Climate Justice
On January 26, Dr. Jesse Bell, Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate and Health at UNMC will give a presentation about the effects of climate change on our health. The presentation will begin around 11 a.m. right after the conclusion of the January 26 church service and will be in the chapel which is inside the church just to the west of the main sanctuary. Dr. Bell is a recognized expert on the relationship between climate change and health. Members of the public are welcome to attend
The Saint Paul Climate Justice Team is responsible for this portion of the website. Below you will find a description of Saint Paul’s food composting efforts and the reasons for that. That is followed by a report about Saint Paul’s three-year tree planting project in South Central Lincoln. A listing of climate-related bills in the 2025 session of the Nebraska Legislature is in the next section; that will be kept current as the legislative session progresses.
In early 2024, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy completed and submitted to EPA a Priority Climate Action Plan for the state. A brief description of that plan and a link to the plan itself is available under the heading “The Priority Climate Action Plan for the State of Nebraska.” In July, the EPA awarded $307 million to the Department to fund implementation of that plan. More details about how that money is to be used are described in the segment below about the plan.
Finally, this portion of the website has a brief description of what is contained in the Inflation Reduction Act related to climate change. A link in that section will take you to a more detailed description of the act and a listing of the many resources that are available to individuals and houses of worship to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Composting at Saint Paul
For a few months we have been experimenting with composting at Saint Paul. Thank you, Saint Paul members and friends for helping to make that experiment work. We have learned two things so far. First, we need to do a much better job explaining why composting is important and second, we need to make it easier to understand at any given event what is compostable, what is recyclable and what is to be placed in trash. This is our initial attempt to address both those needs.
Why do we compost food and other organic materials at Saint Paul?
Placing food and other organic materials in with regular trash has two very negative impacts: (1) it adds bulk to the landfill that will shorten the life of that facility, and (2) more importantly, as food waste and other organics decay in a landfill, they produce methane gas. Methane is a greenhouse gas that does not stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide (CO2) but while it does last, it is 28 to 34 times as potent as (CO2) in trapping heat.
What can we compost at Saint Paul?
We can compost food waste, napkins and paper towels, coffee grounds, compostable plates cups, greasy cardboard and other organic material. In the future we will provide clear signage at each specific event where composting is to be done. In some cases that will be to compost just left-over food and napkins, but in others it may include plates and/or cups.
What happens to the food and other organic material that is collected at Saint Paul?
The light green bags of compostable material that are collected at Saint Paul are placed in a separate bin in the alley next to our trash and recyclable receptacles. The contents of that bin are picked up weekly by Waste to Energy, a division of Uribe Refuse Services, the church’s regular refuse hauler. According to Uribe’s website, it has collected and kept out of the landfill from all the participating institutions and residences that compost over 1,000 tons (that is 2 million pounds) of organic waste. Uribe has a long-term goal of collecting a total of 100 tons per day. Over 25 years, the goal is to collect and keep out of the landfill enough organic waste to reduce local greenhouse emissions by 430,000 metric tons.
What happens to the compostable material after Uribe collects it?
It is important to note that none of it finds its way to the landfill. It is all delivered to Prairieland Dairy in Firth, which mixes that organic material with dairy manure. Then, through a 12 to 16 week process at the dairy, it is turned into odorless, natural fertilizer for use in agriculture, landscaping and gardening. Uribe’s agreement with Prairieland allows Uribe’s customers to utilize that waste-to-fertilizer product for their own purposes.
Bottom line–composting is a win, win for those involved and for the environment!
God’s Tree-mendous Creation
Thank you Saint Paul!
On a gorgeous, sun-filled Fall Sunday in October 2022, over 30 members of our Saint Paul family gathered to celebrate and plant trees around the Peach Park neighborhood. The event, sponsored by SPUMC’s Climate Justice Team was held following morning church services, where planters and trees were blessed. Sack lunches were provided by the Near South Neighborhood Association, and master tree planter, Mark Wilson, provided instruction to the Discovery Kids (and adults) on the best planting methods for long-term tree success… then the SPUMC teams went to work, planting the first 10 of 37 high-quality trees provided by Saint Paul Church. The balance of the trees were planted by Great Plains Nursery the following Monday. Most gratifying were the connections made with neighbors, who asked to water and care for their tree, and they wanted to know a little more about SPUMC. Something more than simply tree roots may have been planted.
The tree planting effort continued in the falls of 2023 and 2024 when a total of twenty more trees were planted in the same general neighborhood in south central Lincoln. Those new trees were provided free by the Nebraska Forest Service and were planted by members of the congregation with help again from the Great Plains nursery. Most of the total of the 57 trees planted thus far are being watered by members of the congregation.
Thanks go out to the City of Lincoln, the Nebraska Forestry Service, the State Arboretum, the Near South Neighborhood Association, and most of all… our Saint Paul family who provided both monetary support and labor for this project. You are a blessing! Our last task, no small one, is to keep those trees alive and well. If you are interested in adopting a tree to provide financial or labor support of watering, please contact the church at 402-477-6951, or our tree watering coordinator, Reed Olson, at reedolson87@gmail.com.
Additional Climate Justice Opportunities
The 2025 session of the Nebraska Legislature began on January 8. It will be a 90 day session and will continue until early June. Bill introductions take place in the first 10 legislative days. As climate-related bills are introduced they will be summarized here; hearing dates and changes in the status of those bills will be added as they become available. Copies of the complete bills and any amendments to them as well as much additional information about the Nebraska Unicameral can be found on the legislature’s website: nebraskalegislature.gov.
LB8: Introduced by Senator Dungan: Last year the legislature provided for tax credits for producers of sustainable aviation fuel but specified that those credits would be of the nonrefundable type and that there was a five year limit on how long those credits could be claimed. This bill would change those credits to the refundable type (i.e., they are to be subtracted from the tax owed, even if the amount of the credit is greater than the amount owed). The bill would also eliminate the five year limit on those credits. Referred to the Revenue Committee; Hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22.
LB20: Introduced by Senator John Cavanaugh: This bill would provide that a public utility could not deny an agricultural user who has a renewable energy source from also getting service from that utility as long as the ag user follows the requirements of that local public utility. Referred to the Natural Resources Committee; Hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22.
LB35: Introduced by Senator Brandt: This bill would make a clarifying amendment to legislation passed last year about privately developed renewable energy generation facilities. It should not have any effect related to climate change, but is included here only because it is worth watching in case it becomes the vehicle for more significant changes. Referred to the Natural Resources Committee; Hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22.
LB23: Introduced by Senator John Cavanaugh: This bill would allow the Department of Economic Development to develop a program to provide grants to non-profit organizations to establish bike-sharing programs. The Legislature’s intent would be that $250,000 be appropriated for the department to establish the program. Referred to the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.
LB121: Introduced by Senators Hardin and Lippincott: This bill would prohibit “Land disposal of solar panels, wind turbine blades and the component parts of solar panels and wind turbine blades.” Referred to the Natural Resources Committee.
LB137: Introduced by Senator Dungan: This bill would prohibit HOAs and similar organizations from prohibiting or restricting the installation or use of solar energy systems or of pollinator gardens and would also prohibit the imposition of any fee by any such entity related to the installation or use of such systems or gardens. Referred to the Judiciary Committee.
LB163: Introduced by Senator Spivey: This bill would provide for the creation of the Office of Climate Action within the Department of Environment and Energy; it’s purposes would include serving as the point of contact to assist with policies and programs dealing with climate action. The new office would be required to prepare a climate action plan for the state by July 1, 2026. It would also be required to annually prepare a report that details (1) how any legislation adopted the previous year supports, hinders or affects climate action; (2) the extent of federal funding secured for climate action; (3) the Office’s collaboration with stakeholders, political subdivisions and organizations; (4) a synopsis of local climate action plans and programs; and (5) any recommendations for additional climate action through investment or activities. Referred to the Natural Resources Committee.
LB207: Introduced by Senator von Gillern: Current law imposes an additional fee of $150 for registration of any alternative fuel vehicle except motorcycles and plug in hybrids for which the fee is $75. This bill would increase the fee to $450 for commercially registered alternative fuel vehicles with a gross weight of more than 7,500 pounds. Referred to the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.
LB317: Introduced by Senator Brandt: This 393 section 446 page bill would merge the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources into the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy to create a new Department of Water, Energy and Environment. The Director of NDEE would become the director of the new department and the Director of DNR would become the Chief Water Officer within the new department. The bill as introduced would not change the responsibilities of either department relating to climate change. It will, however, be monitored to watch for any changes in that regard. If adopted, it would take effect on July 1, 2025. Not yet referred.
LB344: Introduced by Senator Brandt: This bill would require that, beginning on January 1, 2026, any new or expanded commercial or industrial user being provided water by a municipality in excess of 25 million gallons annually shall be subject to the integrated management plan of the applicable natural resources district and shall make annual reports of water usage to that NRD. Also, the applicable NRD could require any municipality within either a fully appropriated or over appropriated area to file annual water usage and consumption reports. Not yet referred.
LB346: Introduced at the request of the Governor: This bill would eliminate, effective July 1, 2026, dozens of state boards, commissions and advisory committees. Among those would be the state Climate Assessment Response Committee that was created in 1992. The purpose of that committee, which is made up of state agencies and affected stakeholders, is to analyze applicable data and coordinate the response to “periods of drought or other severe climate situations.” The extent to which that committee has been active in recent years is unclear. Referred to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
LB349: Introduced by Senator Prokop: This bill would add “electric energy storage resources” to the current definition of “privately developed renewable energy generation facilities” and would subject those storage resources with a capacity of 700 volts or more to review by the Power Review Board and to the same pre-construction requirements as other proposed renewable energy facilities with that same or greater capacity. Not yet referred.
On March 1, 2024 the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy submitted a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) for the State of Nebraska to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NDEE developed the plan using a $3 million grant from funds provided by the federal Inflation Reduction Act. The plan was completed after a number of outreach meetings, one of which was in Lincoln. As noted by NDEE director Jim Macy, the plan “focuses on voluntary, incentive-based programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all economic sectors while promoting environmental stewardship and economic growth throughout the state, including low-income and disadvantaged communities.” Many of the incentives proposed by the PCAP are intended to reduce GHGs resulting from agricultural activities which are calculated to produce 42% of the GHGs attributable to Nebraska, but incentives are also planned for non-agricultural purposes. The plan as submitted is reviewable at http://dee.ne.gov/ndeqprog.nsf/onweb/cprg, If the browser you first use blocks the download as being insecure, try another browser. The plan is accessible using Mozilla Firefox.
In July 2024, the EPA awarded the department with a grant of $307 million to be used to implement the plan submitted in March. According to the July 23 Lincoln Journal Star, the funds will be used to “boost ‘climate-smart’ agriculture and reduce agricultural waste from livestock. The grant also will fund projects to improve energy efficiency in commercial and industrial facilities and low-income households, as well as deploy solar panels and electrify irrigation wells.”
NDEE is currently working on the second phase of the plan, which will be labeled a Comprehensive Action Plan (CAP) to develop short-term and long-term greenhouse gas reduction measures across all sectors of the economy. That plan is due to be completed by December of this year. It will also analyze workforce impacts arising from the proposed actions and associated training needs.
- 25 Steps to Lower CO2 Emissions – The organization called Cool Congregations, the same organization that recognized Saint Paul both nationally and at the state level for our God’s Tree-mendous Tree Project, has produced a very informative 2-page list of 25 steps costing less than $25 that we can take to lower our CO2 emissions.
- Tax Credits – Another very informative product is produced by the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. It lists in brief the several tax credits and discounts available specifically to homeowners and renters as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Effects of Climate Change on Human Health—The Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World Herald had identical articles on Sunday, February 19, 2023 about the adverse, but too often overlooked, effects of climate change on human health. The following link is to the Journal Star article. https://journalstar.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health-matters/health-matters-climate-change-already-impacting-nebraskans-health/article_2b99e666-ab83-5d77-b4c2-d38e9fc593ac.html
- Decoding the Weather Machine – A documentary outlining what is happening scientifically to our planet because of the addition of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere and what options exist for reducing the increases in global warming.
- SojoAction Christians and Climate Q&A – This resource aims to demystify the topic of climate change and clarify the call to take action for climate justice. Designed for Christians of all backgrounds, it addresses the most common questions and concerns we hear about the climate crisis and provides clear steps for action.
- “Earthrise” by Amanda Gorman – A poem recited by National Youth Poet Laureate.
- Climate Change Books
The following are recommended as sources of information that will further explain climate change and its impacts:- David Attenborough’s book entitled “A Life on our Planet” was the subject of a class led by David Lux in 2023. In that book the author testifies to how rapidly and dramatically he has seen life on our planet change in the more than 90 years of his lifetime. He also offers ideas for how we could reverse those changes.
- The book serving as the basis for a class led this year by David Lux is entitled “Not Too Late” by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua. It is subtitled “Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility.” That subtitle sums up the message of the book which contains essays by a number of authors about how we need to have hope that climate change can be reduced and how we need to turn that hope into action.
- Bill Gates book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” not only describes the nature and extent of the climate challenge ahead of us, but also the technological obstacles that must be overcome to meet those challenges.
- “The Future We Choose” by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac describes what we can expect in the future (2050) if we alternatively do or do not do anything to stop emitting greenhouse gases.
- A short 112 page book that includes speeches by Greta Thunberg, the remarkable Swedish teenager who has gained worldwide acclaim for her advocacy for climate change action is titled “No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.”
- A slightly different twist on the environmental challenges ahead can be found in Doug Tallamy’s book “Nature’s Best Hope, A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Backyard.” In that book the author explains how important insects and plants, especially the native plants that support the insects, are essential to the continued existence of our ecosystems.
- Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an internationally recognized climate scientist, is the author of a book entitled “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.” In that book Dr. Hayhoe explains how we can more easily start and have conversations with others about climate change.
- The IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) produces a new report each year. The 2023 report released in March emphasizes the need for urgent climate action and describes how the most vulnerable global populations are the most at risk from current and increasing impacts of climate change. It also suggests that global resources are sufficient to prevent climate change catastrophes if the political will is present. Both a four-page press release about the new report and the report’s summary for policymakers can be found by searching for IPCC 2023 report.
- For information on the sources and proportions of greenhouses gases in our atmosphere, take a look at: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions
- To calculate your own carbon footprint and see which of your activities are causing the most emissions, do the fun activity found at: https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator.
- To learn about emissions globally, by type of gas being emitted, by economic sector and by country, see: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data.
- Arguments are still being made about whether electric vehicles result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions when their manufacture and disposal are also considered. For an excellent article about how much lower emissions are with an EV, read: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/07/electric-cars-have-much-lower-life-cycle-emissions-new-study-confirms/ An even more recent analysis of the greenhouse gas emission differences between fossil fueled and electric vehicles can be found at https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/driving-cleaner
- A blog about plastic bags and the damage they cause can be seen at: https://blog.padi.com/2017/03/27/7-facts-plastic-bags-will-change-way-use/.
- An article about divestment in fossil fuels in the New Yorker magazine can be found at: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-powerful-new-financial-argument-for-fossil-fuel-divestment.
- Composting of food waste and other organic materials is another way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Lincoln’s website has several items of interest about composting including how to do it ourselves and what is available commercially in that regard. It can be easily accessed by going to: https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/home and by searching for “compost.” The UNL Extension Service also has made a lot of helpful information about composting available at: https://extension.unl.edu and by searching for “compost” there as well.
Climate Change Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
In 2022, Congress adopted, and President Biden signed, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The act has provisions relating to many subjects, but those intended to address climate change are the most extensive. According to a summary of the act, it will put the U.S. on a path to a roughly 40% emissions reduction by 2030 and represents the single biggest climate investments in U.S. history, by far. An abbreviated summary of the claimed benefits of the act is found below. A more detailed summary can be found at: https://earthjustice.org/brief/2022/what-the-inflation-reduction-act-means-for-climate
An abbreviated summary of the claimed benefits of the act.
- Lowers energy costs for Americans through policies that will lower prices at the pump and on electricity bills, help consumers afford technologies that will lower emissions and energy prices, and reduce costs that would otherwise be passed on to them.
- Increases American energy security through policies to support energy reliability and cleaner production coupled with historic investments in American clean energy manufacturing to lessen our reliance on China, ensuring the transition to a clean economy creates millions of American manufacturing jobs, and is powered by American-made clean technologies.
- Invests in decarbonizing all sectors of the economy through targeted federal support of innovative climate solutions.
- Focuses investments into disadvantaged communities to ensure that communities that are too-often left behind will share in the benefits of the transition to a clean economy.
- Supports resilient rural communities by investing in farmers and forestland owners to be part of growing climate solutions, and by ensuring rural communities are able to better adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
Saint Paul Justice & Mercy Team FAQ
- Presence at the state capital for justice gatherings on topics such as immigration and racial injustice
- Representation on community partnership boards working for justice
- Speakers, classes and forums to educate on justice issues
- Preaching justice
- SP supports (financially and through participation) the Interfaith Peacemaking Coalition yearly workshop.
- We have placed yard signs in member’s homes which address justice issues to let community know we are sharing God’s Love for all in acts of justice.
We have gained new members through our efforts at justice as people have seen our witness with PRIDE festival and our rainbow banners outside the church. Each have told stories of their previous exile from churches due to homophobic or shame-based theology. They have found new life and new connection to God through the welcoming of Saint Paul UMC.
- Saint Paul has undergone a new visioning process with the guidance of the Unstuck Church Group. One of the areas of our focus for growth is in Mercy and Justice. We have formed a strategic planning team which will be leading the congregation into greater justice-centered mission practices.
- We will begin with a foundation of deepening our own understanding of lovingkindness. All justice work must be grounded in love (open hearts).
- Next we will educate ourselves and the congregation around justice and the biblical mandate (open minds).
- Finally, we will go forward into the world beyond our doors to do acts of justice (open doors).
Our strategic planning team has identified three areas for our focus: racial justice, ecological justice, and health care. Each of these areas will be resourced and ministry teams will be formed to engage the congregation in love, education and action. We will schedule our efforts strategically by launching one at a time and building support before adding the next.
