News Archives » Ecology
Vatican Issues Major Report on Science of Climate Change May 6th, 2011
Thanks to the Catholic Climate Covenant campaign for the information in this post.
A working group of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, one of the oldest scientific institutes in the world, has issued a sobering report on the implications for humankind of the melting of glaciers from human-induced climate change. In their declaration, the working group calls, “on all people and nations to recognize the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses.” They echoed Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 World Day of Peace Message saying, “…if we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us.”
The report, which now brings the moral authority of the Vatican to bear on this important debate, focuses on the global retreat of mountain glaciers which results from human activity and warns that, “Failure to mitigate climate change will violate our duty to the vulnerable of the Earth, including those dependent on the water supply of mountain glaciers, and those facing rising sea level and stronger storm surges. Our duty includes the duty to help vulnerable communities adapt to changes that cannot be mitigated. All nations must ensure that their actions are strong enough and prompt enough to address the increasing impacts and growing risk of climate change and to avoid catastrophic irreversible consequences.” (Emphasis added.)
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Recipes for Non-Toxic Cleaning May 6th, 2011
Concerned about chemicals in the cleaners you use? Do you want to save money as well as protect our environment? Try these recipes for non-toxic cleansers, and let us know what you think.
Recipes for Non-Toxic Cleaning (Download PDF)
Available also on this website in Spanish
Thanks to the Oblate Ecological Initiative for these suggestions.
Faith Groups Oppose Colombia Free Trade Agreement April 19th, 2011
Protest against U.S.-Colombia FTA in Washington, DC, June 2009
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama said that he would oppose the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement unless human rights conditions in that country were improved. Three years later, Colombia still faces deeply troubling levels of violence, displacement, and poverty. Colombia has over 5 million displaced people – more than any other country in the world. Trade unionists and human rights workers face constant threats. Extractive industry projects violently push indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities off of their lands.
Despite all of this, the Obama administration recently announced that it is prepared to submit the Colombia FTA to Congress for approval anyway. A new agreement was reached with the Colombian government to make some improvements on labor conditions, but this plan does not go far enough, and it fails to address broader human rights concerns. Moreover, agricultural provisions in the FTA will undermine the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, pushing more people into poverty and deepening the instability that drives Colombia’s violent conflict.
The Oblate JPIC Office joined other faith groups in asking Congress to oppose passage of the Colombia FTA unless these important issues are addressed.
Read the letter from religious organizations here…
Investors Encourage Corporations to Report on Water Use April 16th, 2011
Thirty-three faith-based and socially responsible institutional investors with assets under management of $2.3 trillion have written to encourage companies who failed to submit a 2010 report to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Water Disclosure Project. The investors, which included the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, are encouraging the heavy water-using companies targeted by the Report to complete the questionnaire for 2011, or explain why they are not planning to participate. Company submissions can help identify areas of both strength and weakness in water management.
Many corporations are only now beginning to look seriously at their water use, realizing that a global water crisis could pose significant risks if this vital resource is not managed carefully. Climate Change is widely expected to aggravate worldwide water shortages in the coming decades. Credit Suisse estimates that, by 2020, 37 percent of the global population will face severe water stress.
Increased demand is a major problem. Since the 1940s, the global population has tripled to more than 6 billion people worldwide. Over the same period, global water use has quadrupled. Agriculture uses 70-80% of the water used globally. In many areas, including parts of the US, which are drawing on underground aquifers, this rate of water use is unsustainable, in other words, it is being used at a faster rate than it is being replenished.
While the metrics for reporting on water use are in the process of being refined at an international level, the CDP Water Disclosure is an important step in this process.
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been engaging a range of U.S. companies on water use and reporting issues, and are a signatory to the CDP Water Disclosure Project.
Video on Bangladeshi Khasi and Garo Peoples Now on YouTube April 12th, 2011
Sylhet area, Bangladesh
The Oblate JPIC office is excited to introduce the video, “Behind the Green,” to the Missionary Oblates JPIC YouTube Channel.
The film “Behind the Green” (Parts 1-3) is based on the historic struggle of the Khasi and Garo peoples for protection of their ancestral homeland in Bangladesh in the face of Government plans to establish an Eco-park in the Moulvibazar district. The eco-park would take up more than 1500 acres of the indigenous peoples’ land for tourism.
The films also features Fr. Joseph Gomes OMI, a missionary catholic priest working amongst the Garo and Khasi people in Bangladesh.
View the “Behind the Green” video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/OMIJPIC
Please bookmark this JPIC Youtube Channel website and check it frequently as it will be updated with stories and actions from Oblates in ministry. Spread the word!!
