Restoring the Lower Snake River is the cornerstone of a regional salmon recovery strategy. By taking action during the 2023 legislative session, WA State can help lead this holistic effort which has the potential for far reaching impacts including the recovery of endangered salmon and steelhead, investment in transportation, agriculture, and clean energy infrastructure.
“The GTN Xpress fracked gas pipeline expansion goes against our values and threatens vulnerable communities and the environment. Faith communities across Washington are committed to caring for our neighbors, and we thank Governor Inslee for speaking out to FERC against GTN Xpress, joining nearly 300 Washington faith leaders who are also asking FERC to deny the project." - Rev. AC Churchill, Executive Director of Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light
The Inlander, a community magazine from Spokane published an article on March 2, 2023 about the role that environmental and faith groups have played in the campaign to stop GTN XPress pipeline expansion. Our operations manager, Maddie Smith and board member Naghmana Sherazi are quoted in this article.
Calling all faith leaders in ID, OR, and WA! The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will decide to approve or deny the GTN fracked gas pipeline expansion as soon as March 16. In partnership with our friends at Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light, we're collecting signatures of faith leaders in ID, WA, and OR on a letter asking FERC to protect our communities and deny the pipeline expansion.
We've hit the ground running in 2023 when it comes to getting out into the community and having more in-person points of engagement! So far in 2023 we've enjoyed speaking with faith communities in Spokane, Tacoma, Des Moines, Kirkland, and Olympia.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Port Angeles, WA is one of 18 national runners up in Interfaith Power & Light’s 2023 Cool Congregations Challenge, an annual award for leadership and sustainability! The $500 reward for the Cool Planner category went to Holy Trinity for their plan to upgrade their heating and cooling system to a low-emissions heat pump, saving 6 tons of carbon emissions, and for their innovative hands-on education showing congregants how to reduce their energy use at home.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL joined our partners in the Stop GTN Xpress coalition to hold a "People's Hearing" to call on FERC to deny this dangerous gas pipeline capacity expansion proposal. Our board member Naghmana Sherazi spoke about this project's moral implications and why faith communities in Spokane County are concerned about more gas running through their backyards.
By John McCallum, Spokane Favs Capacity expansion of a natural gas pipeline running under southeast Spokane Valley and western and northwest Liberty Lake will be the subject of a “People’s Hearing” on Monday evening, Feb. 13. Photo credit: John McCallum, Spokane Favs
By Catherine Ferguson SNJM The Fig Tree, Feb 2023 At the 2023 Eastern Washington Legislative Conference on Jan. 21, legislative advocates from three faith-based organizations shared insights on bills that address issues of concern to faith communities during the Washington State Legislature, which is a long session this year running from Jan. 9 to April 23. Many bills being proposed in the legislature have support from the organizations.
by Mary Stamp from The Fig Tree The five Catholic bishops of Washington State developed and signed, "Caring for Creation and the Common Good in the Lower Snake River Region," this fall, reported Sr. Jessica Zimmerle, advocacy director at Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light (WAIPL)—who supports this project with the intertribal nonprofit Se'Si'Le—and the Washington State Catholic Conference. Photo credit: Bureau of Land Management
SeaPort Sound Terminal, a bulk oil and fuel terminal on the Tacoma Tideflats, originally filed for a permit in 2020 to expand their tank storage capacity by 11%. While the city initially indicated that SeaPort Sound would not be required to do an environmental impact statement (EIS) for their project, the community (including many people of faith) spoke up and asked them to study the impacts of the proposal. Photo Credit: Manda Hansen, Unsplash.
Read a message from Earth Ministry/WAIPL's Executive Director Rev. AC Churchill about gratitude and supporting our sacred environmental justice work. We truly can't do this without you!
This fall, all five Catholic bishops of Washington State released a statement proclaiming the need to care for creation and recognize Native Nations as the principal dialogue partners when addressing the endangered salmon population of the Lower Snake River. This statement is especially significant as it is the bishops’ first on Inland Northwest river stewardship in the last 20 years!
FERC Downplays Concerns of States, Tribes, and Community Groups in Final Environmental Review. Photo credit: Rogue Climate, 2022
Earth Ministry/WAIPL is happy to be co-sponsoring the Eastern WA Legislative Conference in Spokane again this winter!
