President Obama and future generations

Photo: Flicker.com/By Barack Obama

President Obama gave an important speech today at Georgetown University about climate change and his administration’s plan to deal with it.

Coincidentally, as he spoke I was at the first of a three-day workshop on incorporating climate-change science into government policy—an activity I am involved with as my office is seeking climate-change vulnerability assessments for Rhode Island’s expensive wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Having now read the president’s plan, I wasn’t surprised to find the steps being proposed. They include good steps, and necessary ones. As the president noted in announcing the plan:

The 12 warmest years in recorded history have all come in the last 15 years.  Last year, temperatures in some areas of the ocean reached record highs, and ice in the Arctic shrank to its smallest size on record—faster than most models had predicted it would.  These are facts. 

Now, we know that no single weather event is caused solely by climate change.  Droughts and fires and floods, they go back to ancient times.  But we also know that in a world that’s warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by a warming planet.  The fact that sea level in New York, in New York Harbor, are now a foot higher than a century ago -- that didn’t cause Hurricane Sandy, but it certainly contributed to the destruction that left large parts of our mightiest city dark and underwater.

The president continued to outline the realities of what science is (overwhelmingly) showing us—which you can read about here and here, or spend four minutes with this video.

I wish the administration well in its efforts to deal with a changing climate—just as I hope for the best for my agency’s similar work, as well as the work of many other nations, states, and municipalities, not to mention private industries.

Moreover, I very much appreciate the president’s statement to the young people gathered before him that he refuses “to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing.” And I stand to applaud his words that “[a]s a president, as a father, and as an American, I’m here to say we need to act”—because we do need to act—now, profoundly, and with great wisdom.

And yet I must ask: What of those "future generations" who will not be allowed their birth? What of the pro-abortion policies of the president, his administration, and a good many members of his party in Congress—as well as a few folks from the opposite side of the isle, too?

Here we consider the wisdom of the pope emeritus, who provided the words at the top of this blog: that our duties toward the environment are linked to our duties toward the human person. “It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment, and damages society."

Concern over the impacts of climate change seems strange if one also accepts that the intentional killing of unborn children is acceptable and should be encouraged with tax payer funding.

Photo: Flicker.com/By Barack Obama

As for the president’s climate-change plan, it will certainly be too much for some and not enough for others but for the Catholic ecologist it is hypocritical. Seeking to protect future generations from current policies and technologies is certainly the job of the state. But, more importantly, so is rejecting that we can eliminate members of future generations because we refuse to acknowledge their humanity.

In comparing his climate change call-to-arms with President Kennedy’s challenge to send a man to the moon, President Obama said that “[o]ur progress here will be measured differently—in crises averted, in a planet preserved.  But can we imagine a more worthy goal?”

Yes, I can: A culture of life would be infinitely more worthy. Saving the lives of babies would be a good start.

The president went on: “For while we may not live to see the full realization of our ambition, we will have the satisfaction of knowing that the world we leave to our children will be better off for what we did.”

Whose children? Which ones will benefit from a world “better off” and which ones will have their lifeless, mangled bodies sent to medical waste disposal facilities?

Finally, after some 6,200 words, the president ended with a wish that I share deeply:

“God bless you. God bless the United States of America.”

Yes, may God bless us—and forgive us. But if I may, I would suggest this ending be added to the president’s speech:

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

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Pope Francis: Ponder JP II's Evangelium Vitae

Photo: Flicker/by Bruce MacRae

Pope Francis has asked us to ponder the great 1995 encyclical on life by Bl. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae—which carried on the thoughts of Paul VI in Humane Vitae.

Evangelium Vitae had much that is important to say to Catholic ecologists, including this important passage:

As one called to till and look after the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15), man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations. It is the ecological question-ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to "human ecology" properly speaking - which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a solution which respects the great good of life, of every life. In fact, "the do-minion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to use and misuse', or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to eat of the fruit of the tree' (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity".

As the reporter in this RomeReports.com clip tells us, because Evangelium Vitae "openly addresses ecology and social issues, the encyclical also serves as a key document to promote the New Evangelization."

Take some time and read through this powerful document. And say a prayer that you, me, business leaders, and government officials are transformed by the Gospel of Life and the words of Blessed John Paul II. If we are, by the grace of God, we can then build up in our world a culture that respects all life.

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Tweeting truth: On human life and the "culture of waste"

Pope Francis tweeted yesterday a short statement that has immense implications.

The words followed his General Audience last week, which he used to make his first substantial addition to the magisterial conversation on ecology. In his audience was this statement that echoes the message of his tweet: 

This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. 

All of this continues the words of Benedict XVI at the top of this blog.

There is a link, as Benedict XVI put it, between the ecological ills of our age and the more traditionally considered life issues of abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and euthanasia. Moreover, this link has something to tell us about how to address both problems.

But in order to address either one, we must first deal with unhealthy divisions that prevent the cultivation of a true culture of life.

There can be either ambivalence or a strong dislike for ecological issues by many who struggle heroically to end the slaughter of the unborn, the harvest of embryos, or the intentional killing of the elderly or the infirm. Likewise, there is a sense of non-urgency or even support by some Catholic environmentalists for issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem-cell research. Then there is the third category, those who appreciate the importance of how the Holy Fathers are linking human life and ecology without making them equivalent.

Those in the first and second groups often clash, and this is troublesome. One can only imagine how our ancient enemy revels in the hostilities brought about by such polarization. As a warning about disconnecting human life issues and ecology, Benedict XVI has taught that “[i]t would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment, and damages society.” (Caritas in Veritate, 51)

Pope Francis has also sought to unite factions when he noted that man has in the modern age commoditized the human person as well as all creation. We have made human life and relationships as easily disposable as a spent bottle of soda, an empty tube of toothpaste, or an entire ecosystem.

Thus, the underlying causes of our ecological and human life crises can be jointly addressed because they are linked to the same human brokenness: the sin-induced human tendency to toss aside that which one no longer wants—or loves.

This means that the fixes that ecologists seek are the same ones sought by those who fight for the right to life of the unborn and infirmed. These fixes seek the cultivation of a people who love sacrificially as they stand in awe at the very notion of human reproduction as well as the human life-support systems that ecosystems provide—not to mention standing in awe of God, who created all this in the beginning.

Benedict XVI  noted that “[t]he book of nature is one and indivisible: it takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development.”

Pope Francis continues this teaching by reminding us that we will never be able to address the problems of over-consumption and waste if we don’t also address the reasons why so many find it acceptable to throw away innocent and vulnerable human beings.

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Pope Francis: "Culture of waste" requires a Catholic response

Photo: Flicker/Catholic Church (England and Wales)

I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter. Thank you. 

Pope Francis. General Audience June 5th, 2013.

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that in 1960 the United States produced some 88 million tons of municipal waste. In 2010 that number climbed to just under 250 million tons—and it may have been higher had a recession not slowed consumption. This jump reflects an almost 184 percent increase in what Americans throw out even though our population increased by only 60 percent. 

This disparate increase has much to do with what we buy, the quantities thereof, its expected use-life, how it is packaged, and how the packaging itself is packaged, wrapped, surrounded with polystyrene, cardboard, and shrink-wrap. Even simple items like lettuce and chewing gum now come in plastic containers that we use ever so briefly and then throw away. While recycling has trimmed the tonnage being trucked to landfills, America is still a nation that consumes and wastes much more than it ever has. The question is: Why?

Pope Francis provided some answers in his first major statement on ecology—natural and human. His sweeping eco-comments at Wednesday’s General Audience offer us much to consider. But one theme in particular dominated his words—a theme that follows quite naturally from his predecessor, who he quoted throughout his audience. 

Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the “culture of waste.” 

Western cultures—and those tempted to follow the ways of the West—have come to expect that one can and deserves to attain and consume whatever (and whomever) one wants. Advertisements not only insist that you can have it your way and have as much as you want, but that you deserve to have whatever it is that’s being sold—even if you have lived all these years quite well without it. The makers of such ads understand the fractures in the human soul. They intuitively know that the effects of original sin can be used as a foothold for profit. They create characters and settings that excite our passions. They use language that tugs at our insecurities and at the faint awareness of our incompleteness—a lack of love that all humans crave to fill. In all, the vocation of advertising has become a means to convince us that fulfillment comes only from the attainment of earthly goods.

This was also the belief of our iconic parents. As Adam and Eve learned about the consequences of their grasping, we are learning that every man-made environmental issue demonstrates that having it our way comes with quite serious and often permanent problems. As discussions of toxic chemicals and species extinction show us, there is a connection between our consumption and the quality and quantity of life on earth—most especially human life, born and unborn. This consumption also has spiritual ramifications, and thus requires a pastoral response as well as an intellectual one. This is why understanding what ecology is showing us and the work of environmental protection, authentically understood and practiced, is a Catholic duty.

Quite simply, environmental protection will benefit from a Catholic awareness of virtue, which defines authentic, ecologically sound human existence: prudence to make right choices; justice to ensure that the rights of strangers are not compromised in our search for pleasure or raw materials; fortitude to guide our urges toward a common good, and especially the virtue of temperance, which we need desperately to consume less.

When graced with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, these virtues will reorient our inner attitudes to seek fulfillment not in what we consume, but in how well we "love in the present," as a young Joseph Ratzinger put it.

Reorienting the way we fulfill—or turn from—our many appetites has far-reaching ends that go far beyond issues of natural ecology. They affect human ecology, too. This is the very point that Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and now Pope Francis have been expressing, and it is a fundamental message within revelation. Benedict XVI stated it succinctly in noting that each society must engage in a “serious review of its lifestyle, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences. What is needed is an effective shift in mentality which can lead to the adoption of new lifestyles.” (Caritas in Veritate, 51)

And now his successor continues the lesson: 

This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy.

To think of the other as we consume "our" food (or any resource, or anyone), we must focus on what drives us to consume and waste all that we do. And we must introduce ourselves to what—indeed, Whom—we truly seek. As Saint Augustine has noted, our hearts are restless until they rest with the Triune God—the God who is relation and love. This is precisely the meaning of Pope Francis's hope of a "culture of solidarity and of encounter."

The task of the Catholic ecologist, then, must primarily be to proclaim the good news of Christ’s offer of life—which comes through the sacrifice of the Cross. For in the end, it will not be science or educational programs that will still our gluttonous consumption. It will be the Gospel of Life and the Grace of God that will reorient and elevate our nature—and in so doing protect nature itself.

 Catholic Ecology Home

Pope Francis takes on waste

Photo: Flicker/Catholic Church (England and Wales)

Excellent words from Pope Francis at today's weekly general audience. In it he links
ecological and human ills, as have his predecessors. But he is pure Pope Francis in presenting the message. I'll have more analysis in the days to come but for now his words speak for themselves. Read well. There are many gems here.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! 

Today I want to focus on the issue of the environment, which I have already spoken of on several occasions. Today we also mark World Environment Day, sponsored by the United Nations, which sends a strong reminder of the need to eliminate the waste and disposal of food.

When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it (cf. 2:15). And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it? The verb "to cultivate" reminds me of the care that the farmer has for his land so that it bear fruit, and it is shared: how much attention, passion and dedication! Cultivating and caring for creation is God’s indication given to each one of us not only at the beginning of history; it is part of His project; it means nurturing the world with responsibility and transforming it into a garden, a habitable place for everyone. Benedict XVI recalled several times that this task entrusted to us by God the Creator requires us to grasp the rhythm and logic of creation. But we are often driven by pride of domination, of possessions, manipulation, of exploitation; we do not “care” for it, we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a free gift that we must care for. We are losing the attitude of wonder, contemplation, listening to creation; thus we are no longer able to read what Benedict XVI calls "the rhythm of the love story of God and man." Why does this happen? Why do we think and live in a horizontal manner, we have moved away from God, we no longer read His signs. 

But to "cultivate and care" encompasses not only the relationship between us and the environment, between man and creation, it also regards human relationships. The Popes have spoken of human ecology, closely linked to environmental ecology. We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all we see this in mankind. The human person is in danger: this is certain, the human person is in danger today, here is the urgency of human ecology! And it is a serious danger because the cause of the problem is not superficial but profound: it is not just a matter of economics, but of ethics and anthropology. The Church has stressed this several times, and many say, yes, that's right, it's true ... but the system continues as before, because it is dominated by the dynamics of an economy and finance that lack ethics. Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the "culture of waste." If you break a computer it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs, the dramas of so many people end up becoming the norm. If on a winter’s night, here nearby in Via Ottaviano, for example, a person dies, that is not news. If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities, is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy! Thus people are disposed of, as if they were trash.

This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy.

A few days ago, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, we read the story of the miracle of the loaves: Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fishes. And the conclusion of the piece is important: " They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets" (Lk 9:17). Jesus asks his disciples not to throw anything away: no waste! There is this fact of twelve baskets: Why twelve? What does this mean? Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel, which symbolically represent all people. And this tells us that when food is shared in a fair way, with solidarity, when no one is deprived, every community can meet the needs of the poorest. Human ecology and environmental ecology walk together.

So I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter. Thank you.

Summary in English

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Our Audience today coincides with World Environment Day, and so it is fitting to reflect on our responsibility to cultivate and care for the earth in accordance with God’s command (cf. Gen 2:15). We are called not only to respect the natural environment, but also to show respect for, and solidarity with, all the members of our human family. These two dimensions are closely related; today we are suffering from a crisis which is not only about the just management of economic resources, but also about concern for human resources, for the needs of our brothers and sisters living in extreme poverty, and especially for the many children in our world lacking adequate education, health care and nutrition. Consumerism and a “culture of waste” have led some of us to tolerate the waste of precious resources, including food, while others are literally wasting away from hunger. I ask all of you to reflect on this grave ethical problem in a spirit of solidarity grounded in our common responsibility for the earth and for all our brothers and sisters in the human family.

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Corpus Christi and Sacramentum Caritatis

I have already blogged on this wonderful passage about ecology in Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. But for the Feast of Corpus Christi, it seems appropriate that we ponder these words anew, or for the first time ...

The sanctification of the world and the protection of creation

§92. Finally, to develop a profound eucharistic spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through the Eucharist, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. The Eucharist itself powerfully illuminates human history and the whole cosmos. In this sacramental perspective we learn, day by day, that every ecclesial event is a kind of sign by which God makes himself known and challenges us. The eucharistic form of life can thus help foster a real change in the way we approach history and the world. The liturgy itself teaches us this, when, during the presentation of the gifts, the priest raises to God a prayer of blessing and petition over the bread and wine, "fruit of the earth," "fruit of the vine" and "work of human hands." With these words, the rite not only includes in our offering to God all human efforts and activity, but also leads us to see the world as God's creation, which brings forth everything we need for our sustenance. The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit. Rather, it is part of God's good plan, in which all of us are called to be sons and daughters in the one Son of God, Jesus Christ (cf. Eph 1:4-12). The justified concern about threats to the environment present in so many parts of the world is reinforced by Christian hope, which commits us to working responsibly for the protection of creation. The relationship between the Eucharist and the cosmos helps us to see the unity of God's plan and to grasp the profound relationship between creation and the "new creation" inaugurated in the resurrection of Christ, the new Adam. Even now we take part in that new creation by virtue of our Baptism (cf. Col 2:12ff.). Our Christian life, nourished by the Eucharist, gives us a glimpse of that new world – new heavens and a new earth – where the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven, from God, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rev 21:2).

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The problem with "housing starts"

There was good news today for the economy: nationwide housing permits were up. But there was bad news for the environment: nationwide housing permits were up.

Here’s some of the story from our restless culture as reported in Investing.com:

The number of building permits issues in the U.S. increased more-than-expected to hit the highest level in five years in April, official data showed Thursday. 

The report also showed that housing starts fell significantly, painting a mixed picture of the U.S. housing sector. 

In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau that the number of building permits issued in April rose 14.3% to a seasonally adjusted 1.017 million, above expectations for a 3.8% increase to 0.973 million units.

The consumption of land for sprawling neighborhoods comes with issues—many, many issues—especially when indicators like “housing starts” and building permits are linked to healthy economies, which means jobs. And so the questions: Must our ecological wellbeing be at odds with our economic? Must we continue to consume resources for more building so that others can keep feeding their families? And what happens when regions exhaust their buildable land?

This video demonstrates the realities that concern lots of folks, including me. It shows then-and-now contrasts of areas in Rhode Island from 1939 and today—even though Rhode Island’s population remained virtually unchanged during this time.

This could be many places in America or throughout the globe. We humans are building and expanding our footprint often without consideration of short- and long-term costs. We’re chewing up land and lumber while we are laying down asphalt and lawns that demand lots of water, nutrients, and toxic pesticides. All this comes with water and air pollution and the loss of a biodiversity that God made very good in the beginning. 

Before continuing, here’s my confession: My family home is one of the many that appears in a now image within the video. It is not in its 1939 counterpart. My parents built—rather, they hired workers to build—their home after World War II, as did so many others. Today, my neighborhood is not as attractive to as it once was as homebuyers look for newer stock, bigger houses, and more of a country setting.

And so the building continues. As this process continues, we’re loosing our countryside—and our souls—as we build where no one has built before. All this makes the questions above more critical to answer—and soon. I understand that many good men and women make a living from the building trades. Indeed, the King of kings was raised by a carpenter who earned His living as one. Even St. Paul made tents to pay the bills. And yet ... those questions about too much of a good thing do not go away.

I don’t pretend to know how to adequately answer these questions to the satisfaction of all, especially within a brief blog post. But I do know that the Church has spoken of such matters. For instance, from Pope Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate (with the original emphasis and notations from the Vatican website): 

On this earth there is room for everyone: here the entire human family must find the resources to live with dignity, through the help of nature itself — God's gift to his children — and through hard work and creativity. At the same time we must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it. This means being committed to making joint decisions “after pondering responsibly the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”[120]. Let us hope that the international community and individual governments will succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the environment. It is likewise incumbent upon the competent authorities to make every effort to ensure that the economic and social costs of using up shared environmental resources are recognized with transparency and fully borne by those who incur them, not by other peoples or future generations: the protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate obliges all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet[121]. One of the greatest challenges facing the economy is to achieve the most efficient use — not abuse — of natural resources, based on a realization that the notion of “efficiency” is not value-free.

The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa. This invites contemporary society to a serious review of its life-style, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences[122]. What is needed is an effective shift in mentality which can lead to the adoption of new life-styles “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments”[123]. Every violation of solidarity and civic friendship harms the environment, just as environmental deterioration in turn upsets relations in society. Nature, especially in our time, is so integrated into the dynamics of society and culture that by now it hardly constitutes an independent variable. 

At my parish’s May Breakfast a few weeks back I sat next to an older couple. I did not know them before we ate together that morning. We spoke of their youth, when both were raised on farms in different parts of Rhode Island. They spoke of simplicity, of family, and of quiet. Their family farms are now a residential subdivision and an industrial park. And their current home, which they bought for a few thousand dollars in the 1960s, was once woodlands and fields overlooking a small bay.

Human progress is wonderful, necessary, and at the same time, because of sin, can be dangerous. I do not seek to live in an age without antibiotics or public sewers but I do wish that our appetites for living on virgin land could be stilled. I wish that we would engage in “a serious review of [our] life-style, which ... is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences.”

And I do pray for “an effective shift in mentality which can lead to the adoption of new life-styles ‘in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments.’”

In other words, I pray for a time when housing starts are not celebrated as a sign of a strong society—when workers can raise families in ways other than building new buildings and then going somewhere else building some more.

I’d rather see our communal health measured by the love that we express for God and neighbor, which presupposes that we actually get to know our neighbors (and families) rather than flee from them to a find a new and bigger house somewhere in the anonymity of a place that no one yet calls home.

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When storms are not statistics

Photo: Flicker/by DVIDSHUB

My United States Senator, democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, made a bit of a national stir this week with a tirade against Republicans and climate change skeptics. In doing so he invoked the good, wounded, and dead people of Oklahoma.

Push back was immediate—and deservedly so. The senator’s spokesperson Seth Larson issued a statement that blamed the remarks on bad timing.

But the senator’s comments were more than an error in timing or bad judgment. They were an example of what we in the environmental advocacy world must never succumb to: Pointing to individual disasters for proof that we’re right and they’re wrong. This is childish, ineffective, and (I must add) not at all Christian. 

While we must defend the weak—and in this case, the weak are all those who can suffer from a changing climate (which is really most of us)—it is wrong to point to this blizzard or that tornado outbreak and link it to climate change.

Again and again this must be repeated: Weather is not climate. No single storm is evidence of a changing climate. Trends are.

To make my point, below is a National Weather Service slide from a presentation published by the University of Rhode Island Sea Grant program. It shows an upward trend in Rhode Island of rainfall amounts of more than one inch in a twenty-four hour period. This trend is indicative of a warming atmosphere, which, as warmer air holds more moisture, releases more rain when storms come and go. No one data point in this graph is significant when speaking about warming atmospheres. Many factors affect which storms are wetter or windier than others. It is the trend—that green line—that tells the story.

But what comes too naturally for many—like Senator Whitehouse—is referring to specific data points to prove rather complex realities. And this is not helpful.

Moreover, those data points are not mere nuances for the sake of argument. They are often quite harsh realities that deeply affect—and many times end—the lives of men, women, and children.

As we saw in Moore, Oklahoma, data about storms is nothing to brandish when engaging in climate change warfare.

And this is where we Catholics—and all those of faith—can help broker the dialogue. We can balance human reason’s use of statistics with the human soul’s love of neighbor. We can help those harmed by any event while working to understand if and how human activity may be creating more powerful storms—and if so, how we can remedy the situation.

But we can never point to lives torn to pieces and say with excitement that these people’s misfortune proved me right. (Nor can we be partof the growing entertainment cottage of industry that chases and films cyclonic destruction not for purposes of science but for the fun of it.)

May God bless with abundant grace the people throughout the Midwest—throughout the United States and the whole world—who are suffering loss of life, property, and loved ones from the ravages of weather. May the rest of us do what we can—like donating here—to help as we can. And let us pray ...

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. † God became man, † and the Word was made flesh. † Christ was born of a Virgin. † Christ suffered. † Christ was crucified. † Christ died. † Christ rose from the dead. † Christ ascended into Heaven. † Christ conquers. † Christ reigns. † Christ orders. † May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning † Christ went through their midst in Peace, † and the word was made flesh. † Christ is with us with Mary. † Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of Judah, the Root David, has won. † Holy God! † Holy Powerful God! † Holy Immortal God! † Have mercy on us. Amen!

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The Lord, the giver of life

On this eve of Pentecost—this solemnity of divine life animating a people in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church—a few environmental stories are resonating with what we know of our relationship (or lack thereof) with the Lord, the giver of life.

In the psalm proclaimed at today’s Mass, we hear these words: 

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! How manifold are your works, O LORD! the earth is full of your creatures; 

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD be glad in his works! Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the LORD. 

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

The connection between creation and the Creator is one that we may take for granted. But the psalmist and the Church do not. Nor should we.

I am increasingly convinced that the solutions to our global ecological ills will be found (and implemented) only through the truth and grace offered by God through His Church—by the Spirit that first swept over the "waters" of the abyss to bring about all that we know and love today.

And so I am delighted by news of the Church offering her voice to particular ecological ills. And I am not surprised about other news that demonstrates how politics is not the most helpful force for the betterment of man’s relation to nature, especially when one must balance job creation with the stewardship of creation itself.

Simply put: None of the planning, calls for disinvestment, protests, online petitions, boycotts, educational programs, or whatever else that we humans work toward for the good of the planet will offer much fruit if they are not first baptized by the grace of God. Calling to mind the psalm, our work will stir only dust unless it is truly the work of the Spirit—and then it will stir hearts and change lives and lifestyles for the good of humanity and all creation.

And so as we leave the Season of Easter and travel through Pentecost towards next Sunday’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let those of us who seek to protect our planet’s ecosystems remember now and always that it is and will be the Triune God—Who is love and relationship—that will animate our best natures. For it is Christ, in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, that takes away the sins of the world.

For Catholic ecologists, every day is not only Earth Day. Every day must also be Pentecost.

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The price of disordered leisure

Two recent and seemingly unrelated news stories are of interest to Catholic ecologists. Their intersection speaks to a host of issues related to peace, love, and seeking both through far too much consumption.

First is the news of Pope Francis’s words on the topic of leisure. A story by the New York Times about the soon-to-be-published book “Pope Francis: His Life in His Own Words” (Putnam; $24.95), draws attention to a compilation of interviews of then Cardinal Bergoglio. In it, he speaks about the human need to rest.

Responding to the question, “Do we need to rediscover the meaning of leisure?” Pope Francis replies: “Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport. But this is being destroyed, in large part, by the elimination of the Sabbath rest day. More and more people work on Sundays as a consequence of the competitiveness imposed by a consumer society.” In such cases, he concludes, “work ends up dehumanizing people.”

The second story is about a local issue in Goa, India. I’ve written elsewhere about how this Indian state struggles with mining but here we find another tension between nature and business. According to The Hindu, an island community in Goa is under pressure to be developed as an upscale tropical resort. The story notes that the island

Vanxim has about 120 houses with a population of 500 to 600. Fishing is the only source of livelihood. In 2006, much of the 800,000 sq meter island was bought by a private dealer and sold to a builders’ group that was eyeing this picturesque island to convert it into a resort. The residents are deeply divided over this controversial project and the issue has been hanging fire since then.

A former panchayat member, Manuvel Furtado, says that they want firm assurances that the resort will be constructed on the barren land only and none of the houses and other structures will be affected and none will be evacuated. The group opposing the move argues that the deal is illegal because the water bodies cannot be bought and nor can the mangroves be cut.

The developers have brought out a booklet wherein they quote a resolution of Sao Mathias Gram Panchayat, under which Vanxim comes, recommending an eco tourism project. The resort promoters have promised to develop infrastructure for basic needs, generate employment by tapping the local talent and has also assured that existing homes have not been acquired and no one will be evacuated. But there is an air of mistrust. In the nearby Divar Island, where the Divaaya resort hotel was constructed some years back, people say that the owners sold their land following an assurance that a spice garden and ponds for fishing would be developed there to generate employment for the local people. However, the promoters went back on their promise apart from employing some locals at the resort. Perhaps, Divar’s experience has made Vanxim’s residents edgy about the offer.

For the Catholic ecologist, the words of Pope Francis speak to the worries over Vanxim’s future because far too many of us in the developed world overdo and corrupt the concept of leisure.

Hyper-consumption is a curse rooted in Western thought and practice. A great many resources go to vacation homes that are rather large, resorts that are rather decadent, and cruises that are rather messy.

And all this is in the name of finding bliss on earth.

St. Augustine famously noted that “our hearts are restless until they rest in thee, O Lord.” This restlessness is of course the human desire to seek God. It is the natural orientation to reclaim Eden—to find the new heavens and the new earth that St. John prophesizes and Christianity proclaims. The human urge to rest in the beauty of nature is an echo of our natural desire to join creation—and in so doing to rightly give Him praise.

None of this is bad in itself. Indeed, it is innately human. But sin disorders this quest—these urges—much as it disorders sexual desires.

Nothing of this earth can quench our true thirst to rest. True rest comes only in and from the presence of God. As Pope Francis noted in his homily at the Confirmation of some two dozen youths last Sunday,

[t]he new things of God are not like the novelties of this world, all of which are temporary; they come and go, and we keep looking for more. The new things which God gives to our lives are lasting, not only in the future, when we will be with him, but today as well.

And so as we consider our holiday plans, perhaps we should consider that our quest for the things that last doesn't require extensive international air travel—that the things of God can be found more readily outside of artificial communities, which swallow large volumes of resources from the areas in which they reside.

Certainly, much can be said about the economic benefits of the travel and leisure industry—especially the jobs it provides to desperately poor people. But much more can be said about authentically building local economies based not on foreigners consuming local resources but on a foundation of authentic enterprise and the dignity of local residents.

As we see in Goa, there is an insatiable need for new and more luxurious locales for restless travelers to find something akin to peace. But true peace comes not by constant exploration of this world—which often comes at a hefty price to ecosystems—but from God's grace, which allows us to build small destinations of the Kingdom of God in the places we call home.

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