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Help Protect the Environment! April 12th, 2021
(Photo courtesy of Nareeta Martin, Unsplash)
Reducing consumption, reusing items and recycling whenever possible reduces air and water pollution, keeps landfills from filling up so quickly and saves energy and money for both consumers and governments that have to deal with trash. This is a great way to deal with climate change. Our new brochure offers tips on ways you can reduce, reuse and recycle as individuals and in your communities.
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Patriarch Bartholomew Calls for “a spiritual worldview” on Climate November 27th, 2013
Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, in a message to climate negotiators at the recently concluded conference in Warsaw, urged “prompt, practical results” to address the growing escalation of climate change. The meeting was disappointing in this regard, making his challenge – particularly to people of faith – particularly important.
“The sensitivity with which we handle the natural environment clearly mirrors the sacredness that we reserve for the divine,” the Patriarch stated.
Citing the Gospel of Matthew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople stated that at the Final Judgment, we will be taken to task not for our “religious observance but on whether we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, comforted the sick, and cared for captives.” The reckless consumption of world’s resources, he continued, contributes to environmental changes that ultimately affect those who are most vulnerable.
Patriarch Bartholomew expressed the need for “a spiritual worldview” on the subject of climate that will assist in making aware the impact on all creation. The focus should be directed to the planet’s needs rather than the wants of the world.
“In our efforts, to contain global warming, we are ultimately admitting just how prepared we are to sacrifice some of our selfish and greedy lifestyles. When will we learn to say: “Enough!” he stated.
“When will we understand how important it is to leave as light a footprint as possible on this planet for the sake of future generations?”
Temperance: Another way to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint June 6th, 2013
“In his classic study of the cardinal virtues, Josef Pieper was quick to point out that the rich meaning of temperance is not captured by the concept of moderation. Moderation is only a small part of temperance—the negative part. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, temperance gives order and balance to our life. It arises from a serenity of spirit within oneself. The reasonable norm allows us to walk gently upon the earth. Temperance teaches us to cherish and enjoy the good things of life while respecting natural limits. Temperance in fact does not diminish but actually heightens the pleasure we take in living by freeing us from a joyless compulsiveness and dependence. Temperance therefore means a lot more than the so-called “temperance movement” regarding the consumption of alcohol!”
“E. F. Schumacher, in his most influential book Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, contrasted the consumerist way of life, which multiplies human wants, with the simple life, whose aim is to achieve maximum well-being with the minimum use of the earth’s resources. The “logic of production” that demands more and more growth in consumption is a formula for disaster, he argued. “Out of the whole Christian tradition,” Schumacher concluded, “there is perhaps no body of teaching which is more relevant and appropriate to the modern predicament than the marvelously subtle and realistic doctrines of the Four Cardinal Virtues” and in particular temperance, which means knowing when “enough is enough.”
Excerpted from The Good Life from a Catholic Perspective: The Challenge of Consumption by Msgr. Charles Murphy
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The Story of Broke and How our Tax Dollars COULD be Used November 8th, 2011
In her latest video, Annie Leonard (creator of The Story of Stuff) looks at where our tax dollars go – and how they could be better used to build the kind of society we all want.
Watch “The Story of Broke”:
Earth Day 2010! April 22nd, 2010
April 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future. Consumption patterns also pose a threat. Today’s consumption is undermining the environmental resource base and exacerbating inequalities.
Daniel LeBlanc, OMI – now in Bolivia for the Alternative Climate Summit sent the following for our contemplation and action on Earth Day:
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