(I meant to post this earlier, but didn’t get around to it.)
Last Sunday, the following appeared in our parish’s “social justice” section of the weekly bulletin.
Justice Bulletin Board
“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.” (Isaiah 35: 1)Faithful Stewards of God’s Creation:
A Catholic Resource for Environmental Justice and Climate Change“As people of Faith, we are convinced that “the earth is the Lord’s and all it holds…we believe our response to global climate change should be a sign of our respect for God’s creation. Today, there is a particular and pressing responsibility to examine and act on the growing challenge of global climate change and its implications for God’s creation and for the poor and vulnerable. At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both ‘the human environment’ and the natural environment.” (Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good, US Catholic Bishops, 2001)
What can I do? (Suggestions from the US Catholic Bishops)
- Encourage lawmakers to improve and update public transportation.
- Join local efforts of groups working to explore ways your city can do business and reduce harmful emissions.
- Urge that any legislative action on climate change include provisions that: (1) ease the burden on poor people; (2) offer some relief for workers who may be displaced because of climate change policies; and (3) promote the development and use of alternate renewable and clean-energy resources.
- Write to your Senators and Representatives in Congress and let them know that you care about climate change and support action on a local and national level that includes the three key priorities above.
(link)
Although I usually love the practical suggestions in this section of the bulletin, last week’s left me feeling a bit… glum. It seemed as if every suggestion was aimed at getting other people to change, and nothing about finding small, slightly challenging ways to change our own lifestyles.
So, in the absence of such encouragement from last week’s bulletin, you’re stuck with me.
Make one small effort this week to do something that will leave a (just barely) lighter footprint on the earth. And then post here and share what you are doing.
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” - M. Gandhi
1 response so far ↓
1 Tara // Dec 25, 2007 at 3:48 pm
While I definitely see your point about the suggestions being less-than perfect, it is nice to see a church (or faith) taking a religious angle on this. Although we are not Christian, we are aware that many of our most polluting countries are majority-Christian, and we have strongly believed that churches and/or faiths taking a hard-line on environmental reform could be one small key to unlocking the door to better environmental conservation. We strongly believe the old saying: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” I’d love to see the Catholic faith (pardon me if my verbiage is incorrect) take an even harder line against pollution and really push practical solutions for helping us leave a better earth for our descendants.
I know, I know…I’m sort of talking out of both sides of my mouth - I drive WAY too much LOL But unfortunately that’s how things are out here in the boonies…
Hmmm…some things that we are doing?
~Saving bath water either to use in the washer or flush the toilet
~Using a very limited amount of chemicals in our house and putting no chemicals on our lawn and garden (and living happily with a brown, weedy lawn…yes, it is possible to be happy with crappy grass) to avoid further pollution of our rivers
~Limit our consumption of beef
~www.neuseworks.com Spreading the word about practical rain water harvesting and composting!
~Grow and eat from a a garden in the spring & summer
~Eating less and less processed foods
None of these are *huge* (like giving up our car), but each year we seem to find ourselves doing more and more small things that won’t make much of a difference on their own, but put together will hopefully at least lead our children down the right path.
Sorry for the novel, Rebecca
Maybe I should blog about this myself!
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