Sister Claire McGowen delivering petitions to the governor’s office. THE COURIER-JOURNAL
Ten days after delivering 36,000 signatures to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear from people opposing the Bluegrass Pipeline, Sister Clair McGowan will participate in a Festival of Faiths discussion tomorrow that she organized on national energy policy.
The event (The Energy Independence Boom: A Call for Religious Leadership) is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bellarmine University’s Frazier Hall.
Speakers include:
1) Samuel Avery, an author, longtime social activist and owner of Avery and Sun Solar Energy Solutions. His presentation: What is Going on with the Energy Independence Boom.
2) Paul D. Simmons, a former president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, clinical professor of medical ethics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and a Baptist minister. His presentation: What does the Energy Independence Boom have to do with Faith?
3) Sarah Lynn Cunningham, a licensed environmental engineer, certified environmental educator and long-time environmental advocate with an expertise on energy and climate change. Her presentation: What can people of faith do?
The cost is $25.
Chris Wooten, a festival spokesman, said there will be discussions between each presentation. An event outline shows that there will also be work done on creating a vision statement.
Religion and faith have become intertwined with the debate of the Bluegrass Pipeline, which would carry natural gas liquids from the booming fracking zones northeast of Kentucky. That issue will likely come up tomorrow, Wooten said.
A week ago Tuesday, The Courier-Journal’s Tom Loftus reported that about 40 protesters said they were bound by their faith to oppose the Bluegrass Pipeline project during a rally on the Capitol steps.
Carter County test well for carbon capture and storage, billed as a way to keep Kentucky in the coal business. Credit: Kentucky Geological Survey.
“I am here because I believe, as the Psalms express, that the whole Earth is full of the steadfast love of God,” said Susan Classen, a co-member of the Sisters of Loretto. “It matters how we treat the Earth, the land, the water and all inhabitants of the Earth.”
And David Whitlock, pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church, said, “For too long, many of us have stepped aside, looked the other way, and allowed powerful, profit-motivated corporations to dictate to us how our environment is going to be treated.”
I would expect another pipeline to get some attention, too. Avery is author of The Pipeline & the Paradigm, which has been a local best seller. It is about the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, which would bring Canadian tar sands oils through the United States.
The discussion comes as the EPA has announced new carbon rules for new power plants and is weighing new rules for existing plants, as a way to limit climate pollution and slow global warming.