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Eco-Justice Notes

A few eco-justice related items of note:

Did you read this article from CNN about the report of the Panel on Climate Change? The report highlights that of course, it is the world's poorest that will be most impacted by climate change. Most disturbing about the article though is that the document got to be edited by "government negotiators" who toned down anything that sounded too extreme. That sounds objective and accurate, right?

Earth Day is in a couple of weeks, and in the United Methodist Calendar, that means Festival of God's Creation Sunday is also in a couple weeks. A worship resource (and many other resources) from the Eco-Justice Network of the National Council of Churches can be found here, and a page from GBOD about Festival of God's Creation is here. You can read the resolution that created this God' Creation Sunday here.

If you are a Young Adult (22-40) interested in Eco-Justice, you can apply for the NCC's Eco-Justice Fellowship program. Applications are due Monday. The program is meant to train and support emerging eco-justice workers, and looks pretty cool. I talked with Adam Bray, who works in the NCC program (and was the coordinator of the Eco-Justice track at Ecumenical Advocacy Days), and he said that they are trying to select a more diverse group of young adults this year, especially those engaging in or hoping to engage in eco-justice work at the local church level.
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Comments

Andy B. said…
Side bar: where did you get your age range to classify young adults?
I thought being a YA ended at age 35 in the UMC?
12:54 PM
Beth Quick said…
The age I listed is that set by the fellowship program.
1:06 PM
DogBlogger said…
When they issued a call for speakers to give the young adult address at General Conference 2008, I learned I would be too old by then (they wanted applicants who would still be younger than 30 by the time GC arrived). Yet, I'm the young adult representative in my Annual Conference, which they say is okay because I'm not 35 yet. I find the discrepancy odd.
8:56 AM
Anonymous said…
Elizabeth,

What does the term "Eco-Justice" mean? It is used all over the place, but I can't figure out what the definition is. And, what exactly is an Eco-Justice worker, and what does he or she do?

Thanks,

Keith
12:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the post Beth. To answer Andy B's comment, being a YA does end at age 35 as defined by the UMC. The NCC, being comprised of many denominations and communions that all have different definitions of what age being a YA ends, takes the max age of them all. There is one denomination that defines YA as ending at 40. So, there ya have it :)
2:23 PM
Beth Quick said…
Keith - eco-justice is certainly a broad term, and people who are "eco-justice practitioners" are diverse no doubt, but generally, eco-justice is ecological concern with a theological basis. Particularly of focus is how *not* caring for the earth and earth's resources impacts unfairly particular parts of the world, people in particular economic classes, people of particular economic groups, etc...that's a quick answer, but the gist.
10:17 PM
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