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Faith Communities and the Urgency of Climate Change July 18th, 2012
Solar on the roof at the Oblate Parish in Chula Vista
“The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events- more powerful storms, longer droughts, bigger fires, excessive heat waves shattering temperature records and severe floods, along with the visible evidence of receding glaciers and dying coral reefs – are warnings that human activity is changing Earth’s climate in troubling and often unpredictable ways. They are portents of even graver dangers ahead.”
“Both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States and the United Kingdom’s Met Office have confirmed the link between anthropogenic climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. As the planet warms, these types of weather phenomenon won’t be mere aberrations – they will be the new normal. And it is going to get much worse.”
Thus begins a clear and succinct argument for the urgency of the changes underway on our planet and the moral power of the faith message. The article by Michael Stafford titled, “Faith must confront climate change with a single moral voice” concludes with a highly relevant call of people of faith to action on climate change: “chose life” so “that [we] and [our] descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Read the article posted on the ABC Religion and Ethics website…
Looking for local resources on climate change and energy conservation for your parish? Interfaith Power and Light is active across the country and can offer a wealth of information, speakers and practical guidance to promote sustainability, from discounts on energy saving lightbulbs to going solar! Search for a local affiliate on their national website, Interfaith Power & Light. There are IP&L chapters in 39 states. Find a chapter in your state!
2012 International AIDS Conference, Washington, DC July 13th, 2012
The 19th International AIDS Conference will take place in Washington, DC from July 22-27, 2012. AIDS 2012 will bring together leading scientists, pharmaceutical companies, public health professionals, policy-makers and community and youth leaders to review recent scientific developments on AIDS and lessons learnt. The AIDS 2012 conference will provide an opportunity to structure dialogue, share new scientific knowledge and plan actions to end global HIV/AIDS. About 25,000 people are expected to attend the biennial conference convened by the International AIDS Society (IAS).
There are several conferences preceding the International AIDS 2012 conference. Faith communities, which are usually in the front lines in responding to HIV/AIDS, will host several of these. The faith-based conferences include the International Catholic AIDS Conference and the Interfaith AIDS Conference by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance running from July 20-21. Other AIDS conference-connected activities include the free global village space for meetings, exhibitions and affiliated independent events, which will provide opportunity for professional briefings and networking.
This is the first time the AIDS conference has been in the United States in 22 years. The first International AIDS Conference was held in Atlanta, U.S. in 1985, and then in San Francisco in 1990. The conference was supposed to be held two years later in Boston, but the global research community refused to return to the United States because of its travel ban on HIV positive people. The Obama Administration lifted the ban in 2009.
For more information, visit: www.aids2012.org
Religious and Civil Society Groups Challenge Violent Repression of Peruvian Mining Protests July 12th, 2012
Newmont Mining Protests in Peru
The Oblates JPIC Office joined a broad array of civil society and religious groups expressing serious concern to the Peruvian government about the “alarming escalation in the repression of free speech, police brutalities, and human rights violations” in the country, largely related to mining activities. Indigenous communities, whose water supplies and way of life are threatened by the mining developments, have refused their consent to such projects. The government’s response has been heavy-handed, with the death of five people since the beginning of July 2012, and numerous injuries. The international groups resolved to continue to monitor and publicize developments, and asked the government to:
- Immediately halt the repression and violent attacks against protestors.
- Lift the “State of Emergency” that violates citizen rights and has led to the militarization of the region, with the potential to lead to additional acts of violence.
- Immediately undertake an independent investigation into the brutal arrest of Father Marco Arana and the intimidation of other leaders of the opposition to the Conga project.
- Adopt a mandate of community consent prior to all extractive industry projects, as the lack of consent is the largest driver of social conflicts in Peru.
Fr. Carl Kabat Returns to Kansas City Plant for a July 4th Nuclear Weapons Protest July 12th, 2012
Fr. Carl Kabat, omi with fellow anti-nuclear activist, Joshua Armfield
Fr. Carl Kabat, omi entered the property at a nuclear bomb plant under construction in Kansas City on July 4, as he did last year. He named his action the 85% Pruning Hooks action – the title stems from the fact that the plant produces approximately 85% of the non-nuclear components for our nation’s nuclear weapons. Fr. Kabat also has re-styled Independence Day as “Interdependence Day” in honor of the interconnection of all nature.
Fr. Kabat faces three criminal charges after cutting through a fence and entering the grounds of the Kansas City Plant, a major new nuclear weapons facility under construction, to call attention to its building. The priest’s action represents the latest in a years-long campaign by activists to call attention to the facility’s construction.
Protests at the site, construction of which is estimated to cost $1.2 billion and scheduled to be partially operational by early 2013, have been led in part by area Catholics who have also been leading petition campaigns to remove funding from the site. One of the petitions, focused on developing a plan for reuse of the facility should it be abandoned in light of weapons cuts, was unanimously passed by the local city council in March.
Click here to read more »
New On-Line Course on Water at Duquesne University July 10th, 2012
An exciting new course is available on water in Duquesne University’s free on-line program in Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.
Entitled “Water, Environment, and Development,” the course addresses three common problems with water: sufficiency, availability, and quality, gives helpful suggestions for addressing these problems, and challenges students to think through approaches to solving water problems in their own circumstances.
Dr. Stanley Kabala of Duquesne’s Center for Environmental Research and Education, who developed the course, is an expert on global environmental concerns.
To learn more about Duquesne University’s distance-education program in Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation or to take the course on water, go to www.duq.edu/jpic.
Click here for the Water, Environment and Development Course information page.
