April News: Earth Day, Climate Leadership and the Silent Majority

It's Earth month, and the Trump administration carries on its assault on the climate. On April 8, a new executive order gave the coal industry a new life while simultaneously granting coal-fired plants a two year exemption from following federal requirements limiting toxic emissions. On April 9 work was halted on the National Climate Assessment, the most comprehensive source of information about how climate change affects the United States. On April 14, the administration minimized its own findings that CO2 in the atmosphere jumped up by a record amount in 2024. Meanwhile, the battle in court continues over the blocking of EPA grant money approved by Congress for climate initiatives, including money to Kalamazoo County and the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition for the Healthy Homes Energy Efficiency Program, who have not seen a penny of the funding awarded to them. 

In stark contrast, across the ocean we lost a climate leader. From Pope Francis's inaugural address in 2013 in which he urged global leaders to take the role of "protector" of the earth, to his 184 page encyclical letter on climate change in May 2015, to his more urgent letter in 2023, Francis was a consistent and strong voice on care for the earth and its people. In 2023 he wrote, "...I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. .....It is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons. We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc." 

Francis steadfastly reminded us that climate work is justice work. 

We are grateful for good leadership, but it is not enough -- the world needs us, a largely "silent majority," to join this fight. Numerous studies have pointed to the same conclusion: most people, in most countries, want stronger climate action. Newsrooms across the country are joining the 89 Percent Project, a media initiative to close the cap between public will and government action. They write, 

"What would it mean if this silent climate majority woke up – if its members came to understand just how many people, both in distant lands and in their own communities, think and feel like they do? How might this majority’s actions – as citizens, as consumers, as voters – change? If the current narrative in news and social media shifted from one of retreat and despair to one of self-confidence and common purpose, would people shift from being passive observers to active shapers of their shared future? If so, what kinds of climate action would they demand from their leaders?"  

In this newsletter, you'll read about what Hope for Creation is doing to be "active shapers" of the future. As always, we invite you to join us.

• You'll read about First Congregational's continued journey to install solar panels, and their invitation for you to join. Big steps like this seem insurmountable at first, but ultimately will be cost-saving.

• You'll read about our recent collaboration with Allen Chapel AME Church -- installing rain barrels to provide water for their garden. Small sustainability projects such as this one lead to partnership, conversation and community.

• You'll see that we are offering a space to share grief and join with others who are experiencing similar feelings. Please join this gathering if you are feeling despair or discouragement around the climate crisis. 

• You'll find an action opportunity to fold origami fish and raise awareness about Line 5, the oil pipeline that threatens our Great Lakes.

• You'll be invited to continue resisting the assault on the climate and democracy on May 3 in Kalamazoo. 

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The future is made up of a series of small steps that we take today. Author and visionary Octavia Butler says, "We don't have to wait for anything at all. What we have to do is start."