Interfaith Power & Light » National Press Clips

IPL leader gets Carson Award

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:37:06 +0000

One of the faith community’s leading advocates for the environment will receive a Rachel Carson Award from the National Audubon Society at the Women in Conservation Luncheon May 22 in New York City.

The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham will be recognized for her work in starting and leading The Regeneration Project, which seeks to deepen the connection between faith and ecology, and Interfaith Power & Light (IPL), a national campaign with more than 14,000 U.S. congregations and 39 state affiliates working to mobilize a religious response to global warming.

The Audubon Society gives the Rachel Carson Awards to women who are influential leaders in the conservation movement. Past winners include architect Maya Lin; entertainers Laurie David, Bette Midler, and Sigourney Weaver; philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry; Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis; and oceanographer Sylvia Earle.

The award carries special resonance this year since 2012 marks the 50^th anniversary of the publication of Carson’s Silent Spring, a book that heralded the modern environmental movement and led to a ban on the pesticide DDT.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by one of the leading conservation groups in the nation,” Bingham said. “The prophetic voice of Rachel Carson lives on in the work that our congregations are doing to respond to the threat global warming poses to the integrity of God’s Creation.”

In addition to her leadership of The Regeneration Project and Interfaith Power & Light, Bingham is Canon for the Environment in the Episcopal Diocese of California. She was named one of the top 15 green religious leaders by Grist magazine and is a winner of the Purpose Prize. She also serves on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund and the Environmental Working Group.

Vancouver Observer: “Dirty Oil Diplomacy” report sheds light on international oil sands advocacy

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:35:13 +0000

The aggressive push to sell oil sands products is undermining Canada’s reputation, according to a new report released Thursday by Climate Action Network Canada. The 32-page document was produced in cooperation with other environmental groups including Greenpeace and Sierra Club, and addresses both domestic and international advocacy efforts from government and industry. According to the groups involved, the new report is intended to provide a comprehensive look at coordinated campaigns directed primarily at oil sands critics. “We are hoping to get the attention of the Canadian government, and have them take some moral responsibility for the future of the planet,” said Reverend Canon Sally Bingham, founder of the Interfaith Power & Light campaign.

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Alexis Stoymenoff, 9 March 2012

Huffington Post: Playing Fair in Love and Climate Change

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:11:01 +0000

In this article, McDuff reflects of the importance of remembering fairness and justice during this season of elections, especially when it comes to discourse around global warming. “The impacts of global warming,” she writes, “include food security, rising sea levels, erratic winter patterns, and public health threats.” McDuff discusses the importance of Interfaith Power & Light’s National Preach-In on Global Warming’s reminder to “speak the truth” about climate change.

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Mallory McDuff, Ph.D, 14 February 2012 2012

Minnesota Post: Interfaith Power & Light seeks to protect our earth as creation of God

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:39:29 +0000

In this article, Shelby reflects in a conversation he had with The Rev. Sally Bingham and this years Preach-In on Global Warming: When Sally Bingham talks, even on the phone, she never gets far from her central position. “God calls us to love creation,” she said. “God put Adam in the garden to keep the garden clean and green. If you love your neighbor as yourself, it is not right to pollute the air your neighbor breathes. You don’t have to believe the science of global warming.” It is enough, she suggested, to simply believe in God.

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Don Shelby, 14 February 2012

Maryland Gazette: Clergy push for Maryland offshore wind farms

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:44:41 +0000

Pointing to health and environmental effects of air and water pollution from coal-burning power plants, the group of 36 church officials who live or work in Prince George’s were rallied by Interfaith Power & Light to urge county legislators on the Senate Finance and House Economic Matters committees to support the governor’s revised attempt to get wind power into Maryland. “We see the benefits far outweighing the costs of lost lives, and entire communities suffering the impacts,” said The Rev. Kip Banks.

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Margie Hyslop, 13 February 2012

WFPL News: Thirty Kentucky Congregations Will Participate in Global Warming “Preach-In”

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:21:57 +0000

Last week thirty congregations across Kentucky participated in the nationwide effort the raise awareness about global warming by Interfaith Power &Light’s Preach-In on Global Warming. “Every year we have more and more congregations that are participating be ause it seems like this is an issue that people are finally realizing this is a social justice issue, it’s a moral issue that a lot of congregations need to get involved in,” Said Kentucky Interfaith Power& Light‘s director Tim Durst.

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Erica Peterson, 6 February 2012

Berkeleyside: Berkeley church holds preach-in on global warming

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:18:09 +0000

The Reverend Arthur Boone of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, linked the responsibility for Christians to act on the issue of global warming to Christ’s admonition to love one another. Citing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians “Love does not insist on its own way…,” said the Rev. Boone. “If we are to love our fellow humans, we cannot insist on our own way of consuming ever more energy.” Following the service, congregants signed Valentines Day cards to send to Senator Feinstein to oppose current legislative efforts to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce the Clean Air Act.

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Tim Sullivan, 13 February 2012

Huffington Post: Tu Bishvat: The Roots Of Torah

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:50:44 +0000

This year, Tu Bishvat fell during the week of the Interfaith Power and Light’s National Preach-In on Global Warming. The preach-in is an effort to encourage religious leaders throughout our nation to speak to their communities about the devastating impact we continue to have on our planet. “This is the essential message of Tu Bishvat,” says Rabbi Korbin. “On Tu Bishvat, we should certainly take time to appreciate the trees and eat their marvelous fruit, saying blessings and engaging in rich discussion about symbolism and meaning. But if our celebration ends there, we have missed an important call. The festivities of Tu Bishvat must also propel us to take an account of our carbon footprint and recommit ourselves to environmental action — both through personal reform and national advocacy — before it is too late.”

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Rabbi Rachel Korbin, 7 February 2012

Michigan Ross School of Business: Breaking Through on Climate Change (+ video)

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:34:09 +0000

On January 20th, The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham participated in a civilized, reasonable discussion on climate change with scientists, religious leaders, politicians and pollsters, social scientists, students and the public . ”I see climate change as the most important moral issue that faces us today,” said The Rev. Canon Bingham, an Episcopal priest and president of Interfaith Power & Light. Bingham sees a disconnect between what people say they believe and their behavior. ”If you love your neighbor, you don’t pollute your neighbor’s air and water. We’ve expanded the definition of neighbor. It’s not just the person next door.”

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Terry Kosdrosky, 02 February 2012

State of Formation: Religious Wisdom the World Needs Now

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:27:08 +0000

In this opinion article, Yari Robinson discusses the importance of the movement of religious-based environmental organizations such as Interfaith Power & Light, in encouraging people of faith to respond to the global warming as an environmental, human and spiritual crisis. Robinson writes, “Each of the world’s religious traditions offers tremendous wisdom about how we should live in respectful relationship with the earth and with each other.”

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Yari Robinson, 9 January 2012