Loving The Earth

Resources for Learning & Engagement

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”

Baba Doum, 1968 Conference Speech in New Delhi

The Friends Wilderness Center is focusing many of its programs for 2020 on the themes of connecting with Nature and of living sustainably. Our February 2020 program explored Climate Change science, offered ways in which we can become more deeply connected to the Earth in a loving and reverential way, and then asked us to draw on that deepened affection for the Earth to empower us to take meaningful action for its long term health and preservation.

In the spirit of the above quote, this page has been created as an online resource for people attending the Feb 22^nd program at the Langley Hills Friends Meeting for their continued learning and engagement following the event and it is being left here on the FWC website for the long term use of our virtual audience who visits our website. We hope you find these resources both useful and relevant.  This page offers resources that will help you live more sustainably, simply and quite often more richly in the spiritual and holistic health sense. We also offer ways that you can work with others, drawing on your core skills, to bring about the truly BIG changes at the local and national level that will be necessary to curb global climate disruption and mitigate the damage being done to the planet at present. While many of us are justifiably concerned about the plight of the Polar Bears and the Amazon Rain Forest (Our Sphere of Concern), we at the FWC feel it is more important that we in the Mid-Atlantic States focus on what we can do to be of service near our homes (Our Sphere of Influence).

The inputs for this page have come from persons who are intimately familiar with both the science of global climate disruption and the related issues (e.g., political, cultural, economic) and are designed to both educate and inspire. We hope you agree after browsing what we have to offer here.

Videos:

1.   9 Year Old Climate activist, Zayne Cowie, reads his rhyming story book:  https://youtu.be/0j_kmPn41r8

2.   Greta and George: Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot  offer one way to flight atmospheric CO2: https://youtu.be/aUCD_24cygQ

3.   High Tide In Dorchester County: A sobering look at potential Sea Level Rise in the Chesapeake Bay: https://hightidedorchester.org/

Carbon Footprint Resources

CoolClimate Network (U.C. Berkeley)

https://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/calculator  (calculator)

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/consider-your-impact/carbon-calculator/ (Nature Conservancy’s phone-friendly interface for CoolClimate’s calculator)

carbonfootprint.com (U.K)

http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Cool Congregations (Interfaith Power & Light)

http://www.coolcongregations.org/calculator/

CoolClimate Network’s map of US household carbon footprint by Zip Code

http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/maps

EPA's greenhouse gas equivalency calculator

https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator?unit=gasoline&amount=100

1.   Joanna Macy’s website instills hope, calls you to action, and offers heartfelt engagement with the Earth that sustains us:  https://www.joannamacy.net/

Friends’ organizations working on climate issues:

https://www.quakerearthcare.org/

https://www.fcnl.org/updates?issue=environment-energy#filters

https://www.bym-rsf.org/what_we_do/committees/nature/

https://quakersandclimatechange.com/

A Shared Quaker Statement: Facing the Challenge of Climate Change

A joint statement on climate change endorsed by >100 Friends’ organizations around the world, including Baltimore Yearly Meeting

https://www.quakerearthcare.org/article/shared-quaker-statement-facing-challenge-climate-change

BYM Unity with Nature Committee's "Call to Calculate Carbon"

Includes instructions on calculating carbon footprints for individuals and congregations, with links to leading carbon footprint calculators, and list of “next steps” measures to reduce one's carbon footprint

https://nextstepsearch.wordpress.com/call-to-calculate-carbon/?iframe=true&preview=true

https://nextstepsearch.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/next-steps-in-journey-to-right-relationship-with-creation/?iframe=true&preview=true

Biodiversity for a Liveable Climate

A resource on regenerative agricultural practices to restore soils

https://bio4climate.org/

Project Drawdown

A resource for climate solutions

https://www.drawdown.org/