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World Water Day 2025 Focuses on Glacier Preservation March 13th, 2025
Contributed by: Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI (Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Angelo)
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In 1993 the UN General Assembly designated March 22nd as World Water Day (WWD). This observance is one of the largest international days. Each year the UN selects a theme for World Water Day, and the theme chosen for World Water Day 2025 is Glacier Preservation.
In this article I share much information from UN.org and UN Water. A glacier is a river of ice often covered in snow, slowly moving down a valley from a mountainous area, with its melting waters flowing downstream. The UN points out that glaciers are critical to the water cycle. They provide essential supplies of fresh water for drinking water, for sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. We are told that glaciers are melting faster than ever before.
Perhaps it is a little surprising that World Water Day focuses on glacier preservation, as glaciers are believed to be thousands of miles away from where we live. But we are learning the important part they play in the bigger picture of the importance of water on planet Earth. Water Day is a day to remember that water is an essential element for all life on planet Earth.
First and foremost, on Water Day we should thank our loving God and Creator for giving us this wonderful life-giving gift. In the first book of the Bible, we read how and why God gave us the gift of water in His plan for all of creation. World Water Day is a time to ask how we can better appreciate and use the water we deal with day by day. We start in our homes, asking the question how are we using the wonderful gift of water, or sadly perhaps abusing and wasting this gift.
And we then look at the sources of water that are closest to us like ponds, rivers and lakes and what we should do to keep them safe and clean. Because water is necessary for all of us, we need to take strong action, individually, in our families, in our schools, in our churches, in all our communities, in our workplaces, and in all levels of government about how we can better protect and provide water for our lives, and for all people on planet Earth.
WWD is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis beginning with the place where we live. As water is necessary for all life it is considered a human right for all people throughout the world. But sadly, on this World Water Day we are faced with the reality that 2.2 billion of our brothers and sisters on planet Earth live without access to safe clean water which has devastating impacts on the health and very life of whole societies. Some may ask: Why do people live in places without clean water? Most of these people do not have much choice in where they live. Many reside in the same communities they were born in – which they have called home for generations.
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A See, Judge, Act Reflection on the Impacts of Mining from Rome February 2nd, 2015
Chuquicamata Copper Mine, Chile
We all use things that are made with minerals drawn from the earth – from cell phones and computers to automobiles and airplanes. But the mining often happens in places far from our own communities, so we don’t experience the impacts of mining operations personally. Concerned about the information they collected in a 2013 survey on the impacts of mining, the Rome-based Integrity of Creation Working Group of the USG-UISG’s Commission on Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) has created a powerful resource to share this. The booklet created y the group is intended to serve as a general introduction to understanding the impact of mining industries on the community and the environment.
Using the Pastoral Cycle or the See-Judge-Act Process model, the booklet is divided into three main sections: Part One (“See”) provides an overview of some features of mining industries, as seen through the lens of equity; Part Two (“Judge”) presents theological, scriptural and ethical reflections; and Part Three (“Act”) offers practical suggestions for changing personal and communal behavior, which include ways of working for appropriate national and international legal frameworks, and implementation to ensure a sustainable future for the Earth Community. The booklet also suggests resources, experiences and prayers, including questions for you and your community.
Read: A See, Judge, Act Reflection on the Impacts of Mining (Download PDF)
Catholic News Service’s Fracking Series Illuminates Controversial Issue February 21st, 2014
Image Source: US EPA
Catholic News Service reporter, Dennis Sadowski, has written a series of five articles on hydraulic fracking from a faith perspective. Fracking is a complicated issue, yet Sadowski provides a clear overview of this controversial energy source while blending in environmental justice teachings of the Church.
By clicking on a title, you will be taken to the article at the Catholic News Service website:
To frack or not to frack: Debate examines America’s quest for energy
Advances in drilling technology led to fracking’s rapid expansion
Religious community chooses nature over riches of a natural gas lease
Faith motivates Catholics to speak out on gas, oil-drilling practices
Families seek recourse in lawsuits for wells considered a nuisance
Catholic voices raise moral concerns in country’s fracking debates
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.
