Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is part of environmentalism; it’s completely consistent with the UU commitment to social justice. We can’t solve the problems of ecology without facing the problems of inequity. All justice work is environmental work as much as is recycling or organic eating.

For example, working to reduce global warming helps prevent the poor from experiencing severe hunger since food shortages are increasing around the world. Thus, our congregation has supported such causes as The Heifer International Project, Kids Against Hunger, St. Matthew's House, and the Immokalee Non-Profit Housing.

A complete picture of our Social Justice work from an environmental perspective is laid out in our application for Green Sanctuary accreditation.

Our major ongoing social justice project in which we collaborated with other organizations started in June of 2007 when we persuaded the Naples City Mayor to sign onto the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement [in collaboration with the local Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Wildlife Federation, Conservancy, and League of Women Voters]. Since then, the City of Naples has joined ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability at www.iclei.org/us), completed the environmental audit, and has contracted with an employee to begin the next step of setting targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, Collier County was persuaded (October 14th, 2008) by the local Audubon Society and Conservancy to begin its own environmental audit. [Alan Keller & Brad Cornell with the Collier County Audubon Society at the meeting of the Collier County Commissioners on Oct 14th pictured here]. This is remarkable progress.

  The alternative trade fair

  was held 3 Sundays after the

  service in Nov & Dec 08;

  A total of $3,282.90 worth of

  Fair Trade goods were sold.

  As we stand for economic

  justice, this is the way to go.