Seated left to right: Vern Visick, Peter Bakken, Rev.
Jeff Wild, Rev. Dave Steffenson. Standing: Rev. Dick Blomker, unknown, Mark Daugherty, Atty. Ed Ritger.

As early as March of 2002, WICEC was arranging to hold a meeting to help
congregations construct their own wind turbines.

On January 20, 2006, a meeting was held at Rev. Wild's church to review
some of the hurdles that must be overcome before construction of
community or congregational wind turbines can occur. Many congregations
are since about our creation and are willing to expend resources to find
alternatives to our present "fossil fuel economy."

Protecting Our Creation

Working can be fun as demonstrated by board members (left to
right): Joe Bachman, Sr. Janet Weyker, Wayne Stroessner, Rev. Dave
Steffenson, Dr. Huda Alkaff, Dr. Susan De Vos.

On April 19, 2006, Sr. Janet Weyker invited the entire WICEC Board of
Directors to participate in a clean-up at the Eco-Justice Center at 7133
Michna Road, Racine, Wisconsin.

The day's board meeting was preceded with a tour of the Eco-Justice
Center and Earth Day work projects that included chain sawing, stacking
of wood, clearing wood chips from spaces where stumps were removal and
filling them with top soil. Sr. Janet provided the board with and
environmentally friendly lunch. Huda arranged for a photographer and
writer from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to cover this WICEC
Interfaith Earth Month work project and meeting. The article with
excellent photos was published shortly after the meeting.

Part of the day included feeding the llamas.

Feeding the llamas.

Performing the Role of Faith Communities in Confronting the Challenge
Social Marketing is the science of changing people’s opinion and behavior by appealing to their values. The Biodiversity Project, located in Madison, has facilitated research showing that people of faith are one of most important target audiences for those hoping to affect lasting social change. Essentially, people of faith can unite around a common belief in moral and personal responsibility to protect the earth’s biodiversity.

In fact, Americans are ultimately persuaded not by scientific facts but by ethical arguments and for the majority of Americans, these are rooted in religious institutions and traditions. Jane Elder, executive director of the Project, therefore lists the following reasons for bringing religious ethics into the environmental realm: “…Most lasting social change is anchored in a deep moral imperative…values-based rationales for protecting [the Earth’s environment] are widely held and persuasive…reframing the debate humanizes and personalizes choices about [environmental sustainability]…[and] understanding ethics will help us make better decisions on complex issues.”

©2006 WICEC. All rights reserved.
Wisconsin Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign
4032 Monona Drive
Madison, WI 53716
Rev. Dick Blomker, Chair
608-222-7339
info@wicec.org
http://www.wicec.org/