Who We Are

We are an interfaith group of now nine faith communities committed to work to protect, restore, and heal our Earth home for the well-being of all people, and all beings with whom we co-exist. We welcome all to our events and hope to build community as we care for the Earth, our shared common home. Scroll down to browse, or click on the buttons below for more direct access.

Our Mission

Placer Earth Care Action believes we have a moral and spiritual obligation beyond any political agenda to promote effective and just action on climate change.

Our goals are to raise awareness, take action, and mitigate our climate crisis through interfaith spiritual practices and involvement in community organizations.

Olio! Susan Rushton interviews PECA founder, Linda Franklin (aired on the program Olio! through Auburn Community Television)

Member organizations are faith-based organizations promoting non-partisan advocacy to educate and promote actions to

  • reduce and respond to the effects of climate change

  • promote clean energy and reducing carbon emissions

  • support regenerative agriculture. 

We partner with other community organizations with the same goals.

Educate Yourself

New Monthly Utility Fees are Coming!

Last year, the CA legislature passed an energy bill (AB 205) that includes a “trailer” (section 739.9) that allows creating a monthly fixed income-based utility fee meant to pay for expenses to maintain the electric grid.  This is a flat fee that everyone must pay regardless of how much (or how little) electricity they use.

  •  Currently, the monthly fee we pay is capped at $10/month and our electric bills fluctuate based on the volume of electricity we use. The new income-based rate structure will force most people to pay high fixed fees (ranging from $30 to $70 for most customers) that don’t take into account how much energy they use.

  • AB-205 reduces how much is charged for electricity use, but Section 739.9 proposes increasing the flat fee paid each month, except for those qualifying for CARE or FERA.

    • CARE (CA Alternative Rates for Energy) or FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) customers would pay discounted flat fees.

  • The adoption of an income-based utility fee was added to this bill at the last minute and was never debated on the floor of the assembly.

  • Setting these income-based fees is now before the CPUC (CA Public Utilities Commission), which will make a decision by next summer. The commission has denied requests to hold public hearings on the proposal.

Negative outcomes of Section 739.9:

  • Efficiency and frugality will be penalized:

    • Californians who live in apartments, condos, and small homes would see their utility bills increase (because smaller units tend not to use much electricity, but their fixed monthly fees will increase – so the overall bill increases).

    • The same goes for people who have made their homes more energy-efficient or who have invested in rooftop solar – they must pay the new monthly fee regardless of how much energy they are conserving.

  • Inefficiency and waste will be rewarded:

    • On the other hand, high use customers will see their utility bills go down (because the rates for electricity use will go down, they will not pay as much for they high volume of electricity they use)

Follow these links to learn more:

Get the Climate Action Now App!

Watch this video to learn how easy it is to use the Climate Action now app.

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to advocate for Climate Action in your busy life? Get the Climate Action Now app and begin writing your representatives and others about issues that are important for the climate. The Climate Action Now folks stay abreast of the causes that matter and provide appropriate content that you can modify to send out in emails and tweets. If you activate the notifications on the app, they you will get a gentle one-time reminder every morning to take some action. Within 5 minutes, you can discover current issues related to the climate and send emails (or tweets) to let the people in power know that you are paying attention.

Partnering with Auburn Sustainability Advisory Committee

PECA members have partnered with the Auburn Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) in their efforts to reduce single use both plastic waste and food waste. Our current partnership involves targeting local restaurants to offer more sustainable options for take out containers and food waste. Teams have been visiting restaurants within Auburn city limits, in North Auburn (both up 49 and by the Foresthill exit/Bowman), and in the Loomis/Rocklin area. Come to any one of our events to find out how you can be involved in this effort!

Click below for some of the resources the teams give to the restaurants:

Get the Too Good To Go App!

Watch this video to learn about using the Too Good To Go app in the Bay Area. There is no reason we can’t make this work in Placer County too!

Did you know that about 24% of all the food in the U.S. (54 million tons) goes to waste? Given that one in ten Americans are food insecure, wasted food is just plain wrong for people. It also is wrong for the planet because much of food waste ends up in the landfill where it rots to form methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Part of the food waste problem can be addressed using the app, Too Good to Go, which was developed in Denmark, but began making its way to the United States in the Fall of 2020. The purpose of the app is connect consumers with surplus food in the form of “surprise bags” that food stores and restaurants would otherwise throw away. Currently (March 2023) only one store in our area is signed up for the service (it is free to both consumers and sellers), but PECA members plan to advocate for restaurants to take advantage of the app and for consumers (that’s you) to get the app.

This NASA visualization shows monthly global temperature anomalies from 1880 to 2022 . Whites and blues = cooler temperatures, while oranges and reds = warmer temperatures compared to the 1951-1980 base average.

Upcoming Events

Click on the quick links below to learn more about each event:

Join a Local Climate Strike Every Friday at Auburn City Hall! 12-1pm

Bring your own sign, or just add your voice to others at this weekly Auburn Fridays for Future event in order to agitate for Climate Change action. The Fridays for Future group in Auburn are a welcoming, friendly group - if you don’t have a sign, they will provide one!

PECA Board members, Mary Joe Buettner, Barb Munn, and Linda Franklin at the Jan 20, 2023 Climate Friday Strike.

  • What: Auburn Fridays for Future

  • When: EVERY Friday, 12-1 pm

  • Where: In front of the Auburn City Hall

February 2023 interview with Shirley Ballinger and Mike Davis, who founded Fridays for Future in Auburn.

November 16, 6:30pm - Climate Movie Night - Climate Change: Averting Catastrophe (in-person or virtually)

In the last 30 years, CO2 emissions have increased by 60 percent worldwide, leading to the most pressing problem facing our civilization - global warming. What solutions could there be? This 2023 movie, produced by Deutsche Welle, documents the efforts of people around the world to combat climate change.

When: Thursday November 16, 6:30pm

Where: Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church located at 124 Orange St, Auburn (OR via zoom, see below)

Zoom information
Nov 16, 2023 6:30 PM Pacific Time
Click here to Join the Zoom Meeting

PECA is an interfaith partnership of Placer County Faith Communities concerned about our climate crisis.

December 3, 1:15pm - PECA Presents Women and Climate in the United States (in person or virtually)

Karyn Bigelow, Co-Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries, will join us this month to discuss environmental justice issues associated with climate change.

Karyn Bigelow, Co-Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries.

Karyn is an advocate for the Earth and the people who reside on it. She formerly worked at Bread for the World focusing her work on climate change and food security with a racial equity lens. Karyn earned her Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and her undergraduate degree in Social Relations and Policy form Michigan State.  She is currently pursuing an MS in Global Food Security and Nutrition with a focus on sustainability.

Please join us at PECA Presents:

When: Sunday December 3, 1:15pm

Where: Auburn Congregational Church (Fireside Room) located at 710 Auburn Ravine Rd (OR via zoom, see below)

Zoom information
Dec 3, 2023 1:15 PM Pacific Time
Click here to Join the Zoom Meeting

PECA is an interfaith partnership of Placer County Faith Communities concerned about our climate crisis.

Member Faith Communities

Board Member from each of the PECA faith communities met recently for a holiday lunch to celebrate our connections and our work through PECA.

PECA SPOTLIGHT

Auburn Sustainability Advisory Committee

PECA salutes the Auburn Sustainability Committee, which serves the City of Auburn and nearby Placer County by making recommendations to the Auburn City Council related to sustainability and the environment. Some of their projects include planting canopy trees, finding healthy alternatives to harsh chemicals (such as glyphosate-based herbicides), reducing waste, supporting clean power (such as erecting solar shade structures and switching the city’s energy the Green100 program), and advocating for cleaner transit (including more bike lanes and more EV chargers).

The Auburn Sustainability Advisory Commitee working to make a difference in the City of Auburn and nearby Placer County (June 20, 2023 meeting).

Annie Bowler, pictured to the left in the photo above, is leading a project to visit restaurants to discuss converting take out containers from Styrofoam to more sustainable alternatives, and to inform them about free County implementation of food waste composting as well as new opportunities to sell food that would otherwise be wasted (including PECA’s support of the app, Too Good To Go)

The Auburn Sustainability Committee meets the third Tuesday of every month at 4 pm in the Auburn City Hall. Community members are welcome to attend; public comment is open at the start of every meeting. You can even live stream their meetings if you want to reduce carbon and attend virtually (click here to access the link to the live stream).

Ramps for Auburn Sidewalks

Sue Ingle at a recent Fridays for Future event. Stop by Fridays for Future outside of the Auburn City Hall any Friday between 12 and 1. Maybe Sue will be there, and you can thank her in person!

A big shout out to Sue Ingle for relentlessly advocating to make Auburn more accessible and “walkable” for everyone. Sue’s efforts through public comments at both the Auburn City Board of Supervisors and the Placer Union School District Board meetings were pivotal elements in getting ramps installed on High Street and around Placer High School. Citizen action can yield results and benefit everyone in the community!

Walking, rolling, strolling, skateboarding, or biking instead of driving are behaviors we can do more of to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions!

THANK YOU SUE!

Placer High Environmental Club

The President and Vice President of Placer High Environmental Club speaking at PECA Presents on March 5, 2023.

The Placer High School Environmental Club is a vibrant group of young people educating themselves and others about environmental issues that affect us all (while having fun at the same time). They meet weekly over their 30 minute school lunch break discussing the issues and planning events such as their E-Waste Drive. Once a month they do trash clean ups and invasive species removals at Auburn School Park Preserve.

Fridays for Future Climate Strikes in Auburn

Thanks to Shirley Ballinger and Mike Davis for organizing Climate Strike Fridays in front of the Auburn City Hall. Every Friday, rain or shine, a passionate group of folks concerned about how climate change is affecting EVERYONE, gathers outside of City Hall from 12-1pm. Anyone is welcome to join and bring the conversation both to the drivers who pass by this busy intersection and to each other! This friendly crowd will even provide you with signs if you don’t have one yourself!

Shirley Ballinger, founder of Auburn’s Climate Strike Friday

The climate Friday strikes began in Auburn in 2018 when Shirley Ballinger came by herself on a Friday to strike in solidarity with Greta Thunberg (in 2018, Greta began spending her Fridays outside of the Swedish Parliament to call for stronger action on climate change). Mike Davis stepped up to help organize others who come each Friday. Thanks again Shirley and Mike!

Here are some photos from the Jan 20, 2023 Friday for Future event:

High Hand Cafe

Thanks to the High-Hand Cafe on Taylor Rd. in Loomis for providing a sustainable leftovers box! We try to remember to bring our own containers, but it is still good to find that sustainable packaging it being attended to when possible.

For more about food waste and its links to climate change, click here.

Past PECA Events

EV Extravaganza

On May 7, 2023, PECA brought together a diverse group of local electric vehicle owners to discuss the pros and cons of their EV choices; the cars represented also included a hydrogen-powered vehicle, and plug-in hybrids. The vehicles were displayed in the parking lot so that attendees could have a look at the vehicles and talk to the owners one-on-one after the panel discussion. The brands represented included BMW, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, and Tesla. Click here for a pdf for Dr. Ken Moore’s introductory presentation about EVs. If interested, check out the cool site created by GM that provides useful information about electric cars (including range, charging, batteries, and ownership): https://evlive.gm.com/

Climate Ribbon Project

PECA brought this participatory art ritual for climate healing and hope to our communities in April of 2023.

The Climate Ribbon Project is rooted in one simple, yet profound question: “What do you love and hope never to lose to Climate Chaos?” Write it on a ribbon, add your first name, age, and hometown, then hang it on our climate ribbon “tree”.

Peruse the other ribbons hanging on the tree, then choose one that moves you. Read it to someone else, and tie it to your wrist to signify your resolve to roll back Climate Chaos and protect what this other person most cherishes. Become the guardian of this person’s hopes, as others will guard yours when your ribbon is chosen.

Together our commitments weave a giant ribbon among all of us for a healthy, sustainable planet.

The 2013 Rim fire in and near Yosemite National Park. Credit: USFS/Mike McMillan

Firescaping Presentation

Placer County Master Gardener Kevin Marini joined us on April 2, 2023 for an illuminating and practical presentation about using landscaping to help protect your home from wildfire (firescaping).

Stop Dirty Banks Day of Action

Despite the climate crisis, our biggest banks (Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America) are using their customer’s money to fund fossil fuel expansion, to the tune of billions of dollars every year. Even though these Banks may have made a ‘net zero by 2050’ pledge, they continue to underwrite bonds and loans for the fossil fuel industry. Th!rd Act, Sacramento organized a bank protest as part of a nationwide day of action on March 21, 2023 to highlight the link between our money going into the big 4 banks and coming out via loans to fossil fuel companies to make climate chaos worse.

Five of us from PECA traveled down for the protest despite the pouring rain. See below for photos from this event.

What You Do With Your Money Matters!

Do you have money squirreled away in the bank? Do you use credit cards? Have you invested money as you save for retirement? If you said yes to any of these, then you may be allowing banks and investment firms to use your money to fund activities that you might not personally support. During a March 12, 2023 presentation sponsored by PECA and SFUU, Barb Munn shared what she learned as she investigated investments, banks, and credit cards in her drive to align her money with her values.

March 12, 2023 SFUU/PECA Forum
This presentation explores some tools and resources to help you align your investments, banks, and credit cards with your values.

Women Leadership in Climate Change Action

During the January 8, 2023 ‘PECA Presents’ event, Linda Franklin facilitated a discussion related to women’s roles in finding solutions to the impacts of climate change. Inspiration for discussion was provided by Dr. Ken Moore who showed us portions of the following 2 videos from She changes climate, an organization that enables women in all their diversity, to lead just climate action globally.

Over the course of the discussion, the Population Connection’s work on stabilizing the global population at a level that can be sustained by Earth’s resources came up, as well as the fight by indigenous people to defend the Brazilian Amazon rain forest as depicted in the National Geographic Film, The Territory.

Promoting PECA at Shepherd of the Sierra Presbyterian

On January 8, 2023 Linda Franklin joined Alice Gentry in promoting PECA’s mission at the SOS fair. Many who stopped by our our table expressed concern about climate change and signed up to receive emails about our meetings and events.