“How awe inspiring it is to be in this generation, and alive on earth in this moment, as we are the first generation to be experiencing the climate crisis and the last generation that will be able to do anything about it. That is an awesome responsibility, but also an incredible thing to be alive in this time.”
— Joelle Novey, Director of DC’s Interfaith Power & Light
To face the challenge we can learn, go green, and speak out for stronger climate policy.
Learn about the danger natural gas – also known as methane gas – poses. Methane gas is a climate super polluter. It traps over 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Although methane/natural gas burns a little cleaner than coal, the natural gas/methane piping distribution is rife with leaks. Interfaith Power & Light and the Washington Interfaith Network have conducted “Methane Leak Detection” tests where they found many hundreds of methane leaks in every ward of DC, 16 of which were explosive. A DC elementary school even was closed in the spring of 2024 due to underground gas leaks. The underground gas distribution system leaks more than we had been aware of previously. There is no way to meet our climate goals if we have methane leaks all over our city.
Methane gas also endangers our homes. When methane/natural gas burns in our homes, it releases 21 pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) being the most damaging. Gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide when the flame is on. Gas stoves have been measured to increase NO2 levels in homes to unsafe levels, exceeding outdoor EPA safety limits. NO2 is a poisonous gas that can cause respiratory, asthma, and cardiovascular problems. If you have a gas-burning stove, consider using preparing food instead using an induction cooktop on your counter, air fryers, microwave ovens, toaster ovens, crock pots, etc. until you are ready to replace your gas stove with an electric one.
Test your gas-burning kitchen for pollution: http://bit.ly/testmykitchen
Shifting to solar energy is easier than ever before. The Solar United Neighbors purchasing group can walk you through the process of going solar in DC or in MD’s Montgomery, Prince George, or Frederick counties, and in Northern Virginia: bit.ly/faithinsolar
Alternatively, you can participate in Neighborhood Sun’s Community Solar program, where you can subscribe on your energy bill to community solar production from a large facility elsewhere. The Community Solar program is available if you pay an energy bill to Pepco: nsunsolar.com/ipl
Over 100 congregations in the area have gone solar and are posted on ipldmv.org. Congregation buildings are beacons in the community. Among the local congregations that have gone solar are Washington Hebrew, St. Alban’s Parish on the grounds of the National Cathedral, and several buildings within the National Cathedral grounds. Many congregations use power purchasing agreement financing (PPAs), where a third party installs solar panels on the roof at no expense to the congregation. Power generated by the solar panels is sold to the congregation for less than what they were paying per kilowatt hour before. Alternatively, in some cases congregations can host a Community solar project, where a large array in one location can be subscribed to by people who are elsewhere in the same grid.
The Inflation Reduction Act made the solar federal tax credit available to non-profits. Even though congregations do not pay federal taxes, they still can get a tax rebate in the form of “direct pay”. In this approach, instead of a third-party financing the solar panel installation and taking some of the benefits, congregations can finance it themselves but get 30% of the cost of equipment and installation back from the federal government.
Solar congregations map: ipldmv.org/solar
Solar for your home:
* For homeowners in Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties, Northern Virginia, and DC: http://bit.ly/faithinsolar
Electrify at home:
* Montgomery County homeowners can get help getting off gas and electrifying through a County pilot program with Elysian Energy. Sign up: http://bit.ly/ElectrifyMC
Subscribe to community solar:
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 instead: http://nsunsolar.com/ipl
We need to hold industrial polluters accountable for irrevocable damage to our one and only planet. We need to speak out to get at the scale of the problem. To deal with the crisis we need to change laws. Climate action includes advocacy, particularly at the local level, such as:
The Jewish Earth Alliance and Dayenu are good resources for federal advocacy for climate action: jewishearthalliance.org, dayenu.org
Join IPL-DMV here: ipldmv.org/get-updates
Join a group of Jewish green leaders in the region on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/jcandmv, or send a blank email to jcan-dmv+subscribe@googlegroups.com
We are grateful to Joelle Novey, Director of DC’s Interfaith Power and Light for sharing these insights and encouragement with Temple Micah.