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Climate Change Will Strike the Poorest Countries Hardest April 30th, 2014
Late monsoons in Bangladesh in 2013 affected all rain-fed agriculture.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading climate science body, declared in its recent report that global warming is wreaking havoc “on all continents and across the oceans,” with the worst yet to come. But by far the most severe impacts will strike the poorest countries that bear little or no historical responsibility for causing climate change, the report said.
“Those countries who have contributed least to the manifestation of this problem are in jeopardy of being the most vulnerable to it,” said Gary Yohe, an economist at Wesleyan University and a coordinating lead author of the IPCC report. “The poor, the young, the old and the people who live along the coasts will be hit the hardest.”
Continue reading this article from Inside Climate News…
Spring/Summer 2014 Issue of JPIC Report Available On-Line April 28th, 2014
The Spring/Summer 2014 issue of JPIC Report is now available on line as a PDF. It will soon be available in print form.
Please contact Mary O’Herron in the JPIC Office if you want to be added to the mailing list.
You can find all issues of JPIC Report on this website in the Resources section. (Download a PDF of the latest issue)
Stations of the Forest March 10th, 2014
We would like to thank the Columban Fathers for the powerful Stations of the Forest video. It is a compelling narrative of the destruction of the forest that has ruined ecosystems from the Philippines to Brazil – a destruction that imperils the world.
Following the format of The Stations of the Cross this prayerful resource laments the stages in the death of part of God’s Creation. It incorporates issues related to rainforest destruction: extractive industries, loss of biodiversity and climate change.
A Booklet accompanies the DVD, providing the script, an agenda for meetings, a reflection on the Stations, and prayers. (download booklet here)
Download – The Grace of Forests Lenten resource
Earth Day 2014 Parish Resources February 21st, 2014
Photo by Christina Herman, all rights reserved
This year’s resource from Creation Justice Ministries is entitled “Water, Holy Water” and is available for free as an electronic download. The resource delves into the multitude of water issues we face and highlights the spiritual importance of this resource. Sermon tips are included. Download a copy of the resource here…
The Catholic Climate Covenant suggests that in 2014, we join tens of thousands of other Catholics who will learn about the dramatic evidence of climate change and explore Catholic teaching on climate change. This year’s Feast of St. Francis program is “Melting Ice, Mending Creation: a Catholic Approach to Climate Change.”
The program highlights the Pontifical Academy of Science’s Working Group (PAS) statement, Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene. This is combined with a “TED” talk by James Balog, the science photographer behind the documentary film Chasing Ice, who documented some of the most vivid evidence yet of climate change.
In their declaration, the Pontifical Academy of Science 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. Read the Report and the Summary (first 5 pages) of the report here.
Access the Melting Ice, Mending Creation materials here…
Climate Change Impacts on Water December 18th, 2013
Along the Rio Grande River in Texas; photo courtesy of Patti Radle
An increase in global temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius would likely result in chronic water scarcity—less than 1,000 cubic meters per person per year—for 21 percent of the global population, according to new climate models developed by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Climate Progress reported. An increase of just 1 degree Celsius would create chronic water scarcity for 13 percent of the population and absolute water scarcity—less than 500 cubic meters per person per year—for 6 percent of the population.
A newly released study of the Lower Rio Grande River Basin predicts that climate change will reduce water supplies by more than 86,000 acre-feet each year by 2060, leaving a total annual supply shortfall in the basin of 678,522 acre-feet, Science Daily reported. The shortfall is expected to create problems for irrigators in the basin, and the study suggested looking at desalinated brackish groundwater as an alternative to surface water supplies.
