Interfaith Power & Light DC MD NoVa

Leah Rampy will be in Bethesda this weekend to talk about her book ,"Earth & Soul".
From our Director Joelle Novey's blurb for the book:
"Leah Rampy's Earth & Soul is a teaching sung lovingly to each reader by a wise grandmother, blessing us with ancestors' stories and lessons from our kin in the natural world. If we listen, she is passing down a sacred gift to us for meeting the climate crisis and for weaving a better world."

SPECIAL EVENT Wild Earth Gathering Sunday, September 15, Carderock, 3 PM Wild Earth Gathering Sunday, September 15, Carderock, 3 PM

Beautiful to connect with so many folks at the Interfaith Unity Walk last weekend, to taste all-electric induction cooktop fondue and to speak out about the importance of VOTING as an act of hope.
Your congregation can join us in celebrating voting, too, through Sept 1 - Nov 5: Climate in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar/at the Temple: bit.ly/iplcip24

Congratulations to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on installing a 17.8 kW rooftop Solar PV System!

This project would not be possible without our partners, Solar Energy World, RE-volv, and Interfaith Power & Light DC MD NoVa.

To read about this project, visit: https://ow.ly/ZrTV50T6q5g

Last Thursday, we participated in a rally before testifying at a hearing with the on the future of gas.
We want to thank the for highlighting our Flintstones costumes and the message that gas is in the past! The future is clean energy and zero emissions heating. Here is a quote our Director Joelle Novey featured in the article. “As far as we’re concerned, it is high time to leave burning fuel indoors in our past. A page right out of history - as in the Stone Age.”

Shout out to the many partners in this work including and many others.

Baltimore Sun:
Joelle Novey and her colleagues attended a rally Thursday urging regulators to curtail natural gas spending in Maryland in costumes based off of the 1960s television show “The Flintstones.”
Their message? Using natural gas appliances in homes and businesses is a thing of the past.
“As far as we’re concerned, it is high time to leave burning fuel indoors in our past. A page right out of history — as in the Stone Age,” said Novey, director of Interfaith Power & Light DC MD NoVa, a religious group dedicated to fighting climate change.

What is the future of natural gas in Maryland? Debate unfurls at Baltimore hearing At an initial hearing in Baltimore, advocacy groups and utilities debated the future of natural gas in a state working to electrify.

Join us tonight at 7pm for our second Solar and Clean Energy Shepherds Call. We'll be talking about energy walkthroughs and audits for houses of worship. Chances are, your house of worship could be saving energy, money, and better caring for creation with implementation of energy efficiency and electrification projects for your building.

Click the link to register:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Solar Shepherds Monthly Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Solar Shepherds is IPL-DMV's monthly drop in Zoom space intended to help congregations with solar and clean energy questions. Each month we'll briefly cover a new topic, and leave plenty of time for conversation and questions. Solar Shepherds is every 4th Monday at 7pm.

A Presbyterian church in Maryland is using solar power for all its electrical needs and supplying discounted energy to neighbors in need. Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q02GXNXy0

The Declaration of Interdependence: A Pledge to Planet Earth by David Suzuki and Tara Cullis http://www.davidsuzuki.org/about/declaration/The "Declaration of Interdependence" was written in 1992 by David Suzuki and his wife, Tara Cullis, along with R...

Fellow DC nonprofit organizations:
Were you invited to or did you attend a breakfast program on June 17th hosted by Washington Gas?
Were you sent this flyer asking you to help them keep selling us gas to burn at home?
If so, we'd love to connect, as would Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) and Sierra Club DC Chapter
Please comment or DM us -- thank you!

Tonight, Monday, June 24 at 7pm EST, we are launching a new clean energy education program called Solar Shepherds! This will be a monthly Zoom webinar with a deep dive into solar panels, community solar, energy efficiency, how congregations can access incentives, and any other topics we want to address. Come with your questions! We hope to see you tonight.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Solar Shepherds Monthly Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Solar Shepherds is IPL-DMV's monthly drop in Zoom space intended to help congregations with solar and clean energy questions. Each month we'll briefly cover a new topic, and leave plenty of time for conversation and questions. Solar Shepherds is every 4th Monday at 7pm.

On this summer solstice, let's embrace the blessing of sun to power our sanctuaries and our homes. There's never been a better time to go solar in our region. If you've been thinking about it, take a moment to begin the process today:

Solar for your congregation: Visit ipldmv.org/solar

Solar for your home:
* For homeowners in Northern Virginia, DC, and Montgomery, Prince George's and Frederick counties: bit.ly/IPLsolarswitch24
* For homeowners in Baltimore City and County and Anne Arundel, Howard, and Harford counties: energyprograms.civicworks.com/ipl/

Download solar flyers to copy and share in your community's worship bulletins: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XFEEb1yErqw7GmwHGzBVKrH_bMRxCxbx?usp=sharing

If you rent or can't put panels on your roof, anyone who pays an energy bill in DC or Maryland can subscribe to community solar: nsunsolar.com/ipl

Everyone deserves clean water, but for too long, lead pipes have been poisoning water on its way to DC residents. Today our Director for Climate Equity Robin Lewis joined DC Water to see a lead service line replacement up close.
DC residents: learn more about the water pipes that serve your home and the schedule for replacement here: https://www.dcwater.com/resources/lead

Nice profile of our work to support congregations going solar from CollectiveSun: "All of our traditions call us to take responsibility for the impact of our choices and actions; moving away from combustion energy toward renewable and clean energy is a way for all of us to live out that mandate not to cause harm ... Even though congregational solar projects can be relatively small, their impact can be much bigger than the kilowatts installed. Congregations are beacons in their communities, and people look to these institutions for guidance. Solar panels on a congregation can help us all envision a clean energy future."

SOLAR SPOTLIGHT: INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT DC MD NoVA - Solar Power Grants for Nonprofits Interfaith Power and Light DC.MD.NoVA (IFPL DMV) shines as a beacon of hope and action within the realm of faith communities in the D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia area. Their mission transcends traditional worship, guiding congregations to green their operations through solar energy initiativ...

DC folks: The mayor's budget could crash the SREC market that makes congregational solar projects possible! Tell the DC Council to save DC solar.

Fully 60% of the 169 successful congregational solar projects in our region are located inside the District proper – so dramatically so that the pins on our map form a distinct diamond shape along the contours of DC’s borders. DC law requires our utility to purchase Solar Renewable Energy Credits, or SRECS, from solar generating projects within DC, and has kept SREC prices high.
Solar panels only go up and into service on our community buildings when green convictions meet strong local policy, such that private developers can finance solar projects for community organizations and know they’ll recoup their investment.
Now, the mayor’s budget has taken aim at the beating heart of DC’s solar market. The proposed budget would direct our utilities not to purchase the SRECs they currently buy from solar projects in DC and to pay the “Alternative Compliance Payment” instead, likely crashing the market that has made solar financeable for so many community buildings. The mayor’s budget moves funds that currently incentivize clean energy in the District and redirects a chunk of those funds to pay the District’s energy bills; literally using money that should be growing clean energy and using it to purchase more dirty energy.
Speak out NOW before Wednesday's budget hearing:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ALfZvfpkFEjBrmo1v6bMXsz9iBMHsaTn_vYGTa76bAQ/edit =h.o2sejoooe6g1

Maryland Vote today! Remember to vote with Climate and Environmental Justice in mind.

Marylanders: VOTE today, with our neighbors and our common home in 💚 Polls are open from 7am to 8pm. Need help locating your polling place? Go to http://vote.md.gov/MDsearch

Marylanders: VOTE today, with our neighbors and our common home in 💚. Share your voting selfies below!

Primary Election Day is here! Need help locating your polling place? Click here: http://vote.md.gov/MDsearch

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm


National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)

Last Thursday, we celebrated the passage of the network geothermal (WARMTH Act) and EmPOWER reform bills! Shout out to all our partners in the coalition! Thank you Del Lorig Charkoudian for being a champion climate justice.

Wonderful to join Prince of Peace Lutheran in Gaithersburg yesterday to give out native plants 🌱 through National Wildlife Federation's Sacred Grounds program, and to see the church building itself follow the plants' example and begin making energy from ☀️! Visit IPLDMV.org/solar to explore taking your congregation solar, too!

Grateful to be doing this sacred work with such a beautiful team (all together today for a retreat) and congregations across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. 💚

Photo Dump from the annual conference and day on the hill.

https://www.facebook.com/share/zAmxmRcFqtR2Gcpc/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Last month, our team came to Annapolis dressed as The Flintstones in support of a bill to help folks leave gas in the Stone Age and shift away from burning fuel indoors, which we now know is polluting the climate and the air we breathe at home. We are bringing our faith communities’ many gifts to this moment, and winning real victories for climate policy. (We yabba dabba did it, you might say.) On this Earth Day, help us continue to meet the climate crisis with bravery and with joy: ipldmv.org/donate