UU@UN’s Spring Seminar

Are you passionate about food justice, global justice and climate justice? Next year’s seminar will take place all online April 9-11, 2021, and builds off of this year’s climate justice theme to focus on the connections between food and climate justice. I really enjoyed working on this year’s spring seminar as part of the Trajectory […]

One of the ways Unitarian Universalist congregations foster a free and responsible search for truth and meaning (one of our UU principles) is to engage as a community in congregation-wide book reads, establish book libraries in the congregation, or reflect on books together as part of small group ministry or covenant groups.

The below books are ones that are particularly good in this context, inspiring deep reflection, learning, and action on environmental justice topics. Scroll to the bottom of the page for curated book lists on particular topics.

Top Books for Congregational Reads

Justice on Earth – People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment, edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom – (Skinner House Books, 2018).

At a time when racial justice, environmental justice, and economic justice are seen as issues competing for time, attention, and resources, Justice on Earth explores the ways in which the three are intertwined. Those on the margins are invariably those most affected by climate disaster and environmental toxins. The book asks us to recognize that our faith calls us to long-haul work for justice for our human kin, for the Earth, and for all life. It invites us to look at our current challenges through a variety of different perspectives, offers tools to equip us for sustained engagement, and proposes multiple pathways for follow-up action.

  • Review – UUMFE, Aly Tharp
  • Episode – Church of the Larger Fellowship

Discussion Guide. discussion guide for Justice on Earth (PDF, 34 pages) offers Unitarian Universalist congregations, groups, and individuals a single 90-minute session and a more in-depth, three-session series. Optional slides (PowerPoint) allow groups to project the discussion and reflection questions rather than write and display them on newsprint or a chalkboard.

 

What We’re Fighting for Now Is Each Other: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Climate Justice – Wes Stephenson (Beacon Press, 2015)

An urgent, on-the-ground look at some of the “new American radicals” who have laid everything on the line to build a stronger climate justice movement. The science is clear: catastrophic climate change, by any humane definition, is upon us. At the same time, the fossil-fuel industry has doubled down, economically and politically, on business as usual. We face an unprecedented situation—a radical situation. As an individual of conscience, how will you respond?

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate – Naomi Klein (Simon & Schuster, 2014)

From the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core “free market” ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems. In short, either we embrace radical change ourselves or radical changes will be visited upon our physical world. The status quo is no longer an option.

Coming of Age at the End of Nature: A Generation Faces Living on a Changed Planet – Julie Dunlap and Susan Cohen, editors (Trinity University Press, 2016)

This powerful anthology gathers the passionate voices of young writers who have grown up in an environmentally damaged and compromised world. Each contributor has come of age since Bill McKibben foretold the doom of humanity’s ancient relationship with a pristine earth in his prescient 1988 warning of climate change, The End of Nature.

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The Big Melt: Coming of Age in a Time of Changing Climates – Ned Tillman (South Branch Press, 2018)

The Big Melt engages, informs, and challenges readers of all ages to consider a variety of perspectives on what is rapidly becoming the challenge of the century: Now that our climate is changing, what do we do? This work of contemporary fiction, with a touch of fantasy and hope, will inspire you to care a little more about what might occur in your town in the not-too-distant future.


Decolonizing Nature: Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology – T.J. Demos (Sternberg Press, 2016)

Art historian and culture critic T.J. Demos brings together contemporary new theoretical directions in political ecology and philosophies of the “post-Natural condition” with contemporary eco-activist and art movements from around the world. Drawing from Indigenous traditions that are very old and scientific thinking that is very new, the book is a guide to emerging new visions—and visualizations—of the relationships between humans and the Earth.

Great Tide Rising: Towards Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change – Kathleen Dean Moore (Counterpoint Press, 2016)

Philosopher and nature essayist Kathleen Dean Moore takes on the questions: Why is it wrong to wreck the world? What is our obligation to the future? What is the transformative power of moral resolve? How can clear thinking stand against the lies and illogic that batter the chances for positive change? And always this: What stories and ideas will lift people who deeply care, inspiring them to move forward with clarity and moral courage?

Ecological Governance: Toward a New Social Contract with the Earth – Bruce Jennings (West Virginia University Press Center for Humans and Nature, 2016)

Bruce Jennings argues that both technological innovation and a transformation of values will be needed in a transition to a post-fossil carbon world. He explores the pathway from a social contract of consumption to a social contract of trusteeship through new modes of freedom, justice, solidarity, and ecological democratic governance.

When God Isn’t Green: A World-Wide Journey to Places Where Religious Practice and Environmentalism Collide – Jay Wexler (Beacon Press, 2016)

In a lively, round-the-world trip, law professor and humorist Jay Wexler explores the intersection of religion and the environment. He travels the globe in order to understand the complexity of these problems and learn how society can best address them. He feasts on whale blubber in northern Alaska, bumps along in the back of a battered jeep in Guatemala, clambers down the crowded beaches of Mumbai, and learns how to pluck a dead eagle in Colorado, all to answer the question, “Can religious practice and environmental protection coexist?”


Drawdown – Paul Hawken, editor (Penguin Books, 2017; New York Times bestseller)

The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world. “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” (David Roberts, Vox)


Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet – Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope (St. Martin’s Press, 2017; New York Times Best Seller)

From Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club Carl Pope comes a manifesto on how the benefits of taking action on climate change are concrete, immediate, and immense. They explore climate change solutions that will make the world healthier and more prosperous, aiming to begin a new type of conversation on the issue that will spur bolder action by cities, businesses, and citizens—and even, someday, by Washington.


Cool Cities: Urban Sovereignty and the Fix for Global Warming – Benjamin R. Barber (Yale University Press, 2017)

A follow-up to his earlier book, If Mayors Ruled the World, Barber’s proposals for transnational governance of climate change have taken on a new importance and urgency now that the U.S. national government is under the control of Donald Trump and a Republican Congress. Responsible action now falls to other levels of government and to the private sector. Acting in concert, cities can have global leverage.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Elizabeth Kolbert (Henry Holt and Co., 2014; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize; New York Times Book Review’s 10 best books of the year; New York Times best seller; National Book Critics Circle Award)

A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes. Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.


The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World – Jeff Goodell (Little, Brown and Company, 2017; New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017; Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2017; Booklist Top 10 Science Books of 2017) 

“An immersive, mildly gonzo and depressingly well-timed book about the drenching effects of global warming, and a powerful reminder that we can bury our heads in the sand about climate change for only so long before the sand itself disappears.” (Jennifer Senior, New York Times)


Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life – Edward O. Wilson (W.W. Norton, 2017)

In his most urgent book to date, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and world-renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson states that in order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet.


The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions – Peter Brannen (Ecco/Harper Collins, 2017)

As new research suggests that climate change played a major role in the most extreme catastrophes in the planet’s history, award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen takes us on a wild ride through the planet’s five mass extinctions and, in the process, offers us a glimpse of our increasingly dangerous future.

Wildness: Relations of People and Place – Gavin Van Horn and John Hausdoerffer, co-editors (University of Chicago Press, 2017)

Published in association with the Center for Humans and Nature, this collection of essays explores how people can become attuned to the wild community of life and also contribute to the well-being of the wild places in which we live, work, and play. With this book, we gain insight into what wildness is and could be, as well as how it might be recovered in our lives—and with it, how we might unearth a more profound, wilder understanding of what it means to be human.


The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative – Florence Williams (W.W. Norton & Company, 2017)

For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. Delving into new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships.


The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World – Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Books, 2016)

Imagine that trees talk to each other, care for their children, as well as care for the sick and elderly. Imagine that trees can scream in pain and mourn their dead. Then read The Hidden Life of Trees to ground your imagination in reality. You will never look at trees the same way again.


Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene – Clive Hamilton (Allen & Unwin Book Publishers, 2017)

Humans have become so powerful that we are disrupting the functioning of the Earth, to the point where scientists now consider we have entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Clive Hamilton argues this forces us to rethink what kind of creature we humans are, and to acknowledge the power we still have to change the world for good.


Arts of Living on A Damaged Planet: Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene – Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Heather Ann Swanson, Nils Bubandt, Elaine Gan, co-editors (University of Minnesota Press, 2017)

This graphically and intellectually innovative book offers creative tools for living in a more-than-human Anthropocene. One half is devoted to landscapes injured by humans in the modern age (Ghosts of the Anthropocene) and the other is devoted to essays on interspecies and intraspecies entanglements (Monsters of the Anthropocene).


Fracture: Essay Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America – Stefanie Brook Trout and Taylor Brorby, authors/editors (Ice Cube Press, 2016)

More than fifty writers explore the complexities of fracking through first-hand experience, investigative journalism, story telling, and verse—exposing fracking’s effects on local communities as well as its global impacts.



The Age of Sustainable Development – Jeffrey D. Sachs (Columbia University Press, 2015)

Sachs offers readers, students, activists, environmentalists, and policy makers the tools, metrics, and practical pathways they need to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Far more than a rhetorical exercise, this book is designed to inform, inspire, and spur action.

Recommended Books Lists on Environmental Topics

In addition to the books above, UUMFE has curated book lists on particular environmental topics to support you in expanding your knowledge.

Beacon Press

UU Ministry for Earth is an affiliate of Beacon Press. When you shop for Beacon Press books, enter the code UUMFE on the checkout screen to receive a 20% discount plus free shipping. In addition, 4% of your order will be contributed to UUMFE! Beacon Press has a powerful collection of books on environmental topics; several are included in the list above. Check out all environment and conservation books from Beacon Press.


The generosity of individual donors and members make the work of UU Ministry for Earth possible. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue this important endeavor.

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UU Ministry for Earth is grounded in environmental justice, a movement and a framework that arose in the 1970s and 1980s in response to the reality that environmental injustices disproportionately affect communities of color and poor communities.

Environmental justice seeks to center the experiences and leadership of those on the front-lines of environmental injustice and climate change, which calls us to deep awareness about the intersections of race, class, gender, ability, age, and climate. The crisis we are facing as a species is immense, and thus the solutions we work for must be bold and prophetic.

Inspiration and Grounding

UUMFE grounds itself in and draws inspiration from the following sources:

  • Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing: six principles affirmed by a gathering of people of color and white allies as essential for environmental justice organizing
  • Principles of Environmental Justice (PDF): a defining document of the environmental justice movement, crafted by delegates to the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit
  • EJ Principles of Working Together (PDF) — Principles of working together adopted at the Second People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 2002.
  • Bali Principles of Climate Justice: a set of principles put forward by an international coalition of groups in preparation for the 2002 Earth Summit in Bali to redefine climate change from a human rights and environmental justice perspective
  • The Earth Charter: The Earth Charter is an ethical framework for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It is a product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross-cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values.
  • Principles of Earth Democracy: ten principles of justice, sustainability, and peace promoted by Vandana Shiva’s concept of “Earth Democracy”
  • Faith Principles on Climate Change (PDF): a 2007 document crafted by the National Council of Churches in partnership with an interfaith coalition, endorsed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and signed by thousands of faith leaders

Intro Resources on Environmental Justice

The following are some of UUMFE’s top sources that provide an introduction to the framework of environmental justice:

Resources for Engaging More Deeply

  • Environmental Justice Practitioner’s Network Webinar Recordings: Webinars organized and hosted by Karen Brammer (Green Sanctuary Program Director) and Aly Tharp (UUMFE Programs Director) provide an opportunity for UU environmental justice practitioners to engage in reflection and education, deepen their faith grounding for environmental justice, and build their skills.
  • Our Place in the Web of Life: a curriculum for UU congregations and teams that offers an introduction to environmental justice, explores the racial, economic, and environmental impact of the congregation, and creates an action plan for deeper accountability
  • Resources for Organizing & Taking Action: tools to support effective, impactful, and spiritually robust organizing and action, grounded in environmental justice and the needs of front-lines communities
  • An extensive collection of additional resources on environmental justice from Energy Justice Network
  • UUA Green Sanctuary Program: For congregational Action. Green Sanctuary provides structure, leadership and support, in broad collaboration, for the UU faith community to engage in an ambitious environmental and climate justice movement that seeks to live fully our seventh and eighth principles and achieve our vision of a sustainable and just world for all.

UU Ministry for Earth is your go-to source for actions, tools, stories, and connection to the global environmental justice movement. Explore the major issue areas UUMFE focuses on, using a racial and economic justice-informed framework of environmental justice.


Climate Change

Photo by Peter Bowden. Image shows a large, interfaith gathering in resistance to the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline.
Photo by Peter Bowden. Image shows a large, interfaith gathering in resistance to the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline.

There’s no denying that climate change is happening, and is human-caused. There’s also no denying that those on the front-lines of the climate crisis are among those who have contributed least to creating the problem, such as island nations, Indigenous peoples, and those who directly depend on the land for sustenance.

Top links:

Recommended sources for action:

Recommended sources for climate change info:

ALL CLIMATE CHANGE POSTS

Ecology & Rights of Nature


Ecosystems are communities of interacting living beings and natural systems, and the Rights of Nature is a framework for respecting the rights of “all beings to the freedom they require to realize their full potential in the larger web of existence.” This calls us to work for ecosystem conservation and restoration, biodiversity, clean air and water, and the rights of animals.

Top Links:

  • World Wildlife Fund 2016 Living Planet Report: global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58% between 1970 and 2012. This report details these findings, and actions needed to preserve & restore biodiversity.
  • What is “Rights of Nature”?: a great summary of the Rights of Nature framework with links to additional resources, from the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, a global network of organizations and individuals committed to supporting legal systems that recognize, respect, and enforce Rights of Nature

Recommended sources for info and action:

ALL ECOLOGY & RIGHTS OF NATURE POSTS

Food Justice


Food justice involves ensuring that all people have access to nutritious food, that those who work in the food industry are free from exploitation and earn a living wage, and that food is grown, sourced, and consumed in ethical ways.

Top links:

Recommended sources for info and action:

ALL FOOD JUSTICE POSTS


Front-Lines Solidarity

Joe Brusky via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0

An environmental justice framework centers the needs, voices, and leadership of those who are most disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and climate change, including Indigenous and low-income peoples, people of color, island nations, and youth.

Top links:

Recommended sources for info and action:

ALL FRONT-LINES SOLIDARITY POSTS

Social Justice & Human Rights


When cultures value profit over people, those who are already marginalized suffer the worst effects: from water and air pollution to toxic waste disposal to natural disasters to forced migration due to droughts, floods, and other climate impacts.

Top links:

Recommended sources for info and action:

ALL SOCIAL JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS POSTS

Sustainability

Francesco Pasqualetti via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Sustainability means living within the ecological limits of the Earth’s ability to regenerate, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Pollution, overconsumption, poverty, escalating inequality, habitat loss and biodiversity decline, and climate change all make our current global society fundamentally unsustainable.

Top links:

Recommended sources for info and action:

ALL SUSTAINABILITY POSTS

Sign up to be on our mailing list!  You will receive a monthly newsletter (eNews) and a shorter monthly digest of upcoming events (eVents).  Scroll down for the complete archive of back issues.

2024

  • November-Answer the Call
  • October-The Emotional Lifecycle of a Disaster
  • September- UU Climate Justice Revival
  • August-Spiritual Care for Climate Distress Curriculum
  • July-Year in Review
  • June- UU Climate Justice Coalition
  • May-  International Day of Biodiversity
  • April– Earth Month
  • March-Spring Equinox/ World Water Day
  • February-Looking towards Spring for Change
  • January-Humility

2023

2022

  • December – December E-News!
  • November – November E-News!
  • October – October E-News!
  • September – Preparation
  • August – Cultivation
  • July – Preparing for the Year Ahead
  • June – Survive and Thrive in Every Season
  • May – Spring for Change: A Time of Transitions (Read Aly Tharp’s Farewell Letter!)
  • April – Get Rooted, Get Ready: Celebrate Earth Day
  • March -Get Rooted, Get Ready: Spring for Change Begins!
  • February – Get Rooted, Get Ready! Spring for Change Resources!
  • January – Loving Possibilities

2021

  • December – Joy and Justice
  • November – Cultivating Connections
  • October – Boldness and Reverence
  • September – Cultivating Connections
  • August – Answering the Call, Showing Up, Finding Joy
  • July – Call for Climate Activists
  • June – We Are All Treaty People
  • May – Celebrating & Honoring the Interdependent Web of Life
  • April – Sowing Seeds of Change for Earth Day and Beyond
  • March – Launching the BIPOC Climate Justice Caucus
  • February – Get Ready to Spring for Change
  • January – Accountability in a Just Transition

2020

  • December – Resting, Reflecting, Looking Ahead
  • November – To hope and to harvest
  • October – “Most of it is about relationships, to be honest” – Elandria Williams
  • September Meeting the Urgency of Climate Disruption
  • August– Get up to Good Trouble
  • July – This is Our Moment
  • June – Holy Indignation, Empathy and Solidarity
  • May – Being Effective Climate Justice Activists in These Exceptional Times
  • April – Earth Day
  • March – Announcements & Important Updates
  • February – Get Ready to Spring For Change
  • January – Hindsight is 2020

2019

2018

  • December – Be the Grassroots
  • November – Make a Difference
  • October: Getting involved is what UU do
  • September: Prayer for Sacred Waters
  • August: Get Inspired
  • July: Call for Solidarity NOW with Indigenous Water Protectors
  • May: UUMFE Calls for Action and Photos
  • March: One Month Until Earth Day: Get Inspired, Activated, and Connected!
  • February: Get Ready for Earth Day! New Resources are Here!
  • January: New Year, New Opportunities to Act for Climate Justice!

2017

  • December: Winter Gratitude, Joy, and Connection
  • November: Climate Action, Community Building, & Unlearning Colonization
  • October: On the Front Lines: Puerto Rico & Indigenous Peoples Day
  • September: Record-Breaking Hurricanes are a Clarion Call to Action on Climate
  • August: Infuse Your New Congregational Year with Environmental Justice
  • July: Summertime Environmental Justice: Art, Gardens, Climate, & More!

2016

Spring/Summer 2016 (PDF)

  • Opportunities for Environmental Justice Engagement at Columbus GA
  • Message From the Board
  • Highlights From Earth Day 2016
  • Celebrating Our Eco-Heroes
  • Rising Waters Confab II.
  • Sustainability Works: New
  • Curriculum From NWEI
  • Feeling Virtuous, Being Virtuous
  • Commit2Respond Connects and Inspires
  • Congregational Study Action Issues (CSAI) – How Shall We Proceed?
  • Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret – Guest Opinion and Film Review
  • Taking a Stand on Climate Justice
  • Pacific NW UUs Participate in Break Free Action in Anacortes, WA
  • Your Support Is Needed and Appreciated
  • Appendix: (1) 2016 Proposed Congregational Study/Action Issue: Climate Change and Environmental Justice; (2) The Principles of Environmental Justice; and (3) Threat of Global Warming/Climate Change, 2006 Statement of Conscience

Winter 2016 (PDF)

  • The Climate Justice Gospel
  • Earth Day 2016: Environmental Justice to Climate Justice
  • Message from the Board
  • Honor Congregations – Thanks!
  • UUSJ Journey: Solidarity with Original Nations and Peoples
  • My War Against Hope
  • The Paris Agreement Opened Doors – Now We Need to Step Through
  • Climate Justice Reading Club
  • Northwest Earth Institute Updates Its Energy Curriculum
  • Book Review: The Whale and the Supercomputer
  • Tim DeChristopher Inspires UU Audience With Call for Non-Violent Action
  • Connecting To Earth Through Art
  • LRE Week at Star Island: Sustainability + Faith
  • Commit2Respond Announces Climate Justice Month 2016
  • Save the Date for General Assembly in Columbus, OH
  • Why I’m Not that Enthusiastic About the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
  • Sunday Soul
  • Your Support Is Needed and Appreciated

2015

Fall 2015 (PDF)

  • Commit2Respond: Moral Imperative for Climate Justice
  • Message From the Board Chair: Beyond the Catchy Phrase
  • Matthew McHale Ordination – Congratulations!
  • Nurturing Nature: Letting the Beauty We Love Be What We Do
  • We Have a Pope
  • The Road Through Paris and More Climate Justice News and Tools
  • Book Review: American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood
  • Updates fro the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
  • What the Frack?
  • Your Support Is Needed and Appreciated

Spring 2015 (PDF)

  • Commit2Respond and Climate Justice Featured at Portland GA
  • Message From the Board: A Double Dog Dare Is In Order . . .
  • Highlights From Earth Day 2015
  • The Hole Story
  • Commit2Resond Campaign Offers Resources and Connections
  • Book Review: Crude Justice by Stuart H. Smith
  • Update From the Environmental Justice Collaboratory
  • Review of Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth, by David Korten
  • California Drought Reveals Pervasive Inequities
  • GROW Climate Justice Young Adult Training Planned for August
  • Northwest Earth Institute Updates Its Climate Change Curriculum
  • Empower UUs: Support Development of Additional UUMFE Services

Winter 2015 (PDF)

  • Join Commit2Respond for Climate Justice Journey
  • From the Board Chair: Are We Healers, Leaders or Trailblazers?
  • Honor Congregations – Thanks!
  • Download UUMFE Resources
  • Update From the Environmental Justice Collaboratory
  • Hold Your Head Up
  • A Growing Justice Movement
  • Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church in Charlottesville Divests!
  • Save the Date for Portland GA
  • A Sometimes Dismaying, Weirdly Reassuring Story About Looking At People Looking At Animals In America – A Review of Wild Ones, by Jon Mooallem
  • Looking Deep in the Heart . . . with t.e.j.a.s. (Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services)
  • HighWaterLine Delray Beach Project Receives UUA Funding
  • Climate Justice Lobby Weekend
  • Global Divestment Day
  • Help Empower UUs: Support Development of Additional UUMFE Services

2014

Fall 2014 (PDF)

  • Commit2Respond: A Religious Response to Climate Change
  • Message from the Board Chair
  • People’s Climate March Makes History – UUs Help!
  • Take Action for Climate Justice
  • Something’s Happening Here . . .
  • On the Move – Young Adults Look Back, Move Forward
  • Gaia In a Temper
  • UU Cool Congregations
  • The Giving Garden – Social Justice, Ecology, Community Building

Spring 2014 (PDF)

  • Opportunities For Environmental Justice Engagement at Providence GA
  • Message from the Board Chair – Going From Here To Tomorrow
  • Peace, Justice and Sustainability Are Focus of New Northwest Earth Institute Curriculum
  • Highlights From Earth Day 2014
  • Sacred Roots, New Shoots: News From Our Young Adult Network
  • Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement Builds Across Faith Communities
  • The Great March for Climate Action – Walking a Mile In Their Shoes
  • Is It War?
  • 2014 Courageous Love Award Presented to Westboro 8
  • Book Review – Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson
  • UU Church Is First In Chattanooga To Add Solar Panels

Winter 2014 (PDF)

  • Earth Day 2014: Working Towards Sustainable Communities
  • Message From the Board Chair
  • “Our Place In the Web of Life” Second Edition Now Available
  • A Seasonal Liturgical Calendar for Unitarian Universalists
  • Honor Congregations – Thanks!
  • Save the Date for Providence GA
  • NWEI Continues to Support UUs In Their Environmental Justice Work
  • Screening Bidder 70
  • Book Review – Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea
  • It’s Politics and the Economy
  • The Great March for Climate Action: Potential Game Changer
  • The Great March: Walking My Talk

2013

Fall 2013 (PDF)

  • Guardian of the Future Award Recipients Are Eco-Justice Super-Heroes
  • Message From the Board
  • Plan to Screen Bidder 70 at Your Congregation This Fall
  • Environmental Justice (EJ) in the Spotlight at GA 2013 in Louisville
  • An Eventful Summer for UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
  • Fossil Fuel Divestment Update: GA and Beyond
  • Program Ideas for the Church Year
  • Countdown to Earth Day: Spring Equinox through Earth Day 2014 (March 20th – April 22nd)
  • Meditation While Weeding
  • Advocating For the Rights of Nature
  • Beyond Changing Light Bulbs
  • Are We Smarter Than Frogs?
  • Photos From 350.org’s Summer Heat actions
  • Empower UUs: Support Development of Additional UUMFE Services

Spring 2013 (PDF)

  • Opportunities for Environmental Justice Engagement at General Assembly
  • Message From the Board
  • Bidder 70 at GA and Beyond
  • Cedar Tree Foundation Awards UUMFE a Second $20,000 Grant
  • Northwest Earth Institute Celebrates 20 Years
  • Are You Awake?
  • Young Adult Climate Activist Group Is Growing
  • Reflecting on Earth Day 2013
  • Celebrating Our Eco-Heroes
  • Going Fossil Free?
  • Environmental Justice Plunge Leads to Effective Congregational Involvement
  • Book Review: Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor
  • Healing Our World and Ourselves
  • Faith Groups in CA Called to Action on Climate Change
  • The Pipeline Fighters in Nebraska
  • Photos from #Forward on Climate Rally
  • Earth Day Artwork from Laura Evonne Steinman

Winter 2013 (PDF)

  • Earth Day 2013: Working Towards Sustainable Communities
  • From the Board
  • Screening “Bidder 70”
  • Our Place in the Web of Life Curriculum
  • Northwest Earth Institute Courses
  • Uniting YA’s in the EJ Struggle
  • New Young Adult Environmental Justice Network
  • Protecting Utah Wilderness
  • Honor Congregations – Thanks!
  • Save the Date for Louisville GA
  • Energy Oscar for UU Church in Oakland
  • Bad Land Book Review
  • Reproductive and Environmental Justice
  • Join the #ForwardOnClimate Rally

2012

Fall 2012 (PDF)

  • Guardian of the Future Recipients Excel in Community Networking
  • From the Board – How Do We Make Change Together?
  • Program Ideas for Church Year and District Assemblies
  • Earth Day 2013 Theme – Sustainable Communities
  • Food Days 2012 Present Justice Opportunities for Food Activists
  • Canary Community: Sentinel of Climate Injustice
  • Ethical Eating Website Launch
  • Fracking Concerns Mobilize UUs
  • Moral Challenge: Math, Evil, and Blood
  • Driving Social Change: The Activist’s Handbook
  • Church Helps Win East Oakland Bus Rapid Transit Project
  • Words of Inspiration
  • Empower UU’s: Support Development of Additional UUMFE Services

Spring 2012 (PDF)

  • Environmental Justice at “Justice” General Assembly
  • From the Board
  • New Northwest Earth Institute Curriculum Focuses On Energy
  • Earth Day Excitement
  • Interfaith Moral Action On Climate (IMAC) In Washington, D.C.
  • Municipal Sustainability Plans
  • Revolution, Realignment, Reframing
  • UUs Around the Country (and the World!) Celebrate Earth Day
  • April 24th Interfaith Moral Action On Climate (IMAC) In DC­– Photos

Winter 2012 (PDF)

  • Earth Day 2012: Immigration and Environmental Justice
  • From the Board ­– Folks Are Paying Attention!
  • UUMFE Partners with Just Label It Campaign for GE Foods
  • Our Place In the Web of Life Curriculum
  • Water Justice Is Focus of Justice Sunday 2012
  • Grants Will Help Support UUMFE’s Environmental Justice Work
  • Share Our Passion – Volunteer With UU Ministry for Earth
  • NWEI Provides Valuable Resources
  • UUMFE Embraces EcoChallenge
  • UUs in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania Tackle Hydrofracking
  • UU Organizes New Delaware Chapter of Interfaith Power & Light
  • UU Church in Eugene Is Prize Winning Recycler
  • Honor Congregations – Thanks!

2011

Fall 2011 (301 KB PDF)

  • From the Board
  • Guardian of the Future Awards
  • Hungry for Change, a new NWEI course
  • Review of Cynthia Barnett’s Blue Revolution
  • Environmental Justice Curriculum
  • Thank You, Rowan
  • Tar Sands Action and More! Photos on p. 8
  • Why I Protested the Tar Sands Pipeline
  • Chandler, AZ UUs and Moving Planet
  • Schenectady UU Church EJ Project
  • Freedom Through Frugality Review
  • Rev. Bob Murphy Honored by Sierra Club

Spring 2011 (PDF)

  • Environmental Justice Workshops and Events at GA
  • From the Board – Actions Become Habits
  • Ethical Eating Statement of Conscience Process
  • UUMFE Annual Meeting at GA
  • Earth Day Excitement
  • Food Day Scheduled for Oct. 24
  • Moving Planet Set for Sept. 24
  • New Experiential Workshops from Barbara Ford
  • Book Review: Paving Paradise
  • NWEI’s New Edition of Voluntary Simplicity
  • Earthfest at UU Church of Davis
  • Your Support is Needed and Appreciated

Winter 2011 (PDF)

  • Earth Day 2011: Sacred Waters
  • From the Board – As We Begin a New Year
  • Staying Present for a Troubled World – New Workshops Offered to UU Congregations and Districts
  • Northwest Earth Institute To Publish Gulf Coast Resource
  • Mt. Vernon Church Breaks Ground for Net Zero Energy System on Winter Solstice
  • Earth Jurisprudence: Beginning To Bud
  • Poem by Christopher D. Sims: I Am the UUA
  • How You Can Help

2010

Fall 2010 (PDF)

  • Congregations Across the Country Will Participate In the 10/10/10 Global Work Party: A Day To Celebrate Climate Solutions
  • “Everything, Everything, Everything Is Holy Now”
  • Care For the Earth Is Central To General Assembly Experience
  • Lori Sands Named 2010 UUMFE Guardian of the Future
  • Key Dates for the Congregational Study/Action Issue Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice
  • Karen and Ramón Urbano Honored With Volunteer Service Award
  • Matching Grants Fund Three District Environmental Conferences
  • Health Is Focus of New Northwest Earth Institute Curriculum
  • Earth Day Theme Announced
  • Congregations Will Offer a Wide Variety of 10/10/10 Work Parties
  • Generous Congregations Support the Vision of UUMFE

Spring 2010 (PDF)

  • Environment & Justice Workshops and Events at General Assembly
  • Letter From the Co-Chairs
  • UUMFE Annual Meeting at General Assembly
  • Energy, Peace and Justice Study Action Issue
  • Member Profile: Vicky Talbert
  • Northwest Earth Institute Courses
  • Workshops To Pilot Local Environmental Justice Discernment
  • Three Districts Approved for UUMFE Challenge Grant
  • Earth Day Excitement
  • Reconciliation Ecology
  • Harmony UU Church Celebrates Earth Day

Winter 2010 (PDF)

  • For the Fortieth Anniversary of Earth Day, UUMFE Invites Congregations Take a Bite Out of Food Injustice
  • From the Board: We Value Our Relationships
  • UUMFE Launches Environment and Justice ‘Green Papers’
  • The Importance of Working Together
  • We’re All Ears! Our Fifth Principle In Action With Ethical Eating
  • Emily Kao Joins Advocacy Team
  • Fifth Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week In Washington
  • Online Connections to UUMFE Community are Growing
  • UUMFE Offers Partner Grants for Districts
  • Congregational Stories: Ethical Energy

2009

Fall 2009 (PDF)

  • International Day of Climate Action, Oct. 24th
  • A New Year – Change is in the Air
  • Rowan Van Ness Tapped for Environmental Justice Position
  • Colin High Named 2009 UUMFE Guardian of the Future
  • Focus on Food and Faith
  • UUMFE 20th Anniversary Celebration
  • Earth Song Meditation
  • AIW – In Support of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act
  • Green Sanctuary Program Update
  • Join the Team Developing the Environmental Justice Guide

Spring 2009 (PDF)

  • Announcing the Environmental Passport for GA 2009
  • Toward Joyful Interdependence
  • With Gratitude to Rev. Katherine Jesch
  • UUs Pioneer Green Meetings
  • A Response – Rev. Laurel Hallman
  • You Can Help Write Environmental Justice Guide
  • Food Justice
  • Green and Accessible
  • Earth, Our Deep-Home-Place
  • Transformation, Collective Wisdom & You
  • Earth Day Celebration
  • New RE Curriculum – Sounds of Nature

Winter 2009 (PDF)

  • UUMFE Announces 2009 Earth Day Resources
  • Raising All Voices, Lifting All Boats
  • A Response – Rev. Peter Morales
  • Genesis of “Ethical Eating”
  • CSAI Film Review – Scarred Lands, Wounded Lives
  • Hobbs Farm – A Miracle, Seeing the Connections
  • The Hidden Language of Flowers

2008

Fall 2008 (PDF)

  • Board and Members Review Partnerships
  • Congregational Eco-Heroes Honored
  • Changing Our Stories of Justice-Making
  • For the UUA Presidential Candidates – 7 Questions
  • Are You Feeling the Call to Action?
  • Fourteen Say YES as Parents for the Planet
  • Nourish the Self with a Retreat
  • Green Sanctuary Update
  • UUA Ethical Eating Core Team Liaison
  • 2008-2010 CSAI – Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice
  • Films, Faith, and Fellowship
  • Making Seed Tape
  • Run for the Trees
  • Say NO to Plastic Bags
  • Shopping Bag Pattern and Instructions
  • Renew Our Spirits, Restore the World
  • Beacon Press and UUMFE – New Partners

Spring 2008 (PDF)

  • The Audacity of Faith
  • Looking to the Future
  • Green Sanctuary Showcase
  • Guardian of the Future Award
  • 2008 Study Action Issue Proposals
  • An Invitation – Become a Parent for the Planet
  • GA 2008 Highlights
  • “Menu for the Future” from Northwest Earth Institute
  • Regional Coordinators Active from East to West
  • Portland Office Open – Meet Sabrina Louise Harle
  • Book Review – “In Defense of Food”

Winter 2008 (PDF)

  • Unanimous Vote! UUMFE Retains Affiliate Status
  • Message from the Chair – Barbara Ford
  • Taking Green Sanctuary Beyond Our Congregations – Rev. Katherine Jesch
  • Our Seven UU Principles – Rev. Katherine Jesch
  • In Need of a Good Word – Editors, Orion Magazine
  • Restoring the Web of Creation
  • Direct Your UUA “Now is the Time” Gift
  • New Resource! We Are All Connected, 7th Principle – Butterfly and Creepy Crawlies RE Lessons

2007

Fall 2007 (PDF)

  • Palo Alto Church Working To Save Shishmaref, Alaska – Ben Hammett
  • Leaning into the Light – Barbara Ford
  • Green Wedding Celebration – Nancy King Smith
  • Autumn Reflections, Green Sanctuary Program – Rev. Katherine Jesch
  • The Play’s the Thing – Doug Stewart
  • Covenant Group Considers Seventh Principle – Judy Perry

Spring 2007 (PDF)

  • Historic Earth Summit Connects, Inspires
  • Gratitude as a Revolutionary Act
  • Congregations Address Global Warming
  • New Resource! – Global Warming Action Kit Volume 2
  • Springtime Reflections
  • Hopedale UU Tackles Industrial Pollution
  • Secret Shoppers Help Environmental Justice
  • UUs Flock Outdoors to Celebrate
  • Cedars UUs Author Sustainability Survey
  • Our Food Choices Impact Climate Change
  • Water First – Living Drop by Drop
  • New Partnership – Low Carbon Diet
  • Book reviews

2006

Fall 2006 (PDF)

  • Legislative Ministries Focus on Climate Change
  • Reaping the Harvest of Collaborative Efforts
  • Warm Reflections on the Chill of Winter
  • Global Warming: Changing CO2urse
  • Florida Church Eco-Preserve Reaches Community
  • Green Sanctuary Program is HOT!
  • Spotlight: Model Regional Coordinator

Spring 2006 (PDF)

  • UU Statement of conscience on global warming
  • There is no “out there” by Rev. Louise Green
  • Message from the board chair
  • Healthy children, healthy planet
  • Green Sanctuary program comes of age
  • Book and film reviews

2005

Fall 2005 (PDF)

  • UU Ministry for Earth visibility campaign
  • Dealing with tragedy and despair
  • Message from the board chair
  • Addressing global warming
  • UU churches and green power
  • Hotel Earth and small group ministry
  • New Greeen Sanctuaries

Summer 2005 (PDF)

  • Message from SPP board chair
  • Bill Sinkford and the cyber-march on global warming
  • SPP receives granf from UU Program Fund
  • GA 2005 events sponsored by the SPP
  • Plane Travel and Sustainable Living
  • Living our Values in the Modern World
  • Green Sanctuary Program news
  • SPP board member news

Winter 2005 (PDF)

  • Emerson Unitarian Church of Houston
  • Message from SPP board chair
  • Global warming study/action resources
  • Upcoming adult RE resource guide
  • Guest column by Tina Clarke of Clean Water Action

2004

Fall 2004 (PDF)

  • Global Warming is new UUA/CSW Study/Action Issue
  • GA 2004 highlights
  • Green Sanctuary Program news
  • Message from SPP board chair

Summer 2004 (PDF)

  • GA 2004 events sponsored by the SPP
  • New SPP resources
  • Green Sanctuary Program news
  • SPP board member news

Spring 2004 (PDF)

  • New resource projects for UU congregations
  • The Seventh Principle Fund
  • Green Sanctuary Program news & ideas
  • Earth Day meditations
  • Commission on Social Witness study/action issues

2003

Fall 2003 (PDF)

  • New Green Sanctuaries
  • General Assembly 2003 in review
  • Green Sanctuary Program news & ideas
  • The Interfaith Power & Light movement
  • Greening General Assembly

Spring 2003 (PDF)

  • GA 2003 events sponsored by the SPP
  • Green Sanctuary workshops at GA 2003
  • SPP Board meeting highlights
  • The SPP and the UUA
  • Green Sanctuary Program news

2002

Fall 2002 (PDF)

  • 2002 SPP annual meeting update
  • GA 2002 news and highlights
  • About the Earth Charter
  • Northwest Earth Institute courses
  • Green Sanctuary Program news

Many Unitarian Universalist congregations hold film screenings in order to engage members and/or the wider community in environmental justice education. This is a list of films to inspire education, reflection, discussion, and action on climate change, activism and resistance, energy, ecosystems, food systems, and more, listed chronologically.

Many of these films are available for viewing online (just do an internet search for the title). You can also check out Top Documentary Films—“the world’s greatest free documentary library”—to view many environmental and nature films online.

 

The Reluctant Radical – Lindsey Grayzel, producer, director (77 min, 2018)

  • Film website –  We are excited to announce that the movie is now available for viewing online via Vimeo On Demand, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. The DVD can be purchased on the web site.
  • Review The Portland Mercury
  • Toolkit for hosting a screening
  • NOTE: UU congregations receive a 20% discount on Reluctant Radical film screenings! More information here.

The Condor and the Eagle – Clement Guerra and Sophie Guerra, directors; UUMFE co-producer (90 min, 2019)

  • Film website –  We are honored to be a co-producer of this film! UUMFE will be screening this film twice a month through the end of 2020. See below for toolkit.
  • Review The Sad Mag
  • Toolkit for hosting/joining a screening

 

Age of Consequences – Jared P. Scott, director, producer, writer (80 min, 2017)

Planet Earth II – David Attenborough, director (360 min, 2017)

Seed: The Untold Story – featuring Vandana Shiva and Dr. Jane Goodall, directed by Taggart Siegel (94 min, 2017)

A Plastic Ocean – featuring Craig Leeson and Tanya Streeter, directed by Craig Leeson (100 min, 2017)

Before the Flood – Fisher Stevens, director (96 min, 2017)

Years of Living Dangerously, Season 2 – Joel Bach, David Gelber, directors (410 min, 2017); Season 1 (727 min, 2014)

How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change – Josh Fox, director (128 min, 2016)

This Changes Everything – Avi Lewis, director (89 min, 2016)

Racing Extinction – featuring Elon Musk, Louie Psihoyos and Jane Goodall, directed by Louie Psihoyos (103 min, 2016)

The True Cost – featuring Rick Ridgeway, Tim Kasser, and Vandana Shiva, directed by Andrew Morgan (92 min, 2015)

Groundswell Rising: Protecting Our Children’s Air and Water – directed and produced by Renard Cohen (70 min, 2014)

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret – Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn, filmmakers (91 min, 2014)

The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism & Communitydirected by John Ankele and Anne Macksoud (56 min, 2013)

Bidder 70 – featuring Tim DeChristopher, Robert Redford, James Hansen, and more; directed by Beth and George Gage (73 min, 2013)

Chasing Ice – featuring photographer James Balog; directed by Jeff Orlowski; 2014 Emmy award winner (73 min, 2012)

Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives – directed by Jeffrey M. Smith (85 min, 2012)

Forks Over Knives – featuring T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell B. Esselstyn (90 min, 2011)

Dirty Business: “Clean Coal” and the Battle for Our Energy Future – directed by Peter Bull (90 and 60 min. versions, 2011).

Revenge of the Electric Car – featuring Tim Robbins and Bob Lutz; directed by Chris Paine (90 min, 2011)

Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? – featuring Michael Polan and Gunther Hauck; directed by Taggart Siegel (82 min, 2010)

Deep Green: Solutions to Stop Global Warming Now – contributors Michael Pollan, Lester Brown, Amory Lovins, Dr. David Suzuki; directed by Matthew Briggs (101 min, 2010)

Dirt! The Movie – featuring Jamie Lee Curtis; directed by Bill Benenson and Gene Roscow (80 min, 2009)

Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root ­– featuring Robert Bates; directed by Robert Bates (67 min, 2009)

Fresh – featuring Joel Salatin and Will Allen; directed by Ana Sophia Joanes (72 min, 2009)

The Cove: Man Is Their Greatest Threat and Their Only Hope – featuring Richard O’Barry and Louis Phihoyos; directed by Louis Phihoyos (92 min, 2008)

Food, Inc. – featuring Eric Schlosser; directed by Robert Kenner; nominated for Academy Award (91 min, 2008)

The generosity of individual donors and members make the work of UU Ministry for Earth possible. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue this important endeavor.

DONATE NOW

Unitarian Universalists are called to do more than simply take individual actions; we take action in community and must constantly strive to learn more about the threats to our biosphere and to frontline communities, as well as the intersections of racial, economic, and environmental injustice. UUMFE actively supports this learning for UUs and UU congregations.

Grounding & Training

Environmental Justice Framework & Resources
Introductory resources on environmental justice as a framework and movement that is grounded in the needs and leadership of people of color, poor and working-class people, and other communities disproportionately affected by environmental injustice and climate change.

Protest signs: one says "Resiste! / Resist!" and the other says "Clear Water"

Issue Areas
Top resources related to the issue areas UUMFE focuses on, including climate change, ecological justice, energy, food justice, front-lines solidarity, social justice and human rights, and sustainability.

Marching for human rights and clean air

Resources for Organizing & Taking Action
Tools to support effective, impactful, and spiritually robust environmental justice organizing and action, for congregations, teams and groups, and individuals.

Curricula & Study Guides

Climate Change Religious Education
Climate change is a confusing topic, not to mention terrifying. It often feels more about problems than solutions, which makes it easy to push to the sidelines as “something scientists can deal with.” This course aims to give participants a solid understanding of the facts behind climate change, an appreciation of the earth, and tools to find solutions on a range of scales.

UU Ministry for Earth Green Papers

UUMFE “Green Papers” Series
Free and available online, this series of four papers, created collaboratively by over thirty UU leaders, are designed to stimulate thoughtful comment, interaction, and action on the part of UUs, small groups, or congregational teams. Each paper ends with questions for discussion and reflection.

Earth and Spirit: Bringing Ecology into Adult Religious Education (PDF)
A compilation of resources to support Unitarian Universalists in creating adult religious education programs on UU faith and ecology, including materials on theology and spirituality from major faith traditions, an annotated index of curricula and other resources, sample course plans that have been used by UU congregations, and other sample courses and guided meditations for workshops and retreats.

Northwest Earth Institute logo

Discussion Courses from Northwest Earth Institute
The Northwest Earth Institute provides wonderful study guides on a variety of topics, many of which align with UU statements of conscience. Select UUMFE/Green Sanctuary as your “connection” at checkout and NWEI will share a portion of the proceeds with UUMFE.

For Children & Multigenerational Groups

Climate Change Religious Education Curriculum
The Unitarian Universalist Association United Nations Office offers a religious education curriculum about climate change for 4th through 5th graders that can be adapted for use with other age groups as well.

Nurturing the Spirit-Nature Connection cover

Nurturing the Spirit-Nature Connection (PDF)
This resource for religious educators includes a comprehensive index of Earth-oriented children’s religious education resources (sorted both by nature-themed topics and by title), a UU supplement for the curriculum “Hands-On Nature,” the story parable “Pluto, the Adopted Planet,” a sample intergenerational service, the six-lesson “Story Beads Curriculum,” and the resource “Energy Activities for Faithful Youth” from the Interfaith Coalition on Energy.

Films & Books

Promo image for the documentary The Reluctant Radical, about activist Ken Ward

UUMFE Recommended Films
Film screenings are a great way for congregations to engage members and the wider community in environmental justice education. This comprehensive list of UUMFE-recommended movies includes films on topics including climate change, energy, resilient communities, adaptation, ecosystems, and food systems

Book cover for the book Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment. The cover shows pictures of large smoke stacks and a hand pouring water onto a sprouting plant in dry ground

UUMFE Recommended Books
UU congregations often engage as a community in congregation-wide book reads, establish book libraries in the congregation, or reflect on books together as part of small group ministry or covenant groups. This page lifts up books that are particularly good in this context, inspiring deep reflection, learning, and action on environmental justice topics—as well as links to additional topic-specific UUMFE book lists.

Action Kits & Posters

Climate Justice Month logo with colorful buildings and trees

Climate Justice Month Toolkits
Toolkits from the 2017, 2016, and 2015 Climate Justice Month campaigns are available for individuals and congregations to use any time for a month of reflection, action, and new commitments to environmental and climate justice, in ongoing Earth Day and Climate Justice Month observances.

Global Warming Action Kit: Volume 1 (PDF)
A collection of activities for congregations, including the thought-provoking play by Doug Stewart “Mother Earth vs. World’s People”; quotes about global warming / climate change; a “Global Warming 1-2-3 Pledge” and action guide; the “Ten Tree Challenge”; an Eco-Footprint Reduction Toolkit; UUMFE’s Clean Power Pledge; and information on carbon offsets and green power.

Global Warming Action Kit Vol. 2 cover

Global Warming Action Kit: Volume 2 (PDF)
A collection of activities for congregations, including a model for putting on an art show; a model for the action “Prayer Flags for the Planet”; the play “Final Exit” by Doug Stewart; sheet music and lyrics for songs by folk singers Dan Berggren and Linda Pelham; sermons and sample worship services on global warming; models from congregations that have carried out carpool Sundays; a model for deepening the Global Warming 1-2-3 Pledge with Steps 4, 5 and 6; a model for setting up an environmental educational resource in your public library; a list of films and other resources on global warming; and more.

Global Warming Poster Set (PDF)
Created by EcoMinds, a project of the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance, these six posters illustrated with colorful watercolor paintings call on views to conserve energy, buy green power, plant trees, use less gas, and reduce/reuse/recycle. Each poster prints well on 11×17 or 8.5×11 paper. If you need a larger print (24×34 inches) please contact UUMFE.

The Global Education Project
The Global Education Project is a Canadian non-governmental organization with a 15-year history of publishing fact-packed educational wall posters and producing live events to educate about important issues.