Climate Action Team, Carbon Neutral Project, 1/31/23

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Meeting logistics: 1/31/23, 1pm,  In-person, at BUUF

Attending

  • John O’Connor – leader of the outdoor sanctuary
  • Tom Neal  – on the outdoor sanctuary team, master naturalist, as well as Racial Justice Ministry, care
  • Reverend Sara – minister of BUUF
  • Rachael Strong – administer/executive staff
  • Timothy Ellis – intern minister, experience at other congregations with climate work
  • Jim Bigelow – Chair of the Social Justice Council,  chair of the 11/22/22 carbon neutral kick off meeting, and the primary author of the 2023 Special Appeal: Imaging a Carbon Neutral World (Special Appeal Application, presentation (pdf))
  • John Warren  & Paula Warren (out sick) – carbon buddy, giving people a feeling of agency – John is an excellent researcher — has skills for presenting classes 
  • Carol Ogburn – outdoor sanctuary, loving the earth, was BUUF gardener last year.  Need to assess what we want our outdoor to be regarding climate change & our desert climate.  as the outdoor sanctuary stands it’s labor intensive and it’s still overwhelming — hours spent last year approaching 400, don’t have the volunteers to support the outdoor sanctuary as it stands now.
    • there is a special, designated funds for the outdoor sanctuary — will have to plan for how to  mesh with the carbon neutral project.

Discussion:

  • Why a project to make BUUF Carbon Neutral?
    • In the scale of climate actions from person to governmental, a project to make BUUF carbon neutral is the sum of numerous personal actions but still within personal control.
    • The self-reinforcing nature of global warming means we must act as soon as possible (for more on this please see What’s the “Doubling Time”for Climate Change?).
    • We need to make changes now because every change made now will avoid the magnifying effects of continuing inaction.
    • Interfaith Power & Light’s Cool Congregations program, CoolCongregations.org, suggests this iterative process to incrementally reduce our GHG emissions and achieve carbon neutral/net-zero:
      • taking a “before” snapshot of your carbon footprint,
      • finding ways to reduce,
      • educate your congregation,
      • taking an “after” snapshot
    • The Green Sanctuary 2030 Process has a 3 stage framework for action:
      • Stage 1 – Team Building and Congregational Education
        • create a Green Sanctuary team and charter, and
        • educate and engage your congregation around the Green Sanctuary process.
      • Stage 2 – Opportunity Assessment
        • enable the congregation to identify and describe opportunities and challenges to achieving :
          • Congregational Transformation
          • Mitigation
          • Adaptation & Resiliency
          • Climate Justice
      • Stage 3 – Action plan
        • The goal of this Action Plan is to chart your intended strategies in each of the four campaigns (Congregational Transformation, Mitigation, Adaptation & Resiliency, Climate Justice)
  • Is the project to make BUUF carbon neutral a new Climate Action Team or something different?
    • The BUUF Carbon Neutral Project, first introduced in The Social Justice Report, 9/13/22, has the goal of supporting the climate actions goals of Boise, Portland, Seattle, Spokane and Salt Lake City by 1) meeting the goals carbon reduction goals shown below, 2) educating the BUUF congregation about Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and their effects and 3) strengthening local climate commitments.
      • 2030 100% Clean electricity for the BUUF building
      • 2035 Carbon neutrality for BUUF’s building and grounds
      • 2050 Carbon neutrality of BUUF members and friends
    • Decision: The project to make BUUF Carbon Neutral is a new climate action project and therefore falls within mission and vision of the Climate Action Team.  
  • Elect Chair & Select a Group Name
    • Chair – Jim Bigelow
    • Name –  Climate Action Team, carbon neutral project
  • Meeting frequency
    • monthly
    • next meeting Feb. 21, 2023
  • Representative to Social Justice Council
    • Jim Bigelow
  • email list: buuf.climate-action-team@boiseuu.org
  • What is our 25 yr road map to get to carbon neutral by 2050?
    • Our road map will be an iterative process celebrating accomplishments and milestones as they are achieved
    • We will work to develop an initial plan this year and refine and improve it as we go along.
  • Funding
    • 2023 Special Appeal
      • Appeal request is $15,000
      • Social Justice Council has allocated $1,500 to the carbon neutral project
    • Chalice Lighters Grant from Cascadia Chalice Lighters
      • May 1 is the application deadline for large grants (typically $10,00 or more)
      • BUUF contact is Sue Philley
    • Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot Program grants
  • Projects
    • Look for impartial (not bound to a single point of view/expertise or selling a particular solution) expertise to evaluate what we are doing, i.e. GHG emissions, energy usage, and what opportunities are we missing.
      • John Warren will look for people/organizations to help us. Click here to see his parameters of the analysis we want.
      • The areas to be addressed:
        • Resource efficiency  of entire building ground
          • Energy audit – to produce a 25 year road map
            • electricity
            • natural gas
            • insulation & weatherization
        • water usage
        • human resources
        • carbon footprint
    • Sign up for Idaho Power’s Green Energy Program to met our 100% clean energy goal as soon as possible, while weighing the benefits of creating a BUUF energy source such as solar panels.
    • Investigate energy efficiency improvements to the building
    • Complete a BUUF Carbon Footprint
    • Outdoor sanctuary goal planning to make it easier to maintain it and improve its carbon capture.
    • Prepare to report at annual meeting on the work to make our initial plan to make BUUF carbon neutral.
    • Continue coordination with the Idaho Chapter Interfaith Power & Light (IPL)
      • Faith Action Climate Week (April 14 – 23)
      • Jim has committed to a poster presentation at Interfaith Climate Festival to be scheduled sometime during Faith Action Climate Week
    • Plan for a Fall 2023 climate workshop for education, action ideas and priorities.