Join Professor Gunnar Schade of Texas A&M University to learn about the issue of air pollution. Air pollution is a major factor for public health throughout the world. An increasing human population, increasingly clustered in urban areas, is exposed to a variety of air pollutants. Among the common pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone exposure dominate health effects, which have become much better understood in the last two decades. While air quality has improved in much of the western world, population growth and the continued usage of fossil fuels to power economic growth has worsened air quality almost everywhere else. As the overwhelming amount of air pollution is caused by fossil fuels, namely their mining, combustion and widespread consumer use, a rapid transition to renewable energy use alongside the “electrification of everything” is expected to near eliminate air pollution as an environmental problem in the 21st century. Whether this can be achieved is therefore closely linked to climate change mitigation via phasing out fossil fuel use in energy production and agriculture. Time for interactive discussion will be provided after his talk.  Register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-four-major-global-environmental-issues-their-causes-effects-s-tickets-378315811777. All registrants will receive a recording of the talk afterward.  Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com for more information.

Join Professor Sylvia Dee of Rice University to consider climate change, its causes, impacts, and solutions.  There is now a long-established global scientific consensus that climate change will damage human and natural systems at high expense. Climate change-induced disruptions to human-environment interactions occur via impacts such as sea level rise, storm surge, tropical cyclones, and degradation of ecosystems and resources.  Earth is already responding more quickly than predicted to rapidly shifting, pervasive radiative forcing. Our species’ future will depend on our ability to adapt to and mitigate this response.  Houston provides a geopolitically relevant model city for the impacts of climate change in low-lying coastal zones in the subtropics, where, globally, the highest development rates are occurring. The increasing frequency of flooding due to tropical storms and extreme rainfall have already cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and pose an existential threat to the nation’s energy security.  Houston is ground zero for the study of the impacts of climate change on coastal cities and energy infrastructure. In cities housing critical hubs for the petrochemical industry, the economic effects of climate change will resonate widely.  In this talk, Dr. Dee will summarize the science of climate change and the social challenges that accompany it, as well as the urgent need for solutions that can be adopted now to mitigate the social and economic consequences of environmental degradation. Time for interactive discussion will be provided after her talk. Register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-four-major-global-environmental-issues-their-causes-effects-s-tickets-378315811777. All registrants will receive a recording of the talk afterward.  Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com for more information.

Gardening and growing fruit, vegetables, and herbs organically is easy when recreating systems of nature to incorporate plants for wildlife and for people. Gardening in the gulf coast climate allows us to grow year around. Carol Burton, Director of Garden Education at Urban Harvest will explore the seasons from Summer gardening strategies to Fall transitions for a bumper cool season crop and the top five fruit trees to get started. Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

Join Professor Kerri Crawford of the University of Houston for a talk on the issue of biodiversity loss.  Our planet is home to millions of species that rely on each other and provide important ecosystem services. Humans, too, rely on nature — but we take a disproportionate amount of the resources and modify the environment in ways that negatively affect other species. Our effects on the environment are directly causing what many have termed “the 6th mass extinction.” In this presentation, Dr. Crawford will provide information on what biodiversity is, how quickly we are losing biodiversity, why biodiversity is important for us, and what is being done to protect biodiversity.  Time for interactive discussion will be provided after her talk.  Register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com. All registrants will receive a recording of the talk afterward.  Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com for more information.

Heat is the greatest weather-related disaster in the U.S., killing more people than any other kind of natural disaster.  And, Texas is one of three states with the highest heat-related deaths. A study found that the Houston area averaged 18 dangerously hot summer days per year from 1975 to 2010. Without any action to combat urban heat, Houston’s annual number of days hit by dangerous summer heat could rise to 80 by 2046. So, Houston’s urban heat issues are already serious and are forecasted to get much worse with the Climate Crisis. Urban heat negatively affects human and biodiversity health throughout the region, exacts a financial toll, leads to higher ozone levels, and reduces quality of life.  Heat mapping in Houston has shown that high heat is more concentrated in underinvested communities and/or Communities of Color, thereby widening historic inequalities. Fortunately, there are solutions that can be brought to bear to reduce urban heat.  Join Jaime Gonzalez of The Nature Conservancy, who led heat mapping efforts in Houston, for a discussion on the findings, their justice implications, solutions, and how houses of worship/people of faith can engage.  Learn more/register on www.eventbrite.com. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

It is well known that global warming and associated climate changes are linked to the increase of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Humans generate anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane in many different ways. A carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide and methane that are generated as a result of an individual’s actions per year. The average carbon footprint of the U.S. is 16 tons, which is much higher than global average (about 4 tons). To avoid catastrophic climate change, nations across the globe agreed to reduce the global average carbon footprint to 2 tons by 2050. The major contributors to carbon footprint include transportation, consumption of food, other products and household energy use. Join Professor Hyun-Min Hwang of Texas Southern University to learn how we can make significant reductions in our carbon footprints.   Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-tickets-400699070707. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston along with the climate action team is sponsoring a series of events as part of service dedicated to animal rights. This event will feature World Renowned Vegan Activist Ed Winters speaking about veganism and the environment. Ed will be available to answer questions for approximately 30 minutes following the talk.

First UU of Houston will begin the series with a Plant-based potluck which will also require a registration. Following the potluck we will be hosting a concert by Strands of Compassion to which all are welcome to attend this will be a pay what you wish event. On Saturday we will host the Ed Winters Talk w/ Q&A. And on Sunday Rev. D. Scott Cooper will deliver his Sermon for the Animals.

We hope you might attend all or some of these events.

These days we have all experienced consequences of the climate crisis on top of dealing with challenges of day to day living. How can the resulting big changes and projects that we undertake inform a larger regenerative shift? Join Amanda Tullos, CEO & Founder of GreeNexus Consulting, to learn about her quest to move the needle toward a more regenerative relationship between people, place, and planet. Amanda will discuss the 3 commonalities that she has seen in her work as a sustainability consultant. Her company’s work on commercial facilities such schools and office buildings, has helped to push the built environment toward a more intentional infrastructure of change. What wisdom can be gleaned from the process of creating a greener built environment? … and how can this help you during times of transformation? Join Amanda to consider how you can move toward a regenerative relationship with the planet, and your place in it.  Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-three-part-path-of-regeneration-tickets-412422034407. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

Whether celebrating in your home or your house of worship, people of all faith/spiritual traditions would like their occasions to be sustainable.  Sustainability is frequently defined as fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.  This is a simple definition, but putting it into practice for holidays and holy days may require some thought and planning.  Lisa Brenskelle will draw from her decades of work in earthkeeping ministry in both Christian and interfaith settings to explain the key aspects to consider to make your celebration sustainable.  Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainable-celebrations-tickets-430614338077. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

As John Muir famously wrote in 1911: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” This expression of oneness, which Muir observed from his time in the Sierras, has both a scientific and a spiritual basis. Muir was prescient, as the known science in 1911 had only a rudimentary understanding, by our modern standards, or how all things connect. And, although Muir was raised in very devout Christian home and considered himself a Christian, he may never have connected the spiritual aspect of this oneness with the Christian faith.  Join Lisa Brenskelle, who holds a doctoral degree in engineering and has spent decades working in earthkeeping ministry in both Christian and interfaith settings, as she highlights the oneness of all things as understood by modern science and as expressed in Christian scriptures. Attendees will gain a deeper appreciation of how everything connects to everything else, including how humanity is woven into the fabric of the universe. Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oneness-scripture-science-tickets-430609794487. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.