuel companies over 10yrs

Environmental Justice & Just Transition
10. Environmental Justice for All Act (H5986 – 2020)

Addresses disparities in environmental and public health, particularly impacting underserved communities and communities of color

Provides economic assistance for communities that depend on the fossil fuel industry, ensuring a fair and just transition for workers and local economies

JOIN AAD & POLICY SECTOR TEAMS: Adopt-A-District. Join Policy Sector Team.

Let’s get ready for 2021!
#ClimateCRISIS #ClimatePOLICY
Materials and more info: www.climatecrisispolicy.org
Questions: ClimateCrisisPolicy@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

2021 Sustainability Summit
2021-01-28 - 2021-01-29
Don’t forget to register by Tuesday, January 26th at noon for the 2021 Sustainability Summit! This year will be a 2-day virtual conference on Thursday & Friday, January 28-29th. We are honored to have Catherine Coleman Flowers from the Center for Earth Ethics as this year’s keynote.

Registration is only $20. Conference categories include:
Regenerative/Resilient Planning and Design
Business Practices/Economic Initiatives
Ecological Restoration/Climate Adaptation
Grassroots Community Action

For a full schedule and to register, please visit: https://www.joinacf.org/2021-sustainability-summit

Read more about the Catherine Coleman Flowers and the Center for Earth Ethics at https://centerforearthethics.orgcatherine-flowers/

Creating the Climate Church: Spirituality & Climate Change with Rev. Jim Antal and Karenna Gore
2021-01-28 20:00 - 21:30 UTC
About this Event
As we head into 2021, a new year filled with optimism, it is now time to refocus our energy on perhaps the greatest human challenge of all – the worsening climate crisis.

In that calling, the Energy & Environmental Justice Ministry of the Congregational Church of San Mateo (CCSM) has organized a free upcoming online event called, Creating the Climate Church. The intent of this climate event is to explore the intersection of spirituality and climate change & to identify the steps a church community can take to address the crisis across all aspects of its ministry.
This special event will be held over Zoom on Thu Jan 28th from 5:00-6:30 PM PST / 8:00-9:30 PM EST. The 90-minute program will feature a panel discussion moderated by Gary H. White, founder of Extinction Rebellion San Mateo, Education Chair of Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter, and member of E&EJ. Immediately following the discussion, a Q&A session will be held with the audience and our panelists.
Our expert panel will include Rev. Jim Antal, Special Advisor on Climate Justice to the President of the United Church of Christ who will be making a return appearance to CCSM for this event. Rev. Antal is an ordained UCC minister, a climate activist and the author of the celebrated book, Climate Church, Climate World.
The panel will also include Ms. Karenna Gore, Founder and Director of the Center for Earth Ethics at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Ms. Gore is a climate activist, author, and journalist as well as the eldest daughter of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. We are extremely fortunate to have both of these prominent spiritual climate leaders join us.
All are encouraged to register and attend this special event. Once you have registered, you will later receive a follow-up email containing the Zoom link to use for the event. We look forward to seeing you at this special virtual CCSM climate event. Thank you.

2021 Stone Social Impact Forum
2021-02-18 18:30 - 19:30 UTC
Acclaimed environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and author Catherine Coleman Flowers, founding director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, will headline the virtual 2021 Stone Social Impact Forum.
Catherine Coleman Flowers will share her journey in environmental activism and how she broadens the scope of environmental justice to include issues specific to disenfranchised rural communities by galvanizing policy and research to redress failing infrastructure that perpetuates socioeconomic disparities across the United States. Did you know that even today, more than 2 million Americans still live in homes without running water and proper septic systems–causing a range of negative public health and environmental impacts? This is one of the major issues Ms. Flowers’ organizations have been working to address to improve the health and living conditions of low-income, rural Americans.
Catherine Coleman Flowers is founding director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, which works to address health and economic disparities and amplify the voices of community leaders in the context of climate change through the lens of environmental justice. Flowers is also the rural development manager for the Equal Justice Initiative, a senior fellow for the Center of Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and a member of the board of directors of the Climate Reality Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Flowers is an internationally recognized advocate for the human right to water and sanitation through her work with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. She was recently awarded a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship grant for her work as an Environmental Health Advocate and has chronicled her journey in “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret”.
The Stone Social Impact Forum is signature series that features bold civic change agents who demonstrate various pathways to tackle inequality, advance social change, and inspire all people to be civically active. The Forum is a joint initiative of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, made possible through the generous support of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation.

Thursday, February 18, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 PM on Zoom
Register Here

ABOUT THE EDWARD M. KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING
All public programs will be conducted via Zoom webinar until further notice. Webinar log-in instructions will be sent upon registration via email. Please direct all questions to programs@emkinstitute.org.

"LN 3: Seven Teachings of the Anishinaabe in Resistance" online screening
2021-02-25 19:00 - 20:00 UTC
Sponsored by the Center for Earth Ethics, Union Theological Seminary (NYC) students, coordinated with volunteers in Baltimore and Philadelphia, are pleased to host an Enbridge Line 3 pipeline resistance documentary.

When:
Thursday, February 25, 2021. Post-screening, viewers are welcome to stay for a follow-up discussion on the resistance and getting involved. Please pre-register for this event using this link, and a zoom link will be sent to your email.

This is the second screening, the first was held Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 7pm EST.

What:
Directed by Nine Muses/Suez Taylor, “LN 3: Seven Teachings of the Anishinaabe in Resistance” is, “A 38-minute frontline documentary on the effort to stop fossil fuel expansion and encourage real energy security.

Predatory industry hijacked the US regulatory system in 2019, placing ancient food systems and a fifth of the world’s freshwater in imminent danger. LN3 features indigenous firebrands Winona Laduke, Tara Houska, and poet-hip hop artist ThomasX, as they lead an alliance to take on Big Oil and their enablers at the institutional level, and on the frontlines. This is the battle for Earth. (www.honorearth.org/ln3)

Black Women, Green Future: Environmental Justice and the New Political Landscape
2021-02-25 19:00 - 21:00 UTC
The Center for Earth Ethics is proud to be a co-sponsor of Black Women, Green Future hosted by New Voices for Reproductive Justice and their Environmental Justice Project on Thursday, February 25, 7-9 PM ET in partnership with WURD Radio, Philadelphia during Women of Color HERStory Month 2021.
The Keynote Speaker is Jacqui Patterson, Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program.
REGISTER
Featured Panelists are:
– Pennsylvania State Representative Summer Lee of Pittsburgh;
– Nourbese Flint, Policy Director at Black Women for Wellness in Los Angeles; and
– Kerene Tayloe, Esq., Director of Federal Legislative Affairs at WE ACT for Environmental Justice based in New York and Washington, DC.
We will also highlight a Black women-led environmental justice organization or business in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland during our program.
This event is free and open to the public. REGISTER
If you would like to be a co-host, have any questions or would like to sponsor Black Women, Green Future, please contact Matt Dean, Environmental Justice Exchange Coordinator, at matt@newvoicespittsburgh.org.
#BlackWomenGreenFuture #WOCHERStory #ReproJustice

New Voices for Reproductive Justice is a Human Rights organization dedicated to the health and well-being of Black women and girls and women of color. Since 2004, New Voices Pittsburgh has served 125,000+ Black women, femmes, girls, women of color and LGBTQ+ women of color through leadership development, community organizing, policy advocacy and culture change. Our priority issues are sexual & reproductive health, LGBTQ+ rights, health care access, ending gender-based violence, incarceration and environmental justice.
Visit us online at www.newvoicesrj.org!

Climate Resilience: Reframing the climate crisis conversation with Karenna Gore
2021-03-04 19:30 - 20:30 UTC
“The impacts of climate change are already here. It is an economical issue. It is a national security issue. It is also a moral issue. It requires deep consideration of our moral obligations to one another across time and space. The causes are also present among us and if we can see them quite clearly, we might be able to stop this unimaginably tragedy. In addition, we must simultaneously learn to adapt to the damage that has already been done.” ~ Karenna Gore

Join Landmark and Transition Town Port Washington for a presentation by Karenna Gore, founder and director of The Center for Earth Ethics. Then join the conversation, in an audience Q&A moderated by Hildur Palsdottir.
This event is streaming on Zoom. Please click the FREE EVENT link on this page to register and get your Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Karenna Gore is the founder and director of the Center for Earth Ethics (CEE) at Union Theological Seminary. The Center for Earth Ethics bridges the worlds of religion, academia, policy and culture to discern and pursue the changes that are necessary to stop ecological destruction and create a society that values the long-term health of the whole. She is also an ex officio member of the faculty of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. She is the author of Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America. https://centerforearthethics.org
Dr. Hildur Palsdottir is a climate activist, community organizer, public speaker, and co-founder of ReWild Long Island. She is also president of the Board of Trustees at The Science Museum of Long Island. Hildur has a PhD in Biochemistry for research in Cellular Bioenergetics and worked as a Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and NYU Medical School. In 2017, she co-founded Sol Center in Port Washington. Hildur guides nature-based mindfulness and meditations at The Mindful Connection of Long Island in Merrick.
Climate Action Series
This is the first in a planned five-part Conversations from Main Street Climate Action Series with the goal of introducing community-centered climate solutions while also promoting individual action. Small changes to our daily routines can have lasting and impact on our environment and future.
Watch this space for more info & sign-up links for these programs.
Thursday, March 18 Regeneration Revolution
Thursday, April 1 Break Free from Plastics!
Thursday, April 15 “Green” Legislation
Thursday, April 29 Envisioning 2030
The Climate Action Series is presented in partnership with Transition Town Port Washington.

Environmental Injustice: Reckoning with American Waste
2021-03-20 19:00 - 20:00 UTC
Virginia Humanities: ADD TO CALENDAR

Nonfiction writers Kerri Arsenault (Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains), Anna Clark (The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy), and Catherine Coleman Flowers (Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret) discuss their investigations into American environmental injustices, from sewage and sanitation management systems that reinforce systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudices, to Flint’s water crisis and other industrial impacts leading to contaminated waters, illness, and loss.
As part of the all-virtual 2021 Virginia Festival of the Book, this event is FREE to attend and open to the public. To attend, please register below or simply make plans to watch on Facebook.com/VaBookFest. The video recording from this event will also be available to watch after the event concludes, on VaBook.org/Watch.

REGISTER HERE

“Combining personal history with investigative reporting, Arsenault pays loving homage to her family’s tight-knit Maine town even as she examines the cancers that have stricken so many residents.” ―The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“An exceptional work of journalism. Clark delivers a thorough account of a still-evolving crisis, one with an unmistakable racial subtext…. Her book is a deeply reported account of catastrophic mismanagement. But it’s also a celebration of civic engagement, a tribute to those who are fighting back.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Flowers exposes the true injustice of the situation and how it can be remedied, from both sides of the political spectrum. This is a powerful and moving book that deserves wide readership.” —Booklist
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Thanks to our community partners for this event: Alabama Center for the Book, Alabama Humanities Alliance, Black Millennials for Flint, Maine Center for the Book, Maine Humanities Council, Michigan Humanities

Faith + Food Coalition Livestream
2021-03-26 12:00 (America/New_York)
The Center for Earth Ethics is hosting a livestream conversation this Friday as we gear up for the Faith + Food Coalition Dialogue Series!
Join CEE Executive Director Karenna Gore, Sustainability and Global Affairs Program Director Andrew Schwartz, Original Caretakers Program Senior Fellow Mona Polacca and Director of Bhumi Global Gopal Patel at 9 am PDT / 12 Noon EDT streaming live on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page.
Bring a snack to eat! Make a cuppa.

Join us Friday, March 26th!
9 AM Pacific / 12 PM Eastern / 4 PM GMT

YouTube or Facebook

We’re excited to share about the upcoming Food Systems Summit hosted by the United Nations and the Independent Dialogues the Faith + Food Coalition are set to engage.
We’ll talk about why faith perspectives are important in the upcoming Food Systems Summit. What can faith based organizations bring to conversations about food systems, justice, access and community response?
We will also hear from an indigenous perspective. What can we learn about relationships with the land and food systems from those who are and have been the original caretakers of Mother Earth? Why is it important for the Food Systems Summit and the Faith + Food Coalition dialogues to pay special attention to Indigenous wisdom?
Join the Faith + Food Coalition Community at faithandfood.earth!

EDS at Union Community Read: Catherine Coleman Flowers' WASTE
2021-04-07 18:00 - 19:00 UTC
Each semester, Episcopal Divinity School at Union selects a theme and book to guide a semester-long discussion on justice issues critical for faith communities to address. This spring 2021, EDS at Union is joining with the Center for Earth Ethics and the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice to focus on the structural challenges facing communities living in poverty and to explore how economic, environmental, and racial issues exacerbate inequality in the United States.
To frame this discussion, we have selected Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret by Catherine Coleman Flowers.
We will host Ms. Flowers for a virtual gathering with the EDS at Union community on the evening of April 7, 2021. We will share more information and a registration link for this public address and audience Q&A in the coming months.
Save the Date: Wednesday, April 7th, at 6:00 pm EST
Purchase Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret
Read Catherine Flowers’ recent essay for the New York Times summarizing the focus of the book.
Past community-wide readings have included Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy by Anna Clark, No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America by Darnell Moore, Enrique’s Journey by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario, and Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.
Please join us in reading Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret and share your reflections with us this semester.
About Catherine Coleman Flowers
Catherine Coleman Flowers is the founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, Senior Fellow of Environmental Justice & Civic Engagement at Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and since 2008 has been the rural development manager at the Race and Poverty Initiative of the Equal Justice Initiative. She is the author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize for a first book in the public interest (from The New Press). In 2020, Flowers was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama.

Faith and Frontline Call to Action: Good Trouble for Justice
2021-04-19 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
Faith and Frontline Call to Action: Good Trouble for Justice
A Consultation: How To Address The Climate Emergency
April 19th 12 Noon – 1 pm EST

Register

This U.S. Climate Action Week, a coalition of planning partners is pleased to host you for a global interfaith consultation highlighting the need for frontline and faith communities to be a part of our collective response to climate change. This 2021 virtual side event will highlight and call for the inclusion of the voices, ideas, and expertise of frontline and faith communities alongside career politicians and others as we collectively and collaboratively move to address and implement climate solutions. The consultation includes two keynote presentations and three concurrent workshops, each supported with web-based materials and social media tools to equip participants. This watershed moment requires action by all, especially our voices of insight and hope.
The Consultation will focus on three areas.
· Climate Change, Displacement and Migration
· Food Security
· Just Transition

Register
If you have any questions, please contact Ruth Ivory-Moore at ruth.ivory-moore@elca.org.
The Consultation Planning Committee consists of:
Baha’is of the U.S.
Center for Earth Ethics
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Episcopal Church
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services
National Religious Partnership for the Environment
North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light
Oxfam America
ecoAmerica – Blessed Tomorrow
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary

'On Caring for our Common Home' featuring Michael B. Gerrard
2021-04-20 19:00 - 20:30 UTC
Center for Earth Ethics is pleased to invite you to
On Caring for Our Common Home: Climate Change & the Moral Imperative
Tuesday, April 20th @ 7 pm

Featuring: Michael B. Gerrard, the Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia Law School and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

Register Now

Her Many Voices: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Challenges
2021-04-22
Center for Earth Ethics’ Senior Fellow for Original Caretakers, Mona Polacca and CEE Executive Director, Karenna Gore will be sharing their voices as part of this Earth Day event.
Tune in at 12:30 pm Mountain Time / 2:30 pm Eastern Time on April 22nd for Mona and Karenna’s contribution.
Her Many Voices is honoring Earth Day this year by having a virtual, all day, international event: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Challenges. We are bringing attention to individuals, businesses and organizations who are working in this world from the wisdom of our ancestors, our elders, our connections. All to bring a higher vibration to humanity. Clearly we need it.
Register here: https://bit.ly/2021CelebrateWisdom and subscribe to Her Many Voices YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

The growing number of participants are from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Australia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii and the states. Topics range from Climate Strong Initiatives to the Hemp Industry to Finances to Traditional Weaving.​
The schedule for this event is coming soon.
Learn more what some of our participants will be sharing about: hermanyvoices.org/earth-day

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Union Theological Seminary Climate Emergency Community Assembly
2021-04-22 - 2021-04-23
Earth Week: April 22nd and 23rd, 2021 / 2:00-4:30 pm

Union Theological Seminary has recently declared a climate emergency, being the first seminary in the world to do so. The declaration commits Union to adopting a climate mobilization plan with the goal of eliminating our school’s carbon emissions in the next ten years. The plan will recommend changes to Union’s facilities, curriculum, and community engagement.

Union has committed to a democratic process for creating the plan, which will take the form of a Community Assembly on April 22nd and 23rd. The Community Assembly will consist of 15 students, 5 faculty, 5 staff, and 5 alums.

Attached is a copy of the Emergency Declaration, the Assembly Itinerary, and a Google Form if you are interested in participating. All students should have also gotten an email with a slightly more robust explanation and access to all the links as well.

Faith Leaders Cohort at the Upcoming US Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training
2021-04-22 - 2021-05-02
Registration Closes March 24th!

The Center for Earth Ethics is kicking off Earth Day by co-hosting a Faith Leaders cohort at the upcoming Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training happening April 22 – May 2. We are teaming with The Climate Reality Project to create specific sessions that will help faith leaders from across traditions integrate climate activism into their work.

THIS IS OUR MOMENT FOR CHANGE. YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.
The Climate Reality Leadership Corps Virtual US Training will feature four days of two-hour live broadcasts, with additional on-demand viewing and interactive sessions available between April 22 and May 2.
FAITH COHORT REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Visit the Registration link at Climate Reality. To register to be part of the Faith Cohort please answer the following questions in the registration form as outlined below:
– Do you currently volunteer or organize with any groups focused on climate change or environmental justice? Please answer “YES”
– Organization Name: Please write “Center for Earth Ethics”
This will help us ensure that you are given access to all of the faith specific events and tables.
REGISTER HERE
During the training, you’ll join broadcast sessions with some of the world’s leading climate experts and activists – led by former Vice President Al Gore – along with breakout sessions designed to dive deeper into the most important climate topics of today. Sessions will focus on three key themes in the fight for an equitable and sustainable future:

Stopping fossil fuel expansion
Accelerating just climate solutions
Driving federal climate action in the US

The Virtual US Training offers the chance to connect with other activists just like you and join a global network of world changers making a real difference for the planet when it matters.There is no cost to attend and our flexible online format is designed to work with your schedule. This is our time and your year to make a difference.
*Note on Scheduling:
We will offer the Faith Cohort option during the weekday training schedule. If the weekday schedule does not work for you and you would like to participate in the weekend training schedule, please let us know. Feel free to email Jennifer Fei at jennifer.fei@climatereality.com with any questions or to discuss your options for participating in the Faith Cohort.
REGISTER HERE
Looking forward to seeing you April, 22nd!
– The Center for Earth Ethics Team

The Rights of Nature in a Wellbeing Society
2021-04-28
When we think about what is necessary to create and sustain societies grounded in wellbeing, respect for the rights of everything in our natural world is crucial. But how do we define the “rights” of nature? And what does it look like to uphold these rights in practice, especially in a world that has placed capitalistic values largely at the center of its decision-making and law-making processes?

On Wednesday, April 28th at 9:00am PST / 12 pm EST, in the latest installment of the EcoCiv Dialogues on Global Systems Change series, join the Institute for Ecological Civilization and YES! Magazine for a discussion with leaders who have been redefining what it means to establish and protect the rights of nature for the sake of all living things on our planet. Click the button below to register!

Register for the Event

Panelists:

Melissa Troutman – Co-director, The Invisible Hand
Mona Polacca – Chair, International Council of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers/ CEE Original Caretakers Senior Fellow
Hermann E. Ott – Founder and Managing Director, Germany Office for ClientEarth
Joe Bowersox III – Dempsey Endowed Chair of Environmental Politics and Law in the Department of Environmental Science, Willamette University

Moderator: Wm. Andrew Schwartz – Vice President, EcoCiv

Faith + Food Coalition Dialogues
2021-05-06 - 2021-06-03
Faith based organizations bringing together voices from around the world to contribute to the UN Food Systems Summit.
Independent Dialogues Series on Faith May 6th – June 3rd, 2021 in advance of the Food Systems Summit July 19th – 21st, 2021.
Register and join the community dialogue at faithandfood.earth.

Food security, access, and justice

MAY 6

Food insecurity is on the rise in some of the world’s most developed countries and yet in these same countries an overabundance of unhealthy food options is driving rates of high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. There is an immediate need to improve food quality, reduce waste, reduce marketing of unhealthy foods and ultra-processed foods in low-income communities and developing countries. Simultaneously there must be an increase in equitable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods that are produced agroecologically and minimize climate change impacts.

Healing the earth, healing our bodies

MAY 13

The globe is facing a dual health crisis: hunger and poor diet. Both are functions of an imbalanced system that creates scarcity to foster excess. The global adoption of a heavy diet of salt, sugar, and red meat creating with it mass ecosystem destruction and global health issues. Healing will only come from balance and by moving away from global extraction that poisons the water and land we depend upon. Due to the ubiquitous influence of the industrialized food system, there is also more need for education and awareness about ways to prepare foods healthfully.

Regenerating the Earth

MAY 20

Each year, Earth Overshoot Day marks the day humans surpass the Earth’s ability to regenerate the amount that’s been taken from it. In 2019 Earth Overshoot Day was July 19 and in 2020, because of Covid-19 Earth Overshoot Day was August 22. We take too much and leave too little. It’s time to change that and learn to live and farm and consume and dispose in regenerative ways that let the world and all that depend on it flourish

Farm and Food Worker Rights

MAY 27

Food and farm workers around the world are united by their poor treatment, low wages, and poverty. Those who put food on the tables of the world often can’t afford to put healthy food on their own. In order to achieve SDG 8 and to bring more health and dignity to the world’s food systems, food and farm workers must be treated equitably.

Empowering Local Communities

JUN 3

As the world has globalized the hubs responsible for providing basic needs have become monopolized, less diverse, and more dispersed to such a degree that just five countries are responsible for 60% of the world’s food supply. Building resilience to climate shocks means directing financing for local agro development, increasing equitable access, and engaging local Indigenous and community growers to produce bioregional appropriate foods that can be supplemented by world markets.

Faith + Food Coalition Steering Committee Members:

'Faith and Food: Reflections for WHO Health Week'
2021-06-10 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
The Faith + Food Coalition:
‘Faith and Food: Reflections for WHO Health Week’Thursday, June 10th, 11 am ET

To contribute to the UN Food Systems Summit, the Faith + Food Coalition hosted five separate interfaith, multi-stakeholder dialogues corresponding to each of the five Action Tracks. The objective of the dialogues was to explore how faith communities – including Indigenous communities – can support the transformation of global food systems to being sustainable, accessible, equitable, and regenerative. This panel will reflect on the dialogues and offer insights into increased faith engagement leading up to the Food Systems Summit and beyond.

We need everyone engaged to find local and global food systems solutions for healthy people and a healthy planet. Join us! www.faithandfood.earth

Andrew Schwartz has nearly a decade of experience working with community leaders and elected officials around the world to build movements, craft communications and affect change on climate and environmental issues. He is the Director of Sustainability and Global Affairs at the Center for Earth Ethics where he works to change both policies and culture to advance the sustained well-being of the people of the world. A graduate of the Union Theological Seminary, Andrew began his career as a youth representative to the United Nations Rio+20 Conference in Brazil in 2012. A native of Oregon, Andrew and his wife and daughter live in Portland.

Kelly Moltzen is a tireless advocate of making connections between food, faith, and social justice. In addition to being a co-convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network, Kelly is a program manager at the Institute for Family Health with the Bronx Health REACH initiative. She is a 2015 Re:Generate Fellow with the Food, Health and Ecological Well-Being Program of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Professional Development Co-Chair with the Religion Member Interest Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and a member of the Ecumenical/Interfaith Committee of the USA Secular Franciscan Order. She has an MPH from NYU, completed her dietetic internship with the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and has a BS in Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics from the University of Delaware. Kelly was recognized as part of Hunter College’s NYC Food Policy Center 40 Under 40 Class of 2020.

Dr. Marium Husain is an oncology hospitalist at the Ohio State University James Comprehensive Care Center. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed a residency in Internal Medicine. She will be pursuing a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. Marium has been working on community service projects in the Columbus area and abroad for the past 10 years. As a board member of the national non-profit, IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America), she has been working on public health education and creating domestic campaigns for food insecurity, reproductive health, mental health and climate change.

Joshua Basofin is a lawyer, conservationist, sustainability advisor, and climate change organizer. After a stint as a researcher and teaching assistant at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Joshua worked as a sustainability advisor, first in Tel Aviv and then in New York with UK based nonprofit Forum for the Future. He now serves as the Director of Climate Action for Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Bibi la Luz Gonzales is an international political economist merging food security. Climate, sustainability and human rights. She is the founder of Come Mejor Wa’ik//Eat Better Wa’ik. Bibi is a positive and enthusiastic multilingual Global Shaper, One Young World Ambassador, World Merit Guatemala Office Representative, and Merit360 SDG2 Executor.

Steve Chiu is Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s Representative at the United Nations. In alignment with Tzu Chi’s work in disaster relief, climate action, education for global citizenship, sustainable development and gender equality, Steve works to build relationships, share best practices and develop programs with other organizations to make tangible impacts on the ground, with the mission of alleviating the suffering of those in need. With over 19 years of experience in community based development and local interfaith partnership, Steve seeks to connect the importance of grassroots action to policies that are being developed on the international level.

Almamy Chouaibou Diagan
Co-Founder, Smart System Services + Rim Robotique designing technological solutions adapted to our cities to reduce the impact of man on the phenomenon of global warming. Co-Founder of the ‘’Union des Jeunes entrepreneurs Mauritanien’’ and member of the Network of young Mauritanian scientists.

Stineke Oenema is the Global Coordinator of the UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSN)

Dr. Maria P. Neira has been directing the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland since September 2005. Throughout her tenure and up until now she has led and advised on policy and management in key areas of environmental health. Prior to that she served as Under-Secretary of Health and President of the Spanish Food Safety Agency. From 1993-1998 she was Coordinator of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control.
Dr Neira began her career as a medical coordinator working with refugees in El Salvador and Honduras for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). She then spent several years working in different African countries during armed conflicts. In early 2019, she was nominated among the top 100 policy influencers in health and climate change.

Dr. Martin Frick is the Deputy of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit 2021. Previously, he served as the senior director of UN Climate Change where he oversaw the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and the secretariat’s climate action work.

The Faith + Food Coalition is convened by the Center for Earth Ethics in response to the call for contributions to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021.
Join us! www.faithandfood.earth

Interfaith Summit Dialogue on Sustainable Food Systems
2021-07-07
July 7, 2021 from 15:00 to 17:00, East African Time (New York 08:00 to 10:00; Rome 14:00 to 16:00; New Delhi 17:30- 19:30; Bangkok 19.00- 21:00)
We welcome you to an Interfaith dialogue to engage global faith and indigenous communities with the Food Systems Summit process. This co-convened dialogue (UN and faith-based organizations), through shared experiences and learnings underlining shared values and principles, spirituality and beliefs, is an opportunity to promote solidarity and mutual accountability with local communities, stewardship of the environment and sustainability of food systems.
Discussants

Rev. Nicta M. Lubaale, General Secretary, Organization of African Instituted Churches ( Uganda/ Kenya)
Mrs Wallapa van Willenswaard, Innovation Network International INI, International Network of Engaged Buddhists (Thailand)
Debra Boudreaux, Tzu Chi Foundation, ( USA)
Gopal Patel, Bhumi Global ( India/ US)

Convenor: Andrew Schwartz, Director of Sustainability and Global Affairs, Center For Earth Ethics (USA)
Curator: Angeline Munzara, Global Sector Leader, Livelihoods, Global Impact, World Vision International & Member of the Strategy Group- Food For Life Campaign- WCC-EAA (Zimbabwe/ South Africa)
Moderator: Rev. Eugene Cho, President and CEO of Bread for the World (USA)
REGISTER

Faith + Food - Planting Seeds for Change
2021-07-27 02:00 - 03:00 UTC
What are the impacts of our global food systems on people and the planet? What can we learn from Indigenous communities and traditional food practices? How can a respect for faith and values make food systems more healthy, sustainable, and equitable?
To help answer these questions, the Faith + Food Coalition will host “Faith + Food: Planting Seeds for Change” on July 27, 2021 at 8 a.m. Central European Summer Time (2 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the US). This global online forum will present the Coalition’s findings and recommendations to improve food security and access in conjunction with the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome. The Pre-Summit—which will engage policymakers, advocates, NGOs, healthcare leaders, and others from around the world—is part of the lead up to the UN Food Systems Summit on September 24 in New York.
“Values and ethics must be included in the global policy-making conversation about food,” said Karenna Gore, executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics. “We are honored to convene this forum with people who bring real insight about this essential dimension of human life.”

From top left: Chris Elisara, Marium Husain, Lina Mahy, Gopal Patel, Andrew Schwartz
Speakers will be Dr. Chris Elisara, director of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Creation Care Task Force and a senior fellow at Duke Divinity School’s Ormond Center; Dr. Marium Husain, president of the Islamic Medical Association of North America and a hematology/oncology fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center; Lina Mahy, technical officer in the World Health Organization’s Multisectoral Action in Food Systems Unit; and Gopal Patel, co-founder and director of Bhumi Global. Andrew Schwartz, the director of sustainability and global affairs at the Center for Earth Ethics, will moderate the discussion.
“Planting Seeds for Change” builds upon five interfaith dialogues that CEE convened in May and June as part of a formal UN process to engage diverse stakeholders in the Food Systems Summit. The Food + Faith dialogues explored how faith communities—including Indigenous communities—could support the transformation of global food systems toward something that was truly sustainable, accessible, equitable, and regenerative. They engaged grassroots organizers, farmers, food advocates, and policymakers to gather insights and develop holistic, inclusive recommendations.
“Engaging faith-based groups and Indigenous communities is essential to shifting worldviews toward food and the natural world,” says Schwartz. “We’re delighted to have been invited to organize this forum alongside the Pre-Summit.”
“Planting Seeds for Change” will review key findings from the five Food + Faith Dialogues, identify crucial topics for the Summit to address, and issue calls to action.
The Food + Faith Coalition comprises seven groups—the Center for Earth Ethics, Bhumi Global, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, Interfaith Public Health Network, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Parliament of the World’s Religions, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Creation Care Task Force –that came together to create a platform for faith groups and Indigenous communities around the world to contribute to the UN Food Systems Summit.
The forum is open to all without charge, but registration is required.
REGISTER 

National Faithlands Gathering 2021
2021-08-25 - 2021-08-27
Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative
National Faithlands Gathering 2021
August 25th – 27th

Food, Faith & Farms Conference on August 25th
National Faithlands Gathering full day program August 26th
Two Farm and Garden Tours: August 25th and August 27th

For an Agenda with the full list of 12 break-out sessions and plenaries for Food, Faith & Farms Conference August 25th – click here.
Register for the 3 Day gathering here

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative works to:

Reconnect religious people to a sustainable food system through their faith community
Expand the base of the sustainable agricultural movement in order to improve public policy

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative advances this vision by:

Connecting congregations with local farmers and gardeners to increase access to organic food and strengthen local economies.
Sharing models, strategies and resources across faith traditions to help leaders bring programs and best practices to their congregations, camps and retreat centers.
Providing one stop shopping for speakers, educational materials, and advocacy resources to help congregations engage to improve their understanding of and impact on the food system.
Empowering leaders to develop congregational food policies facilitating a connection between the sacred creation and what congregants consume when they come together to pray or celebrate.

Register

Join Interfaith Food for our 8th annual Faith, Food, and Farms Conference
Albert J. Boro Community Center in San Rafael
Lay leaders and clergy leading projects faith community projects to support access to food, and food system advocacy: This Conference is For You!
Be inspired by peers from diverse backgrounds working for food justice and a more sustainable agricultural system. The interactive format includes interactive discussions; and panels highlighting successful local and national projects.
Topics will include: Community Supported Agriculture and local procurement during the COVID Pandemic; utilizing faith- community commercial kitchens to help farmers and a small-scale food entrepreneurs grow their businesses; and advocacy for local food procurement.
For an Agenda with the full list of 12 break-out sessions and plenaries click here.
Register
The Center for Earth Ethics is proud to be among the collaborating partners for this event.

With support from:

Global Inter-faith Dialogue on Food Systems
2021-09-02
02 September from 16:00 to 18:00, East African Time, 9:00 AM Eastern Time
Register
Access to healthy, nutritious food is a human right and yet it remains out of reach for far too many. In this Decade of Action, there is much to do and it will require new partnerships and coalitions of actors who believe we can overcome the challenges in front of us. This global dialogue will focus on building and strengthening the coalitions between faith and secular groups to achieve our common goals.
The Food Systems Summit is being organized by the Secretary General of the United Nations this fall. Members of civil society and governments from around the world are asked to contribute. This Global Inter-Faith Dialogue on September 2nd builds on a series of dialogues hosted by the Faith + Food Coalition partners in May and June of 2021. The coalition convened faith and wisdom keepers alongside those working at the intersection of food systems and policy development.
How can the role of faith and food in our lives better inform policies and prioritize implementation of regenerative practices that nourish our bodies and heal our earth instead of increasing harm? We are excited to be contributing interfaith, cross-sector dialogues to the food systems conversation. You can learn more about the Food Systems Summit here.
Register for September 2nd Dialogue

Virtual Launch of the Faith + Food Interfaith Statement
2021-09-17 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Join us for the Virtual Launch of the Faith + Food Interfaith Statement! – Register Here
This summer, the Faith + Food Coalition hosted 5 dialogues corresponding to each of the 5 action tracks for the UN Food Systems Summit. The goal was simple: to host multilateral dialogues about our food systems through the lens of faith and values.
Friday, September 17th, the Faith + Food Coalition will offer a Virtual Launch of the Interfaith Statement presenting key concepts distilled and articulated by participants and coalition partners for inclusion at the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 and beyond.
Please consider signing on to the statement this week in advance of the UNFSS on September 23rd.
Learn More: https://www.faithandfood.earth/interfaith-statement
Food systems for healthy people and a healthy planet. ⁠ ⁠
Register
Virtual Launch with Martin Frick, Deputy to the Special Envoy – UNFSS 2021; Meera Baindur, Manipal University; Nate DeGroot, Hazon; Mona Polacca, Center for Earth Ethics; Felipe Carazo, Tropical Forest Alliance (WEF); and Bibi la Luz Gonzalez, Eat Better Wa’ik.

Faith & Climate Summit: The Final Sprint to COP 26
2021-09-20
Join us for a discussion with the global interfaith community about our role heading into COP26 and beyond. The UK COP26 Presidency will give an update on the status of negotiations. We will also announce new faith-based climate commitments. Reach out to Joshua Basofin at joshua@parliamentofreligions.org to discuss your organization’s climate commitment.
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Faith & Climate Summit: The Final Sprint to COP 26
Sept 20th, 2021 at 11 am Eastern Time / 10 am Central Time
REGISTER NOW

UN Food Systems Summit
2021-09-23
The People’s Summit has arrived!

The UN Food Systems Summit, held during the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, is setting the stage for global food systems transformation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Find out more >

The Center for Earth Ethics will participate in the #UNFSS2021 during Climate Week NYC, 20-26 September 2021.
Join us for the Faith + Food Virtual Interfaith Statement Launch leading up to the summit on September 17th at 11 am!

Learn More:
Faith + Food Interfaith Statement: https://www.faithandfood.earth/interfaith-statement
UN Food Systems Summit, September 23rd: https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit
Climate Week NYC: https://www.climateweeknyc.org/

Indigenous Water Ethics: A Traditional Dialogue
2021-10-07 12:00 - 14:00 UTC
Join us for a dialogue conducted in a traditional way highlighting voices of Indigenous perspectives on water ethics. REGISTER
Water is fundamental to all life on Earth. Protecting water is essential for ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, food justice and calming the climate crisis. As we seek to build frameworks for regenerative systems, Indigenous peoples—who already safeguard water and hold ancestral knowledge and cultural practices necessary to support that work—deserve a place at the center.
Join the Center for Earth Ethics on Thursday, October 7, at noon Eastern Time, for a webinar, “Indigenous Water Ethics: A Traditional Dialogue.” Mona Polacca, senior fellow for CEE’s Original Caretakers Program, has assembled representatives of different Indigenous cultures to present their diverse perspectives and lived experiences stabilizing, protecting and creating resiliency for their communities’ water sources.
REGISTER

Convener:
Mona Polacca is the senior fellow for the Original Caretakers Program at the Center for Earth Ethics. She is an educator and facilitator whose knowledge, empathy and values motivate others to speak and act. She has a special interest in older people and youth, and has led or participated in many effective initiatives related to Indigenous water issues and culturally appropriate health treatments for Native Americans.
Mona is a longtime active participant in the United Nations Permanent Forum of Indigenous Peoples Issues and has been invited to speak in global forums and assist in drafting declarations. In December 2008, Mona had the distinguished honor of being the representative of the Indigenous Peoples on a panel of world religious leaders. These panelists drafted and signed a statement, “Faith in Human Rights,” in commemoration of the 60th Year of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In May 2013, she and others presented an intervention at the UNPFII, “A Call for the Indigenous World Forum on Water & Peace.” Her efforts have included providing support to First Nations to build capacity to take action on climate change, build sustainable communities, protect lands and waters, and conserve biodiversity.

Speakers include:

Rāwiri Tinirau is of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi descent, and has genealogical connections to several hapū (extended family groupings) and iwi (collections of hapū) who have connections with and interests in the Whanganui River. He is co-director of Te Atawhai o Te Ao, a Māori research institute focused on health and environmental research, as well as deputy chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post settlement governance entity for the Whanganui River settlement. Rāwiri serves on a number of governance and advisory boards, and has several interests, including Māori community development, performing arts, education and Māori business and economic development. In his spare time, he likes to spend time in and on the Whanganui River.

Austin Nunez is the Chairman of the Wa:k – San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation located in the arid Sonoran Desert region of southwestern Arizona, with a population of 2,300. He will present a case-study about a 23-year legal challenge to regain his tribe’s inherent water rights. “Our once flowing river and underground water sources for the land base of our 27,000-acre reservation were compromised due to the over pumping of our aquifer by the non-Indigenous settlers as they started to drill ground water wells beginning in the late 1800’s. The challenge started in 1975, in the end, an out of court settlement was reached granting us 50,000 acre feet per year of Colorado River water, via an approximately 300-mile pipeline, and 10,000 acre feet of natural groundwater per year and were awarded a cash settlement to rehabilitate our farm. Our story needs to be told to provide lessons learned, and to instill hope in other similarly situated indigenous communities throughout the world.”

Gaeñ hia uh, Betty Lyons (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan), executive director of the American Indian Law Alliance (AILA), is an Indigenous and environmental activist and citizen of the Onondaga Nation. She serves as a member of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee and has been an active participant at the annual United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues since the first session in 2001 as a delegate of the Onondaga Nation. Betty continues to work for the protection of Indigenous peoples who are fighting to protect their traditions, territories, resources, and care for Mother Earth. Out of her concern for Indigenous peoples and Mother Earth, Betty serves on numerous boards like: 4 The Future Foundation, Connie Hogarth Center, Center for Earth Ethics, The MOST, Skä•noñh- Great Law of Peace Center Academic Collaborative, and is Co-Chair of the Center of Earth Ethics Advisory Board.
