| Local climate solutions powered by faith communities. |
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| Welcome to Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions! "At Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS), we believe in the power of community, faith, and action. With over 2,900 supporters, 225 faith communities, and 5 active Advocacy Hubs across Northern Virginia and the Commonwealth, we are united in our mission against climate change." |
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| FACS Data Center Principles Created to Guide Us Forward To supply data centers, Dominion Energy appears ready to abandon the commitments they made to generate 100% electricity from renewable sources by 2045. In response, we’ve developed Data Center Principles with an FAQ to guide FACS advocacy discussions on data centers’ increasing demands for energy, water, and land, along with their adverse impacts on the health of nearby communities—all while acknowledging the inevitability of their growth. As a member of the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition, FACS is proud to engage in advocacy with local, state, and federal policymakers based on these principles. Stay tuned for future updates and action alerts. |
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| Faith in Action – “Blue Boat Home” By Peter Mayer Take a moment to enjoy this offering of song and imagery from Peter Mayer’s “Blue Boat Home,” and embrace our place in the infinite universe. |
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| Upcoming Events & Opportunities |
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| What You Need to Know About Local Climate Action in the City of Alexandria Wednesday, November 6 | 7 PM | Hybrid Ryan Freed, Director of Alexandria’s Office of Climate Action, will share the city’s progress in implementing their 2040 Environmental Action Plan and ways faith communities can take climate action. For in-person attendees, light finger foods and beverages will be provided at 6:30 PM @ Parish Hall, Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria 22304. If tuning in virtually, join at 7 PM via Zoom. |
| | | Meet Arlington County’s New Climate Policy Office Wednesday, November 6 | 7 PM | Virtual Learn about Arlington County’s Climate Policy Office (CPO) and its new charge to engage across the community to advance climate actions based on equity. They will discuss how FACS volunteers can engage and help advance equity and climate action in the county. |
| | | Tree of Life Case Study: Engaging All Generations with an Active Creation Care Ministry Thursday, November 14 | 12 PM | Virtual Earning the title as Fairfax County’s First Old-Growth Community Forest, St. Peter's in the Woods Episcopal Church has an extremely active and robust Creation Care Ministry. We welcome Stacey Remick as they share how St. Peter's in the Woods engages their youth and young adult groups; maintains a lush, native landscape on their grounds; and eliminates silos by cross-collaborating with other ministries within the church. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions during the webinar, and it will be recorded to send to all registrants. |
| | | Cut Wasted Energy Costs & Save Money with FACS' Power of Faith Fairfax Thursday, November 14 | 7 PM | Virtual Is your congregation located in Fairfax County? FACS launched a unique partnership with the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination so that congregations like yours can cut wasted energy costs and save money for your missions while reducing your carbon footprint! This is a fantastic opportunity to learn how FACS' Power of Faith Fairfax program can help your congregation track energy use, electrify, and finance the journey. |
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| | - Clean Water: After $615 million and 16 months of tunneling, Alexandria is close to fixing its sewage overflow problem.
- Electric Vehicles: Fairfax County is making it easier for residents living in homeowner associations and condominiums to access electric vehicle (EV) charging stations through its innovative Charge Up Fairfax program. Loudoun County has installed new charging stations for public use at the Cascades Library - see the full list of charging stations in Loudoun.
- Trees: Due to the increasingly warming climate, Fairfax County has shifted the start of the tree planting window from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1—with the duration of the window extending through all of winter—marking the first change in three decades.
- Energy: Dominion Energy filed its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), calling for more gas-powered electricity. The plan fails to model investments in renewables at the level needed to move Virginia to a zero-carbon grid and instead relies on retaining the Company’s current fossil fuel fleet through 2039.
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| | Fill out this form to get involved with your local Advocacy Hub. You'll receive updates for county-specific meetings & events, action alerts, and more! A Hub Leader will reach out to you shortly after submitting. |
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| City of Alexandria In partnership with Build Our Future, the Alexandria FACS Hub sent out a questionnaire on climate change and sustainability to the November 2024 Alexandria City School Board Candidates about how Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) should address climate change. They received responses from four of the six candidates, all in support of ACPS taking action to address climate change. (See the candidates’ full replies). Furthermore, due to the work of FACS and other community members, the Alexandria City School Board recently added sustainability as a priority in its FY 2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). |
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| Arlington County In the Arlington FACS Hub’s monthly meeting, they learned about the “Can We Stop Climate Change?” course, which is designed to help anyone talk about climate change. This course aligns with a focus on hope and positive solutions. If you would like to know more or register for the course, contact the Hub Leader Julie Rosenberg at rosenberg.julies@gmail.com. |
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| Fairfax County For the Fairfax FACS Hub’s November meeting, they are joining FACS’ Power of Faith Webinar on Nov. 14 at 7 PM to learn about FACS’ energy efficiency programs and how they are coordinating with the county. In their October monthly Hub meeting, they had a discussion about FACS’ current organizational priorities and programs directly led from the FACS Staff Team. Do you like to do outreach and engage with your local community? If so, get ready to table with us in the spring! (Fill out FACS’ Volunteer Interest Form) |
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| Loudoun County The Loudoun FACS Hub met with Del. David Reid to discuss concerns and solutions about data centers. Loudoun County is the data center hub of the world with 75% of the world’s internet traffic passing through the “Data Center Alley." They shared concerns about Virginia Clean Energy Act (VCEA) requirements of net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 not being met due to the massive use of natural resources—electricity, water, land—that data centers demand and the likely increased costs of energy due to infrastructure buildout. They asked for Delegate Reid’s support for legislation that will further regulate data center development during the 2025 General Assembly legislative session. Del. Reid expressed interest in additional meetings and is looking forward to the release of the JLARC study. |
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| Central Valley The Central Valley FACS Hub partnered with the Mennonite Central Committee to make the COP 29 Climate Fast. Tied to the United Nations’ global climate summit in Azerbaijan, you can engage in this event regardless of your location by praying and fasting with others, signing a petition to the President, and sharing your COP 29 climate fast plan. As noted in the event flier, fasting can take on many creative and different forms. |
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| FACS' Monthly Sustainability Tip |
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| Have leftover pumpkins and want a fun, sustainable way to keep them out of a landfill? Check out Pumpkins for Pigs and donate your leftover pumpkins to be special treats for farm animals! |
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| Inspired to give beyond time and talent? |
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|  | Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
PO Box 2012 | Reston, Virginia 20195
703-239-3748 | info@faithforclimate.org |
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