News Archives » Ecology
Danger of Mass Extinction of Marine Species June 20th, 2011
Coral Reefs bleached by warming oceans
Marine scientists at a high-level international workshop at the University of Oxford have warned that the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.
Delegates called for urgent and unequivocal action to halt further declines in ocean health. Fish, sharks, whales and other marine species are disappearing at a far faster rate than anyone had predicted, a study by the group found. Mass extinction of species will be “inevitable” if current trends continue, researchers said.
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Virtual Tour of the Community Supported Garden at LaVista June 17th, 2011
Watch this virtual field trip to the Oblate-sponsored Community Supported Gardens at LaVista, near Alton Illinois, located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. LaVista is a CSA/organic farm, offering weekly fresh vegetable shares. The video was created by Green Spiral Tours.
Learn more at LaVista CSA
For the Oblate-sponsored LaVista Ecological Learning Center, go to http://www.lavistaELC.org/
Faith Groups Call on Obama to Stop Dirty Oil Sands Pipeline June 2nd, 2011
The Oblate JPIC Office has joined 45 other faith-based groups in asking the Obama Administration to deny the presidential permit needed by TransCanada Corporation to construct a pipeline to carry dirty oil sands from Alberta, Canada to Houston, TX.
The construction of such a pipeline would have devastating impacts on people living in the refining processing area as well as on the 500 miles of farmland and 1300 miles of privately-owned land that the pipeline would cross. It would also cross over the great Ogallala Aquifer, which provides roughly 30% of all the water used for irrigation on American farms. The aquifer would suffer as a result of any oil spills.
The tar-sands oil under the Boreal Forest in Canada is some of the dirtiest fuel on the planet. Once extracted and burned, tar-sands oil produces high levels of sulfur oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
We need to get our energy from clean sources, and not continue to look to ever more environmentally damaging and expensive sources of fossil fuels.
Read the letter on the Keystone Pipeline XL project.
Spring Issue of JPIC Report Now Available May 31st, 2011
The Spring issue of our bi-annual print publication, JPIC Report, is now available on line.
Hard copies copies will be sent to those on our mailing list as soon as it is printed. Please let the JPIC office know if you are interested in receiving a copy. You can reach us through the comments feature on this website.
Download PDF of JPIC News, Spring 2011
Vatican Meeting Calls for Guidance on Environmental, Corporate Ethics May 18th, 2011
Catholics are looking for guidance and a larger voice from the Vatican on ethical principles for the world of finance and the environment, according to a number of participants attending a Vatican meeting on social justice in a globalized world.
Some 200 people involved in social justice issues for the church gathered May 16-18 for an international conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The meeting celebrated the 50th anniversary of Blessed Pope John XXIII’s social encyclical, “Mater et Magistra.” It was designed to find ways to use the church’s social teaching, including Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 social encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” to bring greater justice to a globalized world.
The Oblates were represented by Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, US JPIC Director. Fr. Seamus, a leader in the faith-responsible investment movement said, “Individual Catholics are looking for guidance” in how to connect their concern for corporate responsibility and the environment to their faith and Christian spirituality.
Christians cannot be motivated solely by utilitarian arguments that natural resources should be protected so that they will not run out or poison future generations, he said, adding that “Environmental and corporate ethics needs to be based on the Christian sense of stewardship, of care, respect and appreciation for God’s gifts.”
Read the Catholic News Service article…
