Debra K Rienstra
@debrakrienstra.bsky.social
Author REFUGIA FAITH and refugianewsletter.substack, climate, ecotheology, Michigan, nature n stuff, Professor of English at Calvin U, she/her
As usual, George Saunders has both wise and funny things to say about AI in writing. Pertinent to the struggle for us writing teachers. Sigh.
on.substack.com/p/model-beha...
on.substack.com/p/model-beha...
Model Behavior: George Saunders
“Of course, if AI can cure cancer, bravo. I’m all for it. But even with cancer cured, death will still arrive somehow.”
on.substack.com
September 30, 2026 at 5:51 PM
As usual, George Saunders has both wise and funny things to say about AI in writing. Pertinent to the struggle for us writing teachers. Sigh.
on.substack.com/p/model-beha...
on.substack.com/p/model-beha...
"In short, defeat of white Christian nationalism at the hands of a diverse political electorate that includes millions of faithful Christians would be transformative for Democrats, democracy, and American Christianity. What a fitting rebuke to white Christian nationalism that would be."
"It turns out that Americans believe in religious freedom, diversity, and democracy, not racist theocracy."
A Defining Moment of Religious Pluralism
🚨 36 Days to the Midterms 🚨
www.contrariannews.org
September 28, 2026 at 1:15 PM
"In short, defeat of white Christian nationalism at the hands of a diverse political electorate that includes millions of faithful Christians would be transformative for Democrats, democracy, and American Christianity. What a fitting rebuke to white Christian nationalism that would be."
Proofreading the galleys for *Refugia Church* and examining these splendid illustrations by @gabrielleeisma to check for consistency in layout. Come for the inspiration to do more for climate justice; stay for the beavers and goats. Available for purchase in a few months! @fortresspress.bsky.social
September 25, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Proofreading the galleys for *Refugia Church* and examining these splendid illustrations by @gabrielleeisma to check for consistency in layout. Come for the inspiration to do more for climate justice; stay for the beavers and goats. Available for purchase in a few months! @fortresspress.bsky.social
OMG the final cover design is ready and it's.... gorgeous! Many thanks to @fortresspress.bsky.social for creating this perfect invitation to *Refugia Church*, forthcoming in the spring. Calling all churches who want to do more for the earth: this book is for you!
September 23, 2026 at 12:53 PM
OMG the final cover design is ready and it's.... gorgeous! Many thanks to @fortresspress.bsky.social for creating this perfect invitation to *Refugia Church*, forthcoming in the spring. Calling all churches who want to do more for the earth: this book is for you!
A politics-heavy issue, but important stuff leading up to the midterms. Yes, good news included.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #128
Midterm elections, climate voting, protecting wind deals and endangered species, UN climate report, urban greening in Athens, and a mini book review
refugianewsletter.substack.com
September 21, 2026 at 1:53 PM
A politics-heavy issue, but important stuff leading up to the midterms. Yes, good news included.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Some good climate- and energy-related reading for you. This week: an overview of all the things. Quick way to get caught up!
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #127
Communication savvy, ocean heat, new climate scenarios, so many legal and clean energy wins, solar as solution, religion and the world order, election season resources, oat milk, and river resilience
refugianewsletter.substack.com
September 7, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Some good climate- and energy-related reading for you. This week: an overview of all the things. Quick way to get caught up!
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Come for the climate news, stay for the photos of pollinators and one very, very aggressive set of bean and gourd plants.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #126
Super El Niño, state of the climate, AI ❤️s Big Oil, New Mexico energy wins, EV sales, IRA persistence, financial wins, Utrecht greenery, and a quarry brought to life
refugianewsletter.substack.com
August 22, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Come for the climate news, stay for the photos of pollinators and one very, very aggressive set of bean and gourd plants.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Reposted by Debra K Rienstra
My favorite part of this week's newsletter: a singles group in Minneapolis focused on buckthorn removal. Also, there's an extinct beaver in here.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #125
Legal battles, clean energy milestones, battery tech explained, Yellowstone-to-Yukon conservation, Minnesota adventures, and one very large extinct beaver.
refugianewsletter.substack.com
August 8, 2026 at 4:35 PM
My favorite part of this week's newsletter: a singles group in Minneapolis focused on buckthorn removal. Also, there's an extinct beaver in here.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Why all the nonsense about blaming Canada for poor forest management? Fossil fuel money pays for deceptive political theater. The fabulous @emorwee.bsky.social brings the receipts. Should have included this piece in my last newsletter.
heated.world/p/the-fossil...
heated.world/p/the-fossil...
The fossil fuel money behind the GOP’s wildfire blame game
As smoke from Canadian wildfires chokes the United States, Republicans are blaming everyone but the industry heating the planet. Guess why?
heated.world
July 27, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Why all the nonsense about blaming Canada for poor forest management? Fossil fuel money pays for deceptive political theater. The fabulous @emorwee.bsky.social brings the receipts. Should have included this piece in my last newsletter.
heated.world/p/the-fossil...
heated.world/p/the-fossil...
Some helpful explainers today on Canadian wildfires and data centers. Plus "beehive microgrids"--which are not about the little buzzy creatures at all. However, real bees do appear in this issue. (Also yellowjackets--ugh!)
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #124
Canadian wildfires, heat wave myths, African solar growth, sodium-ion batteries, data center backlash, public opinion on climate, interfaith action, indigenous stewardship, and beehive microgrids
refugianewsletter.substack.com
July 25, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Some helpful explainers today on Canadian wildfires and data centers. Plus "beehive microgrids"--which are not about the little buzzy creatures at all. However, real bees do appear in this issue. (Also yellowjackets--ugh!)
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
"Democrats can walk the affordability walk and chew the climate/clean air gum at the same time." A small but important point in @sammyroth.bsky.social's latest post on the health benefits of moving from gas stoves to induction.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.
The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com
July 23, 2026 at 7:34 PM
"Democrats can walk the affordability walk and chew the climate/clean air gum at the same time." A small but important point in @sammyroth.bsky.social's latest post on the health benefits of moving from gas stoves to induction.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
It's still amazing to me how many people in the US still aren't quite getting the memo on this. Not just policymakers, ordinary folks. Spread the word!
July 20, 2026 at 3:03 PM
It's still amazing to me how many people in the US still aren't quite getting the memo on this. Not just policymakers, ordinary folks. Spread the word!
Wondering how to connect faith and your voting decisions in this fraught moment? Join us Third Act Faith for the first in a terrific series! It's freeeeee!
July 15, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Wondering how to connect faith and your voting decisions in this fraught moment? Join us Third Act Faith for the first in a terrific series! It's freeeeee!
"You cannot do right by the past without knowing how strange it is." --Shakespeare scholar Sean Keilen on the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast from @folger.edu. (Love this podcast!)
July 13, 2026 at 7:31 PM
"You cannot do right by the past without knowing how strange it is." --Shakespeare scholar Sean Keilen on the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast from @folger.edu. (Love this podcast!)
If you make it to the end of today's newsletter, you can read my up-to-date "bee report" from a visit to my university's beehives. Yes, there's a photo of me in beekeeping gear. Only two bee puns, I promise.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
Refugia Newsletter #123
Global heat monitoring, fossil fuel deceptions, carbon capture, a humming green economy, Reflecting Pool wetland, NYC urban forests, native gardens, the Kew plant/fungi database, and a honeybee haven
refugianewsletter.substack.com
July 11, 2026 at 2:18 PM
If you make it to the end of today's newsletter, you can read my up-to-date "bee report" from a visit to my university's beehives. Yes, there's a photo of me in beekeeping gear. Only two bee puns, I promise.
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
refugianewsletter.substack.com/p/refugia-ne...
So many horrid things in the world, but we've still got geeky scholars doing amazing things. This is just... super cool. Reading charred ancient scrolls without unwrapping them? Awesome.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTn...
Ancient scrolls unread for 2,000 years revealed with AI
YouTube video by NBC News
www.youtube.com
July 9, 2026 at 4:21 PM
So many horrid things in the world, but we've still got geeky scholars doing amazing things. This is just... super cool. Reading charred ancient scrolls without unwrapping them? Awesome.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTn...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTn...
Just turned in a book manuscript. What do I do now? I've spent the morning puttering about. I bought new socks. Answered a few emails. Dreamed of new bookshelves to tidy the mess I made in my home office. Drank tea. Now what??
July 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Just turned in a book manuscript. What do I do now? I've spent the morning puttering about. I bought new socks. Answered a few emails. Dreamed of new bookshelves to tidy the mess I made in my home office. Drank tea. Now what??
Whatever your feelings today, Miss Petunia's got it handled.
reformedjournal.com/2026/07/04/p...
reformedjournal.com/2026/07/04/p...
Pious Petunia Navigates Patriotic Fervor on the Fourth - Reformed Journal
Happy Fourth of July! Back by popular demand, we invite our sometime guest columnist Pious Petunia to offer sage advice wisdom for coping with the paradoxes and complexities of America’s 250th.
reformedjournal.com
July 4, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Whatever your feelings today, Miss Petunia's got it handled.
reformedjournal.com/2026/07/04/p...
reformedjournal.com/2026/07/04/p...
Part 2 of this very fun podcast episode from @circlewoodearth.bsky.social in which James Amadon and I got to interview @billmckibben.bsky.social in a rain storm (you can hear it!).
NEW EP: @billmckibben.bsky.social shares insights on climate change, renewable energy, and the role of faith communities in fostering change. Discover practical solutions, spiritual perspectives, and stories that motivate collective action for a sustainable future. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUIF...
“A Solar Panel is a Symbol of Love”: Telling It on the Mountain, with Bill McKibben | Ep. 153
YouTube video by Circlewood
www.youtube.com
July 3, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Part 2 of this very fun podcast episode from @circlewoodearth.bsky.social in which James Amadon and I got to interview @billmckibben.bsky.social in a rain storm (you can hear it!).
Offering you a taste of July 4 weekend in Michigan.
July 3, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Offering you a taste of July 4 weekend in Michigan.
Yep. Fits with experience. We're all worried and no one talks about it. Research has shown the same phenomenon in churches. Clergy and congregants both worried, but don't think anyone else is. Silence ensues.
This is REALLY important.
“Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same
That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.”
They want you to think you’re alone. You’re not.
#ClimateCrisis
“Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same
That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.”
They want you to think you’re alone. You’re not.
#ClimateCrisis
Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same
That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll....
sherwood.news
July 1, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Yep. Fits with experience. We're all worried and no one talks about it. Research has shown the same phenomenon in churches. Clergy and congregants both worried, but don't think anyone else is. Silence ensues.
Excellent review of Yesteryear by my friend religion writer Jana Riess. Jana's take: the book is spot-on in calling out shallow American evangelicalism.
religionnews.com/2026/06/29/y...
religionnews.com/2026/06/29/y...
'Yesteryear,' a tradwife satire, understands Christianity better than most Americans
(RNS) — The new bestseller has been criticized for having a shallow understanding of religion. I disagree. 'Yesteryear' depicts how shallow American religion has actually become.
religionnews.com
July 1, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Excellent review of Yesteryear by my friend religion writer Jana Riess. Jana's take: the book is spot-on in calling out shallow American evangelicalism.
religionnews.com/2026/06/29/y...
religionnews.com/2026/06/29/y...
You know, I thought I had seen it all when it comes to Shakespeariana, but... Shakespeare Barbies??? (They're from 2004. Those were the days, I guess?)
www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...
www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...
Shakespeare in a Barbie world | Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Jo...
www.folger.edu
July 1, 2026 at 2:17 AM
You know, I thought I had seen it all when it comes to Shakespeariana, but... Shakespeare Barbies??? (They're from 2004. Those were the days, I guess?)
www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...
www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...
And here I thought faith was a strong motivation for people to engage in climate action. But look: it's waaay down there among motivations. One of many cautionary and illuminating insights from the new Potential Energy Coalition research report.
June 24, 2026 at 3:38 PM
And here I thought faith was a strong motivation for people to engage in climate action. But look: it's waaay down there among motivations. One of many cautionary and illuminating insights from the new Potential Energy Coalition research report.