7th October Press Conference Opposing Beach Replenishment in Deal, NJ, A Recap

Waterspirit is part of a new coalition lifting up resiliency and long term planning for future generations of New Jerseyans and visitors alike.

There has been some coverage of the event, Beach Replenishment Hurts the Environment, Subsidizes Wealthy Homeowners, Group Argues via NJ.com, 'No end in sight': Coalition Argues $1.5B in NJ Beach Replenishment has Been a Waste via Asbury Park Press, Fishers, Green Coalition: Beach Widening at Jersey Shore A Waste via AP, Ongoing Fight: Jersey Shore Towns To Receive $26 Million of Beach Replenishment Starting Next Month via News12NJ, Advocates push for alternatives to beach replenishment in NJ via NJ Spotlight and we are sharing Waterspirit’s full statement below.

My name is Rachel Dawn Davis and I am the Public Policy & Justice Organizer for Waterspirit. Waterspirit is a 20-year young spiritual ecology center and ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Our office, once at the Stella Maris Retreat Center- lost following Sandy, is now located on occupied Lenni Lenape land known as Rumson at the historic first Presbyterian Church. Our mission critical is to hear the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, centered around water.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Please take a look at the water and smell the air. Think of the generations before us. We are all connected. Today we are living in climate emergency. We must consider the future, now, today.  

Think of the generations to come. The New Jersey Backbays study allows us to engage with the idea of retreat when the authors share: “in some cases, just as ecosystems migrate and change functions, human systems may have to relocate in a responsible manner.” Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’, warns: “Future generations will never forgive us if we miss the opportunity to protect our common home.” Earth is our common home. We have a moral obligation during this time of climate chaos to act in the best interests of all humanity, not some few. A New York Times reporter “…talked to dozens of Jersey Shore mayors, engineers and other municipal officials about the billions it will cost just in the short term to fight the water. None of them had seriously considered curbing development to reduce risk to life and property.” This helps us understand why retreat was only raised as an option in the last two minutes of the second 1.5 hour recent NJ Backbays study public sessions. It deserves closer consideration.

Resiliency is one thing, and regeneration is a phrase that lends itself appropriately to the challenges faced by younger inhabitants of our climate emergency. It would be prudent to invest in alternative means of regenerative community building. Prioritizing beach replenishment perpetuates income inequality for young New Jerseyans, soon to be voters. New Jersey would benefit more significantly from investing in local, community prepared response to scientific climate change projections, such as sea level rise, exacerbated by storms, flooding and tornadoes.

We have climate migrants in this country, all across Turtle Island. Young people across the country and their families are already relocating multiple times due to flooding or fires or hurricanes. Young people’s experiences with our climate emergency are shaping the types of education they are or aren’t capable of receiving due to the income their parents and caretakers have or lack to provide.

We have a moral obligation to fund projects and programs that will alleviate the burdens from the most vulnerable communities: people of poor or low wealth. It is not prudent to accentuate more beach havens where more building could take place into a vicious cycle. Where retreat is not chosen, the enforcement of building code standards must be sufficient to meet the realities of climate change projections.   

“According to a global survey and peer-reviewed study soon to be published in Lancet Planetary Health, a scientific journal, 75% of young people think the future is frightening and 45% say climate concern negatively impacts their day.” ~ Time Magazine

Politicians are refusing to accept correspondence, letters, openings for dialogue with young people about better solutions to focus on regenerative communities that account for considerations well into the future. This is misguided and we hope that through honest dialogue we may move forward together.

Note, Waterspirit is advocating for stormwater utility exploration https://bit.ly/StormwaterMgmtChat2021 which was raised at the end of the press conference as one idea of supplemental assistance for municipalities seeking to enhance their preparedness for inevitable storms and flooding. Waterspirit is a new member of Flood Defense NJ. https://www.njlcvef.org/flood-defense

💧Praise for Sister Water! 💧

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This week’s highlights include National Voter Education Week, a reminder to join our in-person Meditation for Earth sessions on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM in the Sanctuary at Rumson Presbyterian Church, an exciting announcement rooted in Laudato Si’ Actions, lifting up Waterspirit’s partnership as part of the ongoing Regenerative Communities Summit through October 10th, national & state level advocacy updates, bringing Waterspirit to your community, and photos from last weekend’s Live Streams event.

There's Still Time ⌛


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This week’s highlights include how to join our next round of 10-Steps Eco-Anxiety Support Group beginning tonight, September 28th, an in-person writing workshop on October 2nd, recognizing #NationalVoterRegistrationDay TODAY with methods to help Get Out The Vote with our partner, League of Women Voters, and a recent victory against a major pipeline project, PennEast. Enjoy!

A Balance of Night and Day 🍂

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This week’s highlights include a reminder to join our in-person Meditation for Earth sessions on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM in the Sanctuary at Rumson Presbyterian Church, a registration link for Waterspirit’s Fall Equinox Celebration tomorrow, September 22nd, a link to our Fall Newsletter, a registration link for an in-person writing workshop on October 2nd, announcing Waterspirit’s partnership as part of the upcoming Regenerative Communities Summit September 24- October 10th, and photos from last weekend’s Wind and Sea Festival.

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness 🍂

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This week’s highlights include a reminder to join our in-person Meditation for Earth sessions on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM in the Sanctuary at Rumson Presbyterian Church, an invitation to the Wind & Sea Festival on September 18th, a registration link for Waterspirit’s Fall Equinox Celebration on September 22nd, how to join our next round of 10-Steps Eco-Anxiety Support Group on September 28th, an in-person writing workshop on October 2nd and a recap of significant advocacy meetings in which Waterspirit has been partaking!

Dialing Up Dialogue, Waterspirit Met with the US Treasury Department

Democracy, like water, is fluid. Waterspirit’s advocacy work has always been rooted in finding solutions to right the wrongs inflicted upon Mother Earth and all Creation. Ongoing monetary gain for fossil fuel companies poisons the way of life on Earth for all living beings. Fossil fuel industry operations are to blame for rapid acceleration of warmth in our atmosphere, and the ancillary storms, tornadoes, fires and other climate emergencies with which we are increasingly grappling. The major storm events we have been experiencing on the East Coast have been produced by fossil fuel byproducts, which remain largely subsidized. 

When as recently as September 9th, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairpersonship was utilized as a revolving door for industry wealth holders yet again, (White House Nominee Has Deep Ties to Fossil Fuel and Utility Industries), it is hard to justify to young livable-future advocates why this caricatured illustration remains status quo. There are economic gains to be realized from a wholehearted approach to renewable energy and a just transition away from fossil fuel. Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, is warning about an approaching default that will take place next month. (Yellen Warns US on to Default in October)

We breathe. We organize. We coalesce and take the opportunity for meetings to engage directly with decision makers, highlighting the transparency allowing for ultimate accountability toward Mutli-solving next steps.

In May of this year, an Executive Order on Climate Related Financial Risk was issued. In response to this, organizers wrote this letter to the Biden Administration. Organizers, such as Doug Norlen of Friends of the Earth, followed up to learn more. Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), a coalition partner of Waterspirit, led by Erika Thi Patterson orchestrated a meeting with the Treasury Department. I, Rachel Dawn Davis, Public Policy & Justice Organizer for Waterspirit, was fortunate enough to partake alongside Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In The Ground Campaign Organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network, Jackie Fielder, Activist with StopTheMoneyPipeline, Osprey Orielle Lake Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN), Tracey Lewis, Policy Analyst for 350.org, Clair Brown, Economics Professor, RL Miller, Political Director of Climate Hawks Vote, Lena Rodriguez, Indigenous Youth and elder Caretaker, and Amy Gray, Activist Leader with 350.org Colorado. We met with the Climate Counselor, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Secretariat, and officials working in the areas of Domestic Finance, Climate and Energy Economics. Naturally, concerns were shared in writing beforehand and stories were shared during the meeting. After West Coast based people spoke emotionally about the fires, we talked floods and stormwater being an obstacle for existing power plants to be sourced by 100% renewable energy. We took on the connection of Hurricane Ida which was about to land in New Jersey at the time, 1st September 2021.

Waterspirit, alongside water protectors throughout Turtle Island, asked for the Treasury Department to stop funding dirty energy and instill confidence in the public communities across this land by creating a robust, transparent plan. We requested that such a plan include clear, independently audited measurements with communicated benchmarks along the way, such as phasing out investments in fossil fuel by 2026 while concurrently increasing investments in renewable energy jobs for frontline communities. We requested they act to ensure investments are prioritized for BIPOC communities and that they explicitly help to begin to heal the harm caused by environmental racism. 

Here are the resources we shared:

·  Hoodwinked in the Hot House: Resist False Solutions to Climate Change Report

·  Carbon Unicorns Report: The Deception of Carbon Markets and Net Zero

·  Too Many (Loop)holes in the Net: “Net Zero” Promises Ring Hollow Without “Zero Fossil Fuel” Pledges

·  Fractured: The Body Burden of Living Near Fracking  

·  Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions 

·  2021 Congressional Briefing on the Abuses of FERC and Needed Reforms

The US will benefit from investments in 100% renewable energy and a just and stable labor force transition, starting now. We look forward to ongoing dialogue fostering the solutions that must be implemented, such as those included in the potential budget reconciliation package. We will keep you apprised of updates!

Flow With The Spirit of Water!

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This week’s highlights include a reminder to join our in-person Meditation for Earth sessions on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM in the Sanctuary at Rumson Presbyterian Church, a registration link for Waterspirit’s Fall Equinox Celebration on September 22nd, how to join our next round of 10-Steps Eco-Anxiety Support Group on September 28th, an in-person writing workshop on October 2nd and where to go for information following the aftermath of Ida.