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World Environment Day Program
… and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue. … This year's theme is biodiversity … —a concern that is both urgent and existential. Recent events—from bushfires in …
What is ecological sin?
… social sin means becoming aware of how different aspects of lifestyles cause harm to the land, biodiversity and other people, said Tobias Winright, a moral theologian at St. Louis University. …
Five years ago, Pope Francis asked us to care for Earth. Have we listened?
… sessions across the nine Amazon countries on the threats facing one of the world's most biodiverse and critical ecosystems. All that culminated in October with the Vatican's special … turned the global church's attention to the multiple crises — like deforestation, mining, biodiversity loss and land disputes — facing the Amazon, a key region in mitigating climate … the 8% of land [globally] owned by the Catholic Church, if you have programs increasing biodiversity, land restoration, fighting deforestation. This can be massive," Larsen said. The …
Oceans are our planet's true lungs
… section 3: Loss of Biodversity … Pope Francis doesn't hold back in his section on the loss of biodiversity: "Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we … existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right" (33). Then he highlights biodiversity hotspots, or areas rich in numbers of native plant and animal species, and the … single crop], industrial waste and destructive fishing methods." Worse, coral reefs – the most biodiverse parts of the ocean – are "already barren or in a state of constant decline." He ties …
Vatican office invites church on journey to 'total sustainability' in next decade
… planet" — melting Arctic ice caps, wildfires in the Amazon and Australia, extreme weather and biodiversity loss — "are too evident and detrimental to be ignored any more." It adds: "We hope … of clean renewable energy and reduced fossil fuel use; support efforts to protect and promote biodiversity and guarantee water access for all. Response to the cry of the poor: defend human … of ecological crises facing the planet, including climate change, deforestation and threats to biodiversity that jeopardize the survival of upward of 1 million plant and animal species. The …
EarthBeat Weekly: Throwaway plastics strike back amid the pandemic
… enter landfills in the U.S. alone . As plastics pollute land and water, they threaten both biodiversity and human health, with more and more microscopic plastic particles entering into …
Creation is sacred gift deserving respect, care, pope says on Earth Day
… As the Book of Genesis relates, he said, "we live in this common home as one human family in biodiversity with God's other creatures," and God has called on humanity to care for and respect …
Earth Day 50 years on: It's all about the questions
… an even more dire, almost existential, set of global environmental challenges, from loss of biodiversity to climate change to plastic pollution, that call for action at all levels of …
EarthBeat Weekly: An eco-streaming guide while we're cooped up by coronavirus
… … "Our Planet" series … (2019) presents visually stunning looks at the earth's ecosystems and biodiversity, while addressing how climate change, water shortages and ocean dumping threaten …
Coronavirus compels climate activists to shift from streets to screen
… advisory panel. CYNESA had planned to co-sponsor an interfaith event in Nairobi, Kenya, on biodiversity and conservation in mid-May to kick off Laudato Si' Week. Now the event, in …
Forest loss drives viruses as well as climate change, indigenous leaders warn
… the world what we have been saying for thousands of years — that if we do not help protect biodiversity and nature, then we will face this and worse future threats," said Levi Sucre Romero … to strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples — who have learned to live in nature with biodiversity and protect animal and plant species — we would see fewer epidemics such as the one … areas is the best way to keep forests standing, which in turn reduces global warming and biodiversity loss. "Communities living in and around forest areas can play a vital role in …