Multimedia

How to cool the planet, feed the world, and live happily ever after. 137 minutes. Watch the trailer.

The broad impact of changing climate and issues for intergenerational climate justice are central to all global agendas, from economic and financial policies to political and cultural relations. Religious actors have central roles, both in the formal spaces such as the COP meetings and in national and community policies. Translating this into effective advocacy and mobilization and modeling action link religious and interreligious communities to global and especially G20 agendas. This discussion will take stock of actions to date and look especially to the 2023 COP 28 meetings in Dubai. Both the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Faiths4Earth mobilize and integrate religious communities, working side by side towards global climate objectives. Moderator: Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Secretary General, Global Interfaith Wash Alliance, India; Panelists: Dr. Katherine Marshall, Vice President ,G20 Interfaith Forum; Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith; Maja Groff, Convener of Climate Governance Commission; Rev. Dr. Samuel Richmond Saxena, Dean, Faculty of Interfaith and Religious Studies and Director, Centre for Advanced Religious Studies, North East Christian University, Nagaland; Gopal Patel, Co-Founder & Director, Bhumi Global; Pinaki Dasgupta, Member –Working Group on Pollution, Faith for Earth Initiative, Sr. Consultant, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

A multi-faith panel of leaders introduce us to the jewels of their tradition’s teachings on care for the earth. Panelists include: - Dr. Prasad Bastodkar, Hindu Society of Minnesota; Payton Hoegh, Episcopal Los Angeles and Center for Spirituality in Nature; Rabbi Ricky Kamil Temple Israel, Minneapolis and Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative; Rev. Onryu Laura Kennedy, Buddhist priest/teacher.

Featuring Senator Ben Allen, Coastal Roots Farm’s Director of Jewish Life Cantor Rebecca Joy Fletcher, and CA Religious Action Center’s Lead Organizer Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller. Moderated by Jewish Center for Justice’s Founding Executive Director Rabbi Joel Simonds. Panel Convened at JPAC Capitol Summit 2023 which took place May 09, 2023 to May 10, 2023.

This episode of Spotlights features Mallory McDuff. She is an author, educator, and mother, teaching environmental education at Warren Wilson College outside Asheville, North Carolina. Her writing stems from ordinary life–raising children and teaching students–amidst the enormity of our uncertain times, especially our changing climate. She talks about her new book, Love Your Mother: 50 States, 50 Stories, and 50 Women United for Climate Justice (Broadleaf Books, 2023). The book tells stories about women of diverse ages, backgrounds, and vocations–one from each of the fifty US states–as inspiration for a new kind of leadership focused on the heart of the climate crisis. More information about the book is available on the publisher's website: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/… More information about the author can be found on her website: https://www.warren-wilson.edu/people/…
Posted 3/13/2023

This episode of Spotlights features Andreas Karelas, the founder and executive director of RE-volv, a nonprofit organization that empowers people around the country to help nonprofits in their communities go solar and raise awareness about the benefits of clean energy. He is also the author of Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America. Andreas talks about new developments in renewable energy, particularly in light of the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA. Signed into law in August 2022, the IRA includes almost $400 billion in spending on energy and climate change. Along with the IRA, Andreas discusses some new projects he is working on, including a partnership with Green The Church and Interfaith Power & Light, aimed at accelerating the deployment of solar energy in underserved communities by assisting BIPOC houses of worship around the country go solar. You can learn more about Re-volv here: https://re-volv.org/ More information about Climate Courage is available here: https://climatecourage.us Go here for more information about the Solar for BIPOC initiative: https://re-volv.org/solar-for-bipoc
Posted 9/26/2022

The session ‘Indigenous peoples, climate change and the role of decent work for a just and peaceful transition’ was organized in partnership with Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development, International Labour Organization and Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples at the 2022 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development (#SthlmForum) held on the theme ‘From a Human Security Crisis Towards an Environment of Peace.' This session focuses on the interlinkages between indigenous peoples’ rights, climate action, the world of work, human security, and peace. It provides insights from the perspectives of indigenous peoples and government officials. The discussion aims to identify actions for increasing policy coherence and building innovative partnerships that (a) address the risks faced by indigenous peoples from the impacts of climate change; and (b) seek contributions from indigenous women and men to advance climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. 
Moderator: Manuela Tomei, Director, Conditions of Work and Equality Department, ILO;  Speakers: Oscar Pérez Ramirez, Vice Minister of Sustainable Development, Ministry of Energy and Mining, Guatemala; Lucy Mulenkei, Vice president, International Indigenous Women’s Forum; Ivan Zambrana-Flores, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Bolivia to the United Nations in New York; Joan Carling, Executive Director of the Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples. This event took place on 06/23/2022.

The Passionist Earth & Spirit Center has partnered with Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Louisville, KY to capture stories surrounding our connection to nature in the midst of the climate crisis. Why should we care about climate change and where can we find hope? Through reflecting upon such questions, we are drawn to a greater appreciation for the natural world as we consider what individual steps we might take to ensure future generations can live on a healthy planet for years to come.

Part of the 2022 Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Visit the CFR website: http://www.cfr.org

Indigenous communities have looked after their ancestral forests for millennia, cultivating immense amounts of knowledge on how to protect, nourish and heal these vital environments. Today, 470 million Indigenous people care for and manage 80 percent of the world's biodiversity – yet their legal rights to these lands are inexplicit and subject to exploitation by illegal loggers, miners and companies. Human rights lawyer Nonette Royo describes how her team at the Tenure Facility, an organization that provides legal assistance to Indigenous people by taking their land rights battles to court, will help these communities secure and defend 50 million hectares of forests over the next five years. Watch more: https://go.ted.com/nonetteroyo. This talk was recorded on April 2022. 

This talk is entitled: Climate Justice and the Jewish Community: A Call to Action Through Dialogue, a facilitated panel discussion with a Q and A session where the speakers discuss the current action and movement within the Jewish community towards an environmentally-just future. The event features several panelists who offer various perspectives on what the next steps can be.

Speakers include Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, a pioneer in the field of religion and ecology and a eco-theologian, spiritual leader, writer and creative; Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, a Black Jewish Rabbinic Scholar and Public Affairs Advisor at Jewish Federations of North America and leader of the JEDI (Jewish Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and racial justice initiatives; Kristy Drutman, a Jewish-Filipina environmental media creator and founder of Brown Girl Green, a media platform exploring the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism; Sophia Rich, an Ann Arbor high school junior who is passionate about connecting Jewish principles and climate justice and a member of the National Leadership Board for the Jewish Youth Climate Movement; Vicki Kaplan, Director of Organizing at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, as well as an activist and campaigner committed to movement-building and anti-racism work; and Ariel Mayse, assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University and researcher on resources of Jewish thought and theology for constructing contemporary environmental ethics. This conversation was streamed live on 03/27/2022.

The risks posed by climate change, and in particular climate’s impact on marginalized communities, have further exposed the linkages between climate change, environmental degradation, racism, and social injustice. Often missing from conversations focused on these injustices, however, is an awareness of the agency and knowledge that Indigenous communities bring to climate response. As the global community ramps up efforts to address climate change, incorporating Indigenous knowledge into those efforts could serve to inform scientific best practices for climate resilience and boost multi-stakeholder engagement at local, regional, and national levels. How can Indigenous knowledge help shape efforts to address climate change? What kinds of partnerships can ensure that Indigenous knowledge is incorporated into decision-making at various levels (i.e., from the local to national and international)? Join us for a discussion with leaders who are working to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into climate decision-making.
Moderator: Lauren Risi, Program Director of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center. Panelists: Cat Brigham, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeast Oregon; Sineia do Vale, Coordinator of the Environmental Division of the Indigenous Council of Roraima and a member of the Climate Change Committee of the Coalition of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil; Dalee Sambo Dorough, International Chair of the Inuit Curcumpolar Council.
This event was recorded on November 3, 2021.

This week’s episode of Spotlights is a clip from our full episode with Dr. Todd LeVasseur, visiting assistant professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. We discuss the importance of integrating activism into academia in order to facilitate viable responses to the climate emergency. We reflect on this issue for academia in general and for the academic field and activist force of religion and ecology in particular.. You can learn more about his work here: https://toddlevasseur.wordpress.com You can watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/LAn0KBt2mH4.
Posted 09/13/2021.

Squamish Nation Councillor and community leader Khelsilem joins Am Johal on this first episode of Below the Radar’s Climate Justice & Inequality series. In this episode, they discuss the climate crisis as a result of the colonial project, how climate change hits hardest for those already at a disadvantage, and the spaces where colonialism has existed within climate movements. Khelsilem speaks to his critique of fossil fuel infrastructure, the false narrative of individual responsibility, and the role governments play in worsening the crisis through policy decisions that favour oil and gas. We also hear about innovative affordable housing projects, such as Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw Development, and how to build climate-friendly design into new housing models. This podcast was released August 31, 2021. Follow link and scroll down the page to listen to podcast.

This 20 minute interview with Joanna Macy will help answer an essential question: How are we going to live our lives fully, with inner peace and courage (and even joy) as we confront a world that is destroying itself?

Filmmaker Emmett Brennan walks the length of the Los Angeles aqueduct in search of a vision for humanity worth living for - what he discovers has everything to do with water. 79 minutes. Watch the trailer.

This week's episode of Spotlights features David Haberman, PhD, Professor and former Chair in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. We discuss his wide-ranging work in the field of religion and ecology, with particular attention to his newly released anthology on religion and climate change, Understanding Climate Change Through Religious Lifeworlds (Indiana University Press, 2021). This is the first part of a two-part episode. In part two, we discuss his research into the worship of stones, rivers, and trees in northern India. You can find more information about his work here: https://religiousstudies.indiana.edu/…More information about the book is available on the publisher's website: https://iupress.org/9780253056047/und….
Posted 05/24/2021.

The question around disasters is not if a disaster will happen here but when—especially as we see climate change increasing the severity and frequency of severe weather events. When disasters occur, congregations can offer vital care and resources for their members and wider communities. Advance preparation and planning can position churches to respond well. As we enter another season of climate-driven disasters, it is time to step back and ask: How can our congregations be hubs of climate resilience, helping our communities weather the spiritual and physical storms of the climate crisis? In this workshop, participants will learn about the domestic and global context of climate disasters, get connected with resources for disaster response and recovery, and engage in conversations and activities for developing context-specific disaster preparedness and response plans.

As we are called to activate our faith communities to bolder climate action, what do we do right now? We must continue talking about climate change as a moral, justice and faith issue in pulpits, educational programming, and in our communities, but we must do more. Faith traditions are deploying powerful new programs and resources and building networks to achieve climate solutions at the local, state and federal level. Hear about these new and innovative efforts to not only activate those already concerned about climate, but to reach others and build a broader base for faithful climate action and advocacy.

The Environmental Justice Symposium 2021 is happy to present John Paul Jose. Kerala-born John Paul Jose’s journey with environmental activism began when he joined a protest against the Yettinahole project around five years ago. Later, in 2018, John set out to discover what steps India’s politicians were taking to address the climate crisis, as one of the Fridays For Future youth leaders in India. Now 22, he is still a passionate activist, criticising climate action (and the lack of it) from an Indian viewpoint, and especially how global warming affects India’s forests and ecosystems.

This week’s episode of Spotlights features Sean Kelly, PhD, professor of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He discusses his new book, Becoming Gaia: On the Threshold of Planetary Initiation (Integral Imprint, 2021). He describes the interlocking emergencies of climate change, mass extinction, and planetary apartheid in terms of a collective near-death experience (NDE). We talk about the ecological, philosophical, and spiritual implications of this critical moment in human and Earth evolution. Posted 3/8/2021.

In this podcast episode, Rainn Wilson talks about climate change and issues relating to the environment with Arthur Dahl, Christine Muller, and Afsaneh Angelina Rafii. These three Baha'is have been passionately involved in environmentalism in some way, shape, or form, and discuss a range of issues relating to the environment including both practical, and spiritual themes that need to be addressed.

In this conversation, McKibben and Berkley Center Senior Fellow Paul Elie discussed McKibben’s recent book Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (2019). They also brought into the conversation his 2005 classic Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America’s Most Hopeful Landscape (which is read by Elie’s first-year students in Georgetown College); the effects and prospects of Pope Francis’s encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home; and current climate developments –some of them alarming, others reasons for hope. Georgetown President John J. DeGioia introduced the conversation.

FORUM2020 & the Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth were held on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Temple of Understanding. World religious and spiritual visionaries, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and youth environmental activists came together to address the urgency of the climate crisis with strategies for inspired collective action. Over forty international speakers offered their wisdom and perspectives through keynote addresses, diverse panels, inspiring prayers and sacred music.
To view video, please follow this link.

Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, founder of the first national Jewish environmental organization (Shomrei Adamah), discusses her career of thinking about Judaism, the Bible, and ecology. This interview is conducted as part of Temple of Understanding’s Ecojustice for All interview series, which features perspectives on the climate emergency from international movers and shakers. This interview was held on 09/11/2020.

Muslims around the world are concerned about climate change and its impact on humanity. However, many Muslim leaders have been discussing their role, how Islam addresses issues related to climate change and how Muslim leaders can lead a concerted movement to mobilize the larger community across the globe. This webinar, organized in collaboration with the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board of the United Kingdom, brings together Islamic scholars to discuss the role of Mosques and Imams in the decade of climate action. This event was hosted on November 5th,  2020.

Speakers include: Dr Fazlun Khalid (Founder Director - Islamic Foundation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences - The Urgency For Climate Action - An Islamic Perspective), Qari Asim MBE (Chair - Mosque & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) - The Role of Mosques and Imams), Dr Iyad Abumoghli (Director - Faith For Earth, United Nations Environment Programme - Faith For Earth - The Global Potential), Naeema Hales, Outreach Manager (IFEES/EcoIslam - The Role of Muslim Women in Environmental Protection), Fahmida Khatun, TBC (The Hive, Al Madina Mosque, Barking - Environmental Practices in Mosques), Kamran Shezad (Bahu Trust - Host)

This video is part of the FEZANA Talks series, in which the Zoroastrian community engages with diverse issues across the diaspora. It particularly highlights conversations from the World Zoroastrian Youth Conference in 2019, as four young Zoroastrians discuss the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change interact. Their talks are followed by an open discussion with the listeners.

Peer-reviewed science offers a clear consensus: that climate change, caused by humans, is an existential threat, and the defining issue of our time. How can the Jewish community–from JCRCs to synagogues to national agencies–step up to meet this challenge? In this session, top Jewish and interfaith experts offer concrete suggestions on why, how, and with whom to prioritize climate change as a core Jewish communal concern. They discuss the coalitional value of Jewish visibility, especially around environmental justice; the multi-faith promise of a growing response, linking Jewish communities deeply with our Christian, Muslim, and other counterparts; and the intergenerational urgency of staying relevant, as young people around the world lead the charge to address the climate crisis. Moderator: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Speakers: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment(NRPE); Nigel Savage, Hazon; Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA

From the Second Annual Cape Cod and Islands Faith and Science Forum titled “Climate Change: Taking Action.”

“Real climate solutions are rooted in a return to the land - a return to and of the land - and are rooted in decolonization,” says Eriel Deranger, Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) and member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. ICA is a network of Indigenous peoples framing the ideas and actions regarding climate change in traditional knowledge and community-based solutions. These grassroots actions, Eriel explains, will support the transition to renewable energy while also ensuring social and environmental justice by maintaining and strengthening Indigenous peoples’ connections to language, land and culture.

With Ken Kimmell, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Mary Evelyn Tucker. This session investigates the space where scientific understanding and spiritual wisdom meet to inspire a global response to one of our world’s most urgent crises. What can we learn from faith and science about right relationship with our Mother Earth? Thought leaders share current global warming science and insights on generating the necessary human response. This event took place at the 2019nFestoval of Faiths: Sacred Cosmos: Faith and Science April 25-27, 2019.

A public conversation at the The Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, GA focused on ethical solutions and practical strategies for building a movement that meets the climate crisis. Introduction by Greg Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School Presenters: Clifton Granby, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Philosophy at Yale Divinity School; Codi Norred, Program Director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light; Jon Sawyer ‘74, Founding Director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-Director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale. This event took place on March 12, 2019.

Saint Louis University hosted the Saint Louis Climate Summit, April 22-24, 2018, as part of its bicentennial anniversary celebration and to honor Pope Francis’ call to unite leaders in defense of the health and well-being of the planet.

Peter Raven, Ph.D., and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Ph.D. were featured speakers at the Saint Louis Climate Summit at St. Francis Xavier College Church on April 22, 2018. Saint Louis University hosted the Saint Louis Climate Summit, April 22-24, 2018, as part of its bicentennial anniversary celebration and to honor Pope Francis’ call to unite leaders in defense of the health and well-being of the planet.

This Change for Climate Talk features Eriel Tchekwie Deranger. Eriel is a co-founder and the Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada's only Indigenous-led climate justice social movement organization. She is also a Dene Indigenous rights advocate, activist, and member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) of Northern Alberta, Canada, downstream of Alberta's Tar Sands. She talks about how the lands Indigenous Peoples are advocating to protect are important globally and culturally, and why Indigenous Peoples are a critical part of protecting lands and making an impact on climate change. Change for Climate Talks are short and inspiring presentations by local community leaders who want to share their ideas on how we can act on climate change. This presentation was filmed during the first Change for Climate Talks on Dec. 9, 2017. Find many other ways you can act on climate change by visiting http://changeforclimate.ca.

Names in order of appearance: Sylvia McAdam, a citizen of the nêhiyaw Nation, Treaty 4 Desmond Bull, Louis Bull First Nation, Treaty 6 Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Lubicon Cree First Nation, Treaty 8 Ellen Gabriel, Mohawk - Kanien'kehá:ka Nation, Quebec Sylvia McAdam, ibid Kevin Settee, Treaty 1 Eriel Deranger, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Treaty 8 Clayton Thomas-Muller, Mathais Colomb Cree Nation, Treaty 6, Manitoba Erica-Violet Lee, Student, Indigenous feminist, Saskatchewan Danika Littlechild, Maskwacis, Treaty 6, Alberta Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, Pine Creek First Nation, Treaty 4, Manitoba.

(NOTE: AUDIO ONLY)

This panel was held on November 6, 2015 at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA during the first annual Indigenous Climate Justice Symposium. The panel, entitled “Fossil Fuel Connections: Tribal voices from the front and back ends of the oil & coal train routes”, consisted of Fawn Sharp, Kandi Mossett, Jeremiah “Jay” Julius, Adriann Killsnight; and Zoltán Grossman, as the moderator. The Symposium was a part of the Climate Change and Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Project at Evergreen, founded by the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute (NIARI) in 2006.

In Part 1 of “The Cry of the Earth: How Pope Francis Calls Us to the Science Faith, and Action of Saving Our Common Home”, St. Vincent (co-sponsored by St. Ignatius Catholic Community) presents presents Dr. Stephen Scharper: Climate change science has emerged in the last three decades as one of the most vexed and contentious areas of contemporary research. From the muzzling of environmental scientists in Canada to the censorship of leading climate change researchers in the United States, politics has tinctured, tethered, and at times eclipsed scientific data on one of the most important issues of our times. In his pioneering encyclical “Laudato Si,” Pope Francis takes on the climate change issue, directly utilizing contemporary scientific research on climate change and its effects, such as global warming, rising sea levels, the acidification of oceans, and species lost. This talk explores a series of questions: What role can a Catholic voice play in the science climate change debate? Does Pope Francis have unique credentials for addressing climate change science? Does climate change science challenge people of faith to a deeper understanding of their relationship to and responsibilities for creation?

Pope Francis has called on people of all faiths to come together to take action on climate change and protect “our common home.” Will you join him?

Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe speaks during the Climate Change Plenary at the 2015 Parliament of the World's Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A review of EcoSikh efforts in 2015 to combat climate change and engage Sikhs around the world to take environmental action.

This interfaith conference addresses the issues and challenges of maintaining a sustainable planet. Focused on ways to engage, panelists examines the overlapping moral issues of climate change, sustainability, social justice, and mindfulness through the lenses of many of the world's religious traditions. Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity, Harvard Divinity School; Lama Willa Miller, Founder and Spiritual Director of Natural Dharma Fellowship and a Buddhist Climate Activist; Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman, Graduate of Hebrew College Rabbinical School with a background in environmental studies and education; Munjed M. Murad, ThD Candidate, Harvard Divinity School and Junior Fellow, Center for the Study of World Religions; Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Missioner for Creation Care, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts; Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Climate Activist, Conference Minister, and President, Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ; Tim DeChristopher, Climate Activist, Unitarian Universalist, and MDiv Candidate, Harvard Divinity School; Q&A with the panelists, moderated by Dan McKanan.

Interfaith Power and Light brings together people of different faiths to be better stewards of creation by responding to global warming and by supporting changes in environmental public policy. This video features interviews with various leaders of different religions from throughout the United States, highlighting what work their faith communities are doing, why they are compelled to do this work, and how they are engaging their communities to be better stewards of creation.

(See part 1 for talk description)