Organization:
The Regeneration Project is the national office of the Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) campaign. The IPL campaign is mobilizing a religious response to global warming in concert with our affiliate organizations in 39 states. IPL engages congregations through energy conservation and renewable energy programs, education and outreach, and public policy advocacy. IPL is working with faith communities around the country to become leaders in the fight against global warming. Over 14,000 congregations of all faiths are involved, in all 50 states.

Position Summary:
The Communications Director (CD) will develop and implement a national communications strategy to raise the profile of Interfaith Power & Light and broadcast faith-based and moral messages for climate action. The CD will be responsible for promoting our national policy priorities, strategic message development, recruiting and training spokespersons, and interacting directly with media outlets. Candidates should have demonstrated success in generating earned media in both traditional and online outlets. Candidates should also be experienced in utilizing social media for message amplification and list-building. The position is suited for an experienced communications professional who is excited about taking a relatively new and rapidly growing organization (we’ve just entered our second decade) to the next level. The ideal candidate will also have experience with the faith community and climate and/or energy policy advocacy along with at least three years project management experience.

This is an opportunity to join a unique and dynamic organization in a newly created, strategic position.

Responsibilities:
• Develop and implement national communications plan targeting both traditional and new media opportunities
• Ensure that social media communications are consistent with overall media strategy and messages
• Create and oversee development of compelling written materials including website content
• Maintain and develop relationships with reporters and editors; manage media database and track news coverage
• Monitor and analyze media coverage of national campaigns and state affiliates
• Work with state affiliate leaders to help them develop their communications programs
• Collaborate with other staff to integrate media outreach into campaign planning
• Travel to training events, strategy sessions, visibility events, or other large events and conferences as needed
• Provide creative input and work with multiple teams
• Collaborate with development team to ensure effective communication with funders, board members, and supporters
• Work with president and executive director to ensure program is meeting strategic priorities
• Work in coalitions with other environmental and faith-based organizations

Qualifications:
• B.A. or B.S.
• Seven to ten years media experience including at least three years in a senior management position
• Proven experience developing and implementing successful media and communications strategies
• Strong track record developing and managing creative online campaigns using social media, including list building campaigns
• Excellent written and oral communications skills
• Experience with climate, energy efficiency, and/or renewable energy policy
• Experience working in a nonprofit setting
• Experience working with the faith community preferred
• Ability to plan, organize and handle multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment; excellent attention to detail and follow-through are essential
• Ability to take initiative, think creatively and work collaboratively with people of diverse backgrounds and skills
• Proficiency with MS Word Office Suite and aptitude with Internet applications including email, social media, constituent relationship management and other related database tools
• Experience with Macintosh computers, online CRM and CRS software a plus

Compensation:
The Regeneration Project offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, generous vacation time, commuter benefits and a retirement savings plan.

Location:
San Francisco (Financial District)

To Apply:
Please send a resume and cover letter by February 24, 2012 to:
Communications Director Search
Care of Gretchen Killion
Gretchen@theregenerationproject.org
Please note where you saw the job posting.

Download PDF of job posting.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 18, 2012 — President Obama has just announced his decision to support the State Department’s recommendation to deny a Presidential permit for TransCanada to build the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. What follows is a reaction by Interfaith Power & Light’s President, The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham:

“Interfaith Power & Light applauds President Obama for demonstrating leadership in denying the permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. His actions today will help to ensure a clean, healthy and safe world for our children. Transporting dirty tar sands oil through the heartland of America will unnecessarily risk catastrophic damage to ecosystems and aquifers that millions of people depend upon for their livelihood. People of faith are called to be good stewards of God’s Creation, and to love our neighbors and take care of the vulnerable among us.

“For months, faith leaders have been speaking out against the Keystone XL pipeline at State Department hearings and in letters to the Administration and Congress. It is of great concern that Keystone 1 has had many more leaks than expected, and the 1 million gallon tar sands oil spill into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 was a national tragedy. An EPA spokesperson said he has never seen anything like it – a heavy crude mixed with chemicals that sinks instead of floats, greatly hampering the multi-year clean-up effort.

“Our nation is on the cusp of a clean energy revolution. According to a Brookings report released in 2011, more than 2.7 million people are working in the U.S. clean energy economy right now. Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports that in 2011, America surged ahead of China on clean energy investments. The new proposed fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks will save 2.2 million barrels of oil a day by 2025 – about double the amount the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would have delivered, and without the risk.

“People of faith strongly believe that we need an urgent response to the climate crisis through continued implementation of better clean air safeguards, construction of a renewable energy grid, and more robust energy efficiency and renewable energy standards. The Keystone XL would only slow the pace of this clean energy transition, continue with business worse than usual, and hasten global warming. We can and must model a way forward for the world, create jobs, and care for God’s Creation. Thank you Mr. President for making the right and moral choice to set us in that direction.”

# # #

Interfaith Power & Light has 39 state affiliates and is mobilizing a religious response to global warming in more than 14,000 congregations through the promotion of energy conservation,energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

Contact:
Andrée Duggan
Interfaith Power & Light
(415) 561-4891 x11
andree@theregenerationproject.org

“This is good news for the religious community across America. The finalization of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards shows us that the 40-year old Clean Air Act is still an invaluable tool to carry out our call to be stewards of God’s Creation and to serve the least among us.

“Clean air is something people of faith have a responsibility to maintain. Thousands of clergy and communities of faith representing Interfaith Power & Light’s network of 14,000 congregations turned out at public hearings or wrote postcards to the EPA urging them to adopt these safeguards. We are delighted that our voices have been heard. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are long overdue, and we commend this Administration for making clean air a priority. These safeguards are an important and critical step in reducing harmful pollution and protecting human health. Not only will they keep us healthier, but additionally they will help to stabilize the climate that we most certainly need to protect.

“Addressing emissions of mercury and other toxics will help prevent as many as 17,000 premature deaths, 11,000 heart attacks and 120,000 asthma events every year . These safeguards will mean significantly less human exposure to toxic mercury, which poses particular risks to children. Each year, more than 300,000 children born in the U.S. have levels of mercury in their blood high enough to impair performance on brain development tests and permanently affect intelligence. The finalization of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is welcome news and upholds the commandment to love God and love our neighbor. Loving our neighbor means extending care and concern for our children and future generations who have, as yet, no voice of their own. We applaud you, Administrator Jackson and President Obama, for doing the right and moral thing.”

Similarly, while the delegates agreed to set up a Green Climate Fund to help poor nations deal with climate change and reduce deforestation, they could not agree on how to fund it. For developing nations on the front lines of climate change impacts that are happening RIGHT NOW – an empty fund and a promise of action in 2020 is cold comfort. Let’s hope that negotiations leading up to COP 18 in Qatar in 2012 can help close the “ambition gap” between what is being contemplated and what is needed.

Click to read posts from Charles Agboklu of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ghana, and leader of one of IPL’s Carbon Covenant projects.

Click here for “Religious voices advocate for climate justice at Durban” – World Council of Churches report on interfaith efforts at COP 17.

The Regeneration Project is looking for an experienced professional to lead our development program. This is a full time job in our downtown San Francisco office.

Organization: The Regeneration Project is a nonprofit organization devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and religious faith. We are mobilizing a religious response to global warming through our Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) Campaign, which has affiliate organizations in 39 states. IPL engages congregations through energy conservation and renewable energy programs, education and outreach, and public policy advocacy. We are looking to expand and diversify our funding base in order to support the demand for our programs. A major goal is to increase the funding pool for re-granting to our state affiliates. This is an opportunity to join a unique organization at a pivotal moment, develop creative new initiatives, and grow organizational capacity and efficacy.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all development for The Regeneration Project, including major donor, foundation, direct mail, and online fundraising activities.
• Create, update and coordinate implementation of annual development plan ($1.8 million budget).
• Work with executive director and president to expand individual donor base through direct mail and other outreach strategies.
• Work closely with organization president to identify, cultivate and upgrade major donors.
• Oversee fundraising events.
• Maintain grant calendar and submit grant proposals and reports in a timely fashion.
• Identify and research new foundation prospects.
• With executive director, work to ensure that funding levels and sources are consistent with organization’s strategic goals.
• Work with state affiliates services director to bolster the fundraising efforts and success of state IPLs, and to administer the re-granting program.
• Ensure good organizational relationships with all funders.

Qualifications

• At least five years experience as a development professional in a nonprofit organization
• Knowledge of and experience with the environmental funding community
• Successful track record in securing major gifts from foundations and donors
• Ability to set and meet goals, prioritize, plan, and manage work independently
• Creativity and innovation
• Strategic thinking skills
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Bachelor’s degree
• Interest in supporting state affiliate organizations to grow and stabilize their budgets
• Enthusiasm for building new development capacity and programs

Additional Desired Skills and Experience

• Experience working with faith communities
• Professional experience in philanthropic funding community
• Working knowledge of global warming and energy policy
• Positive attitude and sense of humor
• Experience with Macintosh computers and constituent relations management software (we use Blackbaud Sphere)

Salary and benefits: Competitive salary with medical, dental, vision insurance, generous vacation time, and retirement benefits.

Application: Please send a letter of interest and resumé via e-mail to Helen Wagenvoord by January 5, 2012.

Download PDF of Job Posting

As a well-traveled mechanical engineer, I have lots of respect for the scale of our earth: the continents and oceans; vast forests and mountain ranges; incredibly powerful events like hurricanes and volcanoes. The immensity of our natural surroundings can make us feel small and insignificant. So for many years I was highly skeptical that our coal plants could make an impact on a truly global scale.
But during the years I was in denial of human-induced climate change, I slowly realized two things. First, I didn’t really know the science at all – I was relying on my intuition and believing the people who lined up with it. Second, most of the smart people I knew or read about who really did know the science… were becoming very worried.

I’m smart enough to know that I can be wrong. So beginning around 2004 I started reading about “global warming” and “CO2 trends from Mauna Loa” and “Hubbert’s peak oil theory” and “temperature records from ice cores and brain coral” and “ocean acidification”.
It was the ocean acidification that got me.

I’m a scuba diver, and have been lucky enough to dive in some incredibly beautiful areas such as the Caymans, Belize, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Martinique, and the Bahamas. The data is very clear regarding how increasing CO2 effects the oceans, and coral reefs in particular. There is very little debate about it. Coral reefs around the world are dying, and some expert believe our grandchildren may grow up in a world where the only thriving reefs are in aquariums. Just the possibility this might be true was enough for me.

Since then I’ve become more and more involved in climate change, volunteering to develop our town’s first greenhouse gas inventory and more recently starting a new career in the “clean tech” industry. I also spend a lot of time discussing these issues with good friends who are still skeptical. I bring up coral reefs pretty frequently, and occasionally they do the trick.

Optimistically,
Steve Schmidt
Founder & President, High Energy Audits, Inc.

In a long awaited move, EPA has announced important new safeguards that will save thousands of lives by cleaning up some of the most polluting industrial emitters. EPA’s proposed standards will specifically address industrial incinerators and boilers, most of which are found in oil refineries and chemical plants, and which emit toxic air pollution from soot to mercury to lead. These emissions contribute to cancer, learning difficulties in children, and heart problems.

Boilers are powered by a variety of fuels including coal, oil, natural gas, and biomass, and generally power heavy machinery or are used to heat buildings.  It’s remarkable that most of the pollution from this sector comes from a small fraction of the facilities — EPA estimates less than 1% of boilers will need new pollution controls. But these facilities create enough pollution to cause thousands of asthma attacks, heart attacks and even deaths.  Another 195,000 smaller boilers would be able to meet the rule through routine tune-ups.

Incinerators are used to burn solid waste, and the proposal would tighten the types of waste that can be burned.

Interfaith Power & Light applauds the EPA for doing the right thing in the face of industry opposition, which has kept this standard from being updated for two decades. Since the new rule was released last year, EPA has provided additional flexibility to industry, cutting the cost of compliance in half. After a 60 day public comment period which is expected to begin in early January, we hope these safeguards will be finalized and implemented without further changes or delay.

Through Interfaith Power and Light’s Carbon Covenant program you can support communities in combating deforestation. Deforestation is responsible for almost 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and takes a grave toll on communities living in or near these ever-shrinking forests.

Our partner communities are reforesting degraded lands, protecting existing forests, empowering women and youth through sustainable livelihood trainings and eco-clubs, and building crucial interfaith alliances.

Give to a Carbon Covenant project in honor of a loved one this holiday season. Your gift will empower faith communities in Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana and Cambodia.$500 –Support tree planting, alternative livelihoods, food security and training in all four projects.$100 – Support Buddhist “eco-monks” in their daily forest patrols to prevent illegal deforestation in Cambodia and protect local peoples’ land and livelihood.$50 – Plant 25 trees in Ghana and support youth eco-club programs. $25 – Support interfaith collaboration between Christians and Muslims by planting 10 tree in reforestation projects in Cameroon. Give the gift of new life this holiday season! Join us in planting trees through Carbon Covenant.

Here are some tips for a holiday meal that will keep your family healthy and your carbon footprint low.

1. Eat less meat or choose organic
   Most grocery stores now offer free-range organic meat options. These are from animals that are fed grains or grasses that are organically grown and free of synthetic pesticides, and thus require less fossil fuel energy. Look for the USDA Organic label. This ensures that the meats were not produced with pesticides, irradiation, hormones, antibiotics, or bioengineering. Find local, free-range, or organic meats near you.
2. Buy local, organic produce in season.
   Long-running studies show that organic farming is far more effective at removing greenhouse pollution from the atmosphere and fixing it as beneficial organic matter in the soil than current industrial farming practices. Eating organic local produce in season also reduces the number of “food miles” necessary to get food onto the table. Fewer miles means less greenhouse pollution. Consuming a 30-mile salad has a much lower carbon foodprint than a 3,000 mile salad. Use the Eat Well Guide to find local, organic, sustainably produced food.
3. Reduce Packaging.
   Overly processed and packaged foods take a lot of energy to produce. Choose foods with eco-friendly packaging. Get in the habit of bringing your own reusable produce and shopping bags to the store. When done eating and cooking, recycle packaging as best you can.
4. Reduce Waste, Share Leftovers. 
   Did you know that nearly half of all food in the United States is thrown away before it’s consumed. Per capita food waste has progressively increased by about 50% since 1974. It’s now estimated that 25% of all freshwater and 4% of all fossil fuel burned in this country are used to produce food that is never eaten. Get in the habit of buying only what you plan to eat. Make a plan for the leftovers! Organize a potluck with your congregation on Thanksgiving weekend, or deliver leftovers to a local soup kitchen. Learn how to waste less food.
5. Try some sustainable holiday recipes this year.
   This holiday season, consider replacing your traditional meat dish with creative alternatives. Here are some ideas from the New York Times.

For more on the connection between food and global warming, visit our Cool Harvest page.

According to Tucker’s article “Confessions of a Climate Change Convert” on FrumForum, reading the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was the critical moment in his conversion process. In my own case, I finally reached a point where I could no longer in good conscience deny the implications of the cumulative weight of so large a corpus of evidence.

That body of evidence is extensive, and growing. For example, in 2010 the National Academy of Sciences issued what its president, Ralph J. Cicerone, deemed “the most comprehensive report ever on climate change.” The report echoes many of the same findings as the earlier 2007 IPCC report that played a key roll in Tucker’s conversion but includes five additional years’ worth of evidence and data. And in 2010, the Pentagon identified climate change as a threat to our nation’s security in its Quadrennial Defense Review for the first time.

As a practicing Roman Catholic, another critical element for me was the leading role being played by Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church in articulating the moral imperative to address manmade global warming. For example, in May a working group at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences issued a declaration calling on all people of good will “to recognize the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses.”

In the end, my own reading and research made the following conclusions inescapable: today, there is no debate in the scientific community about whether the Earth is warming — it is. There is also a nearly unanimous consensus that human activity is responsible for this warming.

Given the foregoing, addressing climate change today is an ethical and moral imperative. Failing to do so is a repudiation of our responsibilities both to each other, and most particularly, to future generations. It is a breach of faith, trust, and duty, of enormous magnitude.

Regrettably, while the case for manmade global warming has become increasingly more persuasive over the past several years, and the need for immediate action ever more apparent, public opinion in the United States has been trending in the opposite direction.

The scientific evidence, however, cannot be wished away. Today, we must work with renewed vigor to better educate the public on the threat posed by AGW, and to build support for policies designed to eliminate or mitigate it, while there is still time.

Michael Stafford is a former Republican Party officer and the author of “An Upward Calling.”