Climate Justice
When our immediate comfort and economic security
is put ahead of the suffering and survival
of some of the poorest and most vulnerable on Earth,
that’s moral wrongdoing on a cosmic scale,and we respond with moral outrage.
— From the 2016 Congregational Stand on Global Warming
Global warming is one of the most urgent crises facing human civilization.
We engage the community and congregation with opportunities to learn about issues related to climate justice, and to advocate for systemic change. We grow activists.
We have recently focused primarily on:
- Working with the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy to put an initiative on the November ballot that charges the biggest polluters to fund a just transition to clean energy.
- Helping people reduce their carbon footprint through a fun, team-based community “competition” called Taming Bigfoot.
We attend protests and rallies, and help ignite the “inner activists” in our congregation to attend with us. We partner with interfaith organizations and activist groups, such as Faith Action Climate Team, Earth Ministry, and 350.org. Protests might be those calling for divestment from funding fossil fuel infrastructure, or intersectional causes such as the Poor People’s Campaign.
We offer provocative discussions through book studies and forums, and opportunities for people to go deeper in their personal commitment to climate justice. We gratefully support activists who are able and willing to do more than we.
We feel the word’s pain, but find hope in being a positive force for improving life on Earth.
Scroll down for current events and news Read more about past efforts.
To be kept up-to-date on activities and news in our region related to climate justice, ask the Peace & Justice co-chairs to add you to the Climate Justice email discussion list.
Would you like to help or learn more?
Climate Justice is one of the main focuses of the Peace & Justice Committee. We usually meet on the third Thursday of the month, at 7 p.m. in Rooms 1 & 2. Check the calendar for our next meeting. All are welcome!
Contact Peace & Justice
Climate Justice Events
Climate Justice News
- Lobby Room Wraps up with Victories March 27, 2022Post-Session Wrap The Lobby Room wrapped up in early March after logging 796 contacts with our state legislators! Many thanks to all who participated. We had some notable successes including: enhancing abortion access, allocating funds for launching a Medicaid-like program for immigrants, and improving the working family tax credit. In the area of climate, we helped pass ...Read More
- Help Us Achieve 100% Clean Energy in Snohomish County School Districts! February 28, 2022School electrification can make a big difference in carbon emissions. Not only are school buildings contributing to the 40% of emissions from buildings in Washington State, but diesel school buses also pollute the air inside them and out. Therefore, a focus on decarbonizing schools and student transportation will have the dual benefit of tackling climate ...Read More
- Women and Climate Change: Victims and Activists February 15, 2022Climate Change is human-driven but not created equally among Nations. Nor does it affect people equitably: the effects are most felt by those nations that participated least in the consumerism and addiction to fossil fuels that has driven Climate Change. Across the world, women and children in poverty suffer most from drought, flooding, unpredictable and ...Read More
- EUUC Signs Letters to Biden and Washington State re Fossil Fuels and Electrification February 14, 2022This week the Peace & Justice committee voted to add EUUC’s name to two letters: A letter to President Biden demanding that he use his executive authority to stop fossil fuel projects, end oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters, and declare a national climate emergency. Requested by the UUA Side with Love’s Create Climate ...Read More
- EUUC Endorses Letters Seeking Climate Action by Local and State Legislators February 9, 2022This month the Peace & Justice committee voted to add EUUC’s name as an endorsement to two letters to government officials. One is a letter from the League of Women Voters to the Snohomish County Council, recommending adoption of the proposed new policy on urban tree canopy as a high priority relating to climate change. We ...Read More
- How Can a Church Deal with the Climate Crisis? February 9, 2022By Stephen Ernst Stephen Jenkinson is a teacher, a student of life, a philosopher, and the founder of the Wisdom School in Ontario Canada. This story, about an experience he had while on a speaking tour to New Zealand two years ago, seems eerily prescient for these times. The flight to Christchurch, a marathon at best, was ...Read More
- Two Minute Tuesday for Climate – 1/11/22 January 11, 2022From our colleagues in the Climate Alliance of Snohomish County – Two Minute Tuesdays – 1/11/22 A simple, two-minute (or less) action that will make a meaningful difference to slow climate change. Set a timer for two minutes (be sure to do this—if you spend longer than two minutes, your climate efforts are more likely to become overwhelming). Take ...Read More
- Two-Minute Tuesday for Climate – 1/4/22 January 5, 2022From our colleagues in the Climate Alliance of Snohomish County – Two Minute Tuesdays – 1/4/22 A simple, two-minute (or less) action that will make a meaningful difference to slow climate change. This week, set a timer for two minutes (be sure to do this—if you spend longer than two minutes, your climate efforts are more likely to ...Read More
- EUUC signs on to support youth in their climate lawsuit – Juliana v United States November 1, 2021The Peace & Justice committee voted to sign EUUC on to an organizational letter to the US Department of Justice, requesting they reverse their legal position that the youth plaintiffs in Juliana v United States have no right to access the courts to vindicate their constitutional rights when they are in a health- and life-threatening controversy ...Read More
- Cut Military Greenhouse Gas Emissions at COP26 August 31, 2021From WorldBeyondWar.org: “War and preparations for war are not just the pit into which trillions of dollars that could be used to prevent environmental damage are dumped, but also a major direct cause of that environmental damage. The U.S. military is one of the biggest polluters on earth. Since 2001, the U.S. military has emitted 1.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse ...Read More