On September 9, 2005, a wide array of faith communities came together to discuss environmental responsibility at “Earth, Energy and Faith: An Interreligious Summit.” The event, which brought together leaders of diverse denominations for the first time to address some of the most pressing issues of our times, was sponsored by the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network (IREJN), the Hartford Seminary and SmartPower.

The Right Reverend Andrew Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and Paula Jenson Moulton of the Christian Science Committee on Publication at the "Earth, Energy and Faith" summit.

“Caring for creation, striving for environmental justice and building sustainable economies are values that are shared widely across denominational lines,” observed Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Director of IREJN. Accordingly, the gathering attracted participants from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Baha’i and Jain traditions.

Sister Mary Ellen Murphy, Visiting Scientist and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Saint Joseph College, provided the audience with the scientific foundation behind the phenomenon of global warming. She asked the leaders to integrate faith and action with respect to eco-justice issues and to bring their values to the marketplace.

Following her presentation, case studies were provided by the Rev. Gary Miller, Senior Minister of Asylum Hill Congregational Church (Hartford), Jeanie Graustein, Environmental Justice Ministry Coordinator, Office of Urban Affairs, Archdiocese of Hartford and Kathleen Schomaker, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science and Green Sanctuary Program, Unitarian Universalists. Their collective experiences illustrated the many challenges faced by different congregations and served as a springboard for a roundtable discussion, which was facilitated by Dr. Heidi Hadsell, President of the Hartford Seminary.

Participants also learned about the growing number of houses of worship that have chosen clean energy, including Asylum Hill (which also reported that 160 parishioners have signed up their residences for clean energy) and the First Baptist Church in West Hartford (whose Minister Thomas Carr is also a member of SmartPower’s Board of Advisors.) (See the Monthly Charge – June 2005 issue.) SmartPower’s Bob Wall and Rev. Carr concluded the meeting by asking the leaders to continue the conversation that was initiated at this summit with their respective denominations. They also encouraged all participants to communicate with the IREJN and their peers regarding the multitude of clean energy opportunities and incentives that are currently available.

This past week, SmartPower president Brian F. Keane spent an enlightening and informative three days in London presenting the SmartPower/CESA marketing and messaging research to a wide array of clean energy audiences. The London-based Carbon Trust invited and hosted Keane after learning about SmartPower’s work at a meeting in New York this past June.

The Carbon Trust is Great Britain’s equivalent of a public benefit fund, similar to funds such as the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. The Carbon Trust’s work focuses on marketing and investment in clean energy, energy efficiency and other strategies in an effort to lower carbon emissions in the UK.

This was an exciting opportunity for SmartPower to share its market research and marketing campaign with groups and individuals from other countries. During the visit, SmartPower met with organizations such as The Climate Group, Friends of the Earth, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Climate Change Capital and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Keane’s presentation was enthusiastically received. It served to introduce SmartPower and our marketing and messaging to people in Great Britain and we look forward to a continuing dialogue with these groups and others.

The SmartPower marketing campaign for clean energy is detailed in E Magazine’s September/October 2005 issue. “Buying Cleaner Energy: Few People Realize the Potential,” by Starre Vartan, is featured in the Money Matters column and draws upon interviews with SmartPower’s Brian Keane and Bob Wall. The article discusses SmartPower’s successful 20% by 2010 Campaign that has spread from Connecticut to neighboring states in New England. As Keane points out, “We need to build demand. Just as more hybrid cars are being built because so many people want one, we need to create clean energy demand for the future.” Ms. Vartan also wrote an article on the Clean Energy revolution in Connecticut that was featured in recent editions of the Fairfield County Weekly and the Hartford Advocate.

Something special is growing in Mansfield, Connecticut this year. It’s not so much the crop, but the patterns in which it has sprouted, that make this a one-of-a-kind experience.

Chris Kueffner, Lynn Stoddard and their family have planted a corn maze celebrating clean energy. Kueffner is a 6th grade math and science teacher at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford, CT and Stoddard is an Environmental Analyst at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Coincidentally, their hometown of Mansfield is one of the latest Connecticut municipalities to join SmartPower’s 20% by 2010 Campaign.

For larger view, Click Here

Maze-master Kueffner explained that he wanted his fifth maze to “be fun and interesting and worthwhile for people of all ages.” His family came up with this year’s theme over dinner conversations throughout the winter. Previous themes have included Connecticut Agriculture, Mansfield’s 300th birthday; the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brother's first flight and the (hometown) University of Connecticut’s double championships in NCAA basketball.

The nearly four-acre field is planted just like any other corn field. Once the field is planted, Kueffner transfers his design to the field, using a five-foot wide roll of cultivation plastic as a "pen." This year’s design features almost two miles of paths winding through images of a sun, a wind turbine, a water wheel, and the words “Clean Energy.”

Visitors to the maze are challenged with 30 questions relating to clean energy that are hidden in the maze on sign posts in random order. The challenge is to find all the answers – and find your way out! Everyone also has the opportunity to sign up for clean energy following the tour.

“The project is a lot of work and takes a great deal of time - from plowing the field and picking rocks, to creating the design, to laying it out, to researching the questions and answers, to printing them up and putting them in the maze, to getting the word out, to finding insurance, to just being there when the first car pulls in, all of which I do,” said Kueffner.

The maze is open on weekends in September and October from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 5 Merrow Road, Mansfield, CT 06268. For more information and directions see the maze website.