News Archives » Central America & the Caribbean
Faith Groups Join March for Immigration Reform March 23rd, 2010
Fr. Fernando Velazquez OMI from Houston and George K. Ngolwe, Oblate JPIC staff, march for immigration reform
On Sunday, March 22, over 200,000 people from around the country rallied on the National Mall in Washington, D.C to pressure the United State Congress and President Obama to work to reform the broken immigration system. The faith community was joined by tens of thousands of people from civil rights, immigrant, family and labor groups.
The March for America targeted the Democratic majority in Congress and the Obama Administration with a simple message saying that comprehensive immigration reform needs to be a priority now. “If it is not, don’t count on us to turn out for the November 2010 congressional elections,” warned the activists.
Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese told the crowd that the Catholic Church stands with immigrants and is in this fight until the end. Cardinal Mahony denounced the continuing immigration raids and decried the fact that children continue to be separated from their parents. He said the rally would force leaders in Congress to hear the stories of immigrants’ daily struggles.
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Broad Coalition Asks Senate for Climate Change Legislation March 19th, 2010
The Missionary Oblates JPIC Office joined184 businesses and organizations, and 77 individual activists, calling on the Senate to legislate action to curb global warming. The letter, which was sent to all members of the Senate, argues that “greenhouse gas emissions can be cut swiftly and in an economically and environmentally sound way by means of a national emissions cap that is realized through a combination of aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy standards.”
The organizations noted that “by focusing on this three-pronged strategy (i.e., carbon cap + efficiency + renewables), it may prove unnecessary – for the moment at least – to tackle either of the two most controversial options for addressing climate change: creating a “trading system” for emissions credits or imposing carbon taxes.”
The letter also stressed that “climate legislation that promotes continued or expanded use of fossil fuels and/or nuclear power, or which rolls back existing environmental safeguards, could result in a bill that might actually be worse than no bill at all.”
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Spring 2010 Issue of JPIC Report Available March 18th, 2010
The Spring 2010 issue of JPIC Report, the newsletter of the US Justice, Peace/Integrity of Creation Office of the Missionary Oblates is now available on line.
This issue features updates on Sri Lanka, Haiti, logging in Bangladesh, immigration, financial regulatory reform, an Eco-Tips page and more.
Read the Spring 2010 Issue (Download PDF)
Canadian Ruling on Mines and Environmental Impacts Hailed in Central America March 15th, 2010
Ecologists in Guatemala see a recent ruling by Canada’s Supreme Court, which ordered Canadian mining companies to carry out rigorous environmental assessments, as a positive precedent that could help improve environmental controls over the mining industry in this Central American country.
In a case that focused on a Red Chris mining company project in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not split projects into artificially small parts in order to avoid comprehensive environmental impact studies.
News from the UN March 1st, 2010
Follow-up on Copenhagen Accord on Climate Change
The United Nations has set-up a High-Level Panel to implement a key component of the Copenhagen Accord to promote climate mitigation and adaptation financing in developing countries.
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