Sharing Calls for Climate Action with State Senators
This spring, MNIPL volunteers and staff coordinated meetings with 10 Minnesota State Senators. Constituents of faith and conscience shared why they care about climate change and the urgency of passing critical climate legislation this session. We advocated for investing in clean electricity and transportation, making state buildings more energy-efficient and climate-resilient, and strengthening the state’s…
Celebrating our 2021 Climate Justice Congregations
We’re excited to honor 22 certified Climate Justice Congregations this spring! From Duluth to Rochester, these communities across Minnesota are demonstrating their commitment to living out their faith and values through effective, sustained climate action. MNIPL’s year-long climate justice certification program provides congregations with the focus, resources, and support needed to galvanize their community into…
MNIPL is in the Classroom
Did you know that MNIPL is in the classroom helping students at the University of Minnesota build the climate justice movement? Julia Nerbonne, Analyah Schlaeger Dos Santos, Whitney Terrill, and raj setharaju work with students in two classes: The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change (GCC 3031) and Environmental Justice (SUST 4004).…
UN Climate Conference in Glasgow
As I write this, I am still in Scotland trying to learn to drive on the “wrong: side of a highland mountain road and working to process the incredible experience of attending the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow. One of the major themes of this conference was “loss and damage”—the idea of taking responsibility for…
People vs Fossil Fuels: MNIPL in DC
During the week of October 11, 2021, hundreds of Indigenous and Native people, environmental and climate activists, and more than 150 people of faith converged in Washington DC for People vs Fossil Fuels. They joined in solidarity, and risked arrest, to build pressure on President Biden to stop fossil fuel projects and declare a climate…
Solar Illuminates Congregation’s Values
The pathway to climate action can be like ascending a mountain. Take for instance a solar array. The shiny, electricity-producing array gleams like a snow-capped peak on the horizon. But hiking the twists and turns can be arduous and much farther than you first thought. It takes a congregation really dedicated to its values to remain on…
Faith Communities Want Bold Federal Climate Action!
This winter and spring, in the middle of a global pandemic, 43 faith and spiritual communities virtually met with their Member of Congress to talk about the climate crisis! Nearly 500 people of faith around the state joined these meetings, building strong, public pressure for federal climate action. When we at MNIPL began organizing these…
Celebrating 2020 Climate Justice Congregations
Join us in celebrating MNIPL’s 2020 Climate Justice Congregations! Participants in this certificate program are committed to living out their values through effective and sustained action on climate justice. In 2020, each of these congregations developed a concrete climate action plan — and then the pandemic hit. In all kinds of ways, the teams responded…
MNIPL Signs Joint Statement Calling for Immediate End to “Operation Safety Net”
Since the police killing of Daunte Wright on Sunday, the community has gathered every day to cry out in rage and grief. We ache with the loss of a beloved young Black man, father, son, and brother. And how has our pain and our calls for justice been met? With tear gas, rubber bullets, flash…
Community Action Needed on Two Critical Climate Proposals Up for Vote
The Minnesota Legislative Session is nearing its conclusion, and a number of different climate related policy provisions are under consideration. These include updating the state’s carbon emissions goals for the first time in over a decade, funding for solar on schools, and expanding the state’s energy efficiency program, among many others. Below are two critical…