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J/P Alert is the newsletter of the Justice and Peace office of CMSM. It is intended to inform and stimulate discussion and involvement among the members. Its contents do not necessarily represent official positions of CMSM.
Climate change, one of the most serious moral issues of our times
By Sean McDonagh
[Father Sean McDonagh, SSC, is an Irish Columban. He is an expert on climate change and related issues. He is the author of Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us and Passion for the Earth (Ecology and Justice). His most recent article, "Climate Ethics," was published in the June 18, 2007, issue of America.]
On April 6, 2007, which incidentally fell on Good Friday, the second report of the 4th Assessment of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published. Its predictions about how climate change would affect human beings and the biosphere are based on scientific data and computer models that are being constantly revised to improve their accuracy. The report made grim reading. It stated that climate change will give rise to increased heat waves, like the one that killed 35,000 people in Europe in 2003. It will also increase the frequency and intensity of storms in both the Caribbean and Pacific. This will bring pain, suffering and death to between 200 and 600 million people by 2060. If nothing is done to stabilize the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people will face water shortages by 2080. Droughts may well affect areas of the world, such as the US Midwest, that currently play a very important role in global food production. With rising sea levels, caused by thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of glaciers in both Greenland and the Western Antarctic, flood waters could claim between 2 and 7 million people in New York and Tokyo alone. A rise of a single meter would make life impossible for the 35 million people who live in the delta area of Bangladesh alone. Glaciers retreating in the Himalayas and the Andes will affect vast numbers of people in Asia and Latin America.
Beyond the IPCC report, Professor Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University, a world expert on glaciers, has called attention to the relatively unknown fact that 4 billion people, two-thirds of the world's population, depend on water from tropical glaciers. (1) 70% of the water of the Ganges, for example, comes from melt ice. Because of floods and droughts, agricultural production in a continent like Africa, where crops are rainfed rather than irrigated, could be down 50%, this at a time of rapid population growth. (2) A rise of just 2 degrees celsius could bring about the extinction of 30% of the species on the planet. Plant life will be particularly vulnerable, since plants cannot migrate to a new, more suitable ecological niche in such a short period. Marine ecosystems, especially coral reefs, which are the rainforests of the oceans, are also being destroyed by climate change. Dr. Tim Flannery, the director of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide and author of the book The Weather Makers, states that "visitors travelling to Queenland by 2050 may see the Great Stump Reef". (3) Most of the damage will fall on the poor of the world in Asia, Latin America and Africa, who, did little to cause the problem in the first instance. Africa has been responsible for a mere 3% of greenhouse gases since 1900.
Given this level of what in an earlier era would constitute apocalyptic claims, it is understandable that scientists such as Sir David King, the chief scientist to the British Government, considers that climate change is the most serious problem facing humankind and the earth. It has the potential to do enormous and often irreversbile damage to human beings and to the fabric of life that supports them on this planet. The time-frame in which we might expect these predictions to become a reality is not within 200 or 300 years, but rather within the lifetime of babies I baptised this month.
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) from the Second Vatican Council proclaims in the first paragraph that "the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men [and women] of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ." How then has the Church leadership, either at the local level or in Rome, responded to the challenge of climate change?
One of the first places in papal teaching where there is a reference to global warming and climate change is in the 1990 document on ecology entitled Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All Creation. In the following years there was very little comment from Rome on climate change even though the IPCC issued 3 reports on the subject. Each report signalled that we were facing a crisis of enormous proportions and came closer and closer to saying that human activity, especially the growing level of greenhouse gas emission, was responsible for the crisis.
The reports underscored the fact that we could not postpone indefinitely the need for drastic action to reduce greenhouse gases. We have at the most 15 to 20 years to take action, otherwise we will have reached a "tipping point" that will set in train a series of events like the melting of the Greenland ice sheet that will make the planet a more inhospitable place to live for succeeding generations of human beings and other creatures.
The next serious mention of climate change comes in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. The reference occurs in Chapter 10, entitled, "Safeguarding the Environment." Climate change merits only a single article, No. 470, which fails to capture either the magnitude of the problem or the urgency with which it must be faced.
In May 2007, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace organized a two-day seminar on cliamte change. Over 80 people attended. There were excellent presentations from credible scientists, whoses writings have been peer reviewed. But there were at least four participants who either deny climate change or believe it is a good thing. One of these was Professor Craig Idso, adjunct professor at the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University (ACU). He is chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, an institute dedicated to denying climate change. Together with his father Sherwood and his brother Keith, he co-authored a report entitled "Enhanced or Impaired? Human Health in a CO2-enriched world," which argues that global warming and an increase in atmospheric CO2 would be beneficial to humanity. Earlier this year the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report documenting how ExxonMobile has given millions of dollars to individuals and groups who raise doubts about climate change. The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change is listed as being an ExxonMobil-funded group.
In
September 2006, Bob Ward, Senior Manager for Policy Communication for
the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific body, wrote to
ExxonMobile demanding that the company stop funding groups that have, "misrepresented
the science of climate change by outright denial of evidence". (4) In
the letter he refuted many of the claims made by the sceptics that often sound
plausible
until they are examined by experts in the field. While some scientists may
quibble with various aspects of the IPCC reports, there is a solid consensus
among the
scientific community that climate change is happening. Naomi Oreskes, a scientist
at the University of California, analyzed 923 articles in scientific journals
written between 1993 and 2003. She published the result of her findings in
Science in December 2004. Not a single article disputed
that human activity was causing
a rise in global temperatures. These conclusions have also been endorsed by
leading scientific organizations around the world, including the Science Academies
of
Brazil, India and China.
What about the record of the US Catholic Church in relation to climate change, given the fact that the US, with only 5% of the world's population, is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions? In 2002 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a document entitled Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good. The bishops were very clear that prudence is not meant to inhibit action nor promote a business-as-usual approach. It challenges people, especially those in authority, to reflect on the current scientific data on climate change and taken the appropriate action. The most recent document from the Conference, entitled Faithful Stewards of God's Creation: a Catholic Resource for Environmental Justice and Climate Change, was published in March 2007. The document's focus on how climate change will affect the poor is very much to be welcomed, but it lacks an adequate contemporary theology of creation. While the document does call on "our people and government to recognize the seriousness of the global threat and develop effective policies that will diminish the possible consequences of global climate change" ( page 14 and 15) it lacks specifics.
Is there hope? The third report of the fourth assessment of the IPCC, published in May 2007, believes there is hope. The report believes that the world has the technology and wealth to act decisively to stop global warming. There is a game plan for tackling climate change but it needs to be put into action immediately. (5)
In theological terms this is a kairos moment, because the decisions taken by this generation will have huge consequences for future generations. If this generation fails to confront this issue, then no future generation will be able to undo the damage. Every human being and every creature in successive generations will suffer.
Religious communities in the United States should take a lead role in educating themselves about the reality of climate change. One way of doing this is to insist on more ecological theology in Catholic schools, seminaries and theological institutes. One cannot presume that Catholics or Catholic missionaries are well informed about the reality and future challenge of climate change unless there is an education campaign at every level of the Catholic Church. Research by Ipsos Mori in Britian in June 2007 shows that, while most Britons recognize the problem of climate change and that humans have played a role in causing it, many are not convinced that the situation is as bad as the scientists and poliltcians claim. (6) Missionary congregations should take a lead in educating the Catholic population about the moral and religious issues involved in protecting God's creation.
Congregations that have representation at the United Nations should lobby that organization to include the ethical dimension of climate change in the UN process. Specifically, they should argue that the ethics of climate change form part of the UN Conference on Climate change that is scheduled for Bali later this year. Almost all the scientists, and even politicians like the former Vice-Presidenet Al Gore, claim that climate change is primarily a moral issue. Unfortunately, they do not tease out the various dimensions of this challenge. Many of the moral principles involved, such as the polluter pays principle and the precautionary principle, are now widely accepted and included in some international treaties and protocols.
Missionary congregations should encourage investment agencies to promote various initiatives to lessen our dependence on fossil fuel. Because of their international character, they know, for example, that promoting the production of palm oil as an energy sources in countries like Malasyia will lead to the destruction of the tropical forest in that part of Asia. This will cause the extinction of many plants and animals such as orangutans.
Writing in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, C. Ford Runce and Benjamin Senauer, from the Food and Industry Center at the University of Minnesota, point out that biofuels could starve the poor in the US and globally. (7) Even the current demand for ethanol has led to a sharp increase in the price of corn. In March 2007 the price of a bushel of corn had surged to $4.38, which is the highest it has been for a decade. Think of the consequence of even a small rise in food prices for the 2.7 billion people in the world whom the World Bank estimates are living under the equivalent of $2 a day. If we now divert a substantial proportion of the corn harvest into producing ethanol to power our SUVs, it is inevitable that food prices will rise globally and that hunger will increase. It takes 450 pounds of corn to fill up a 25 gallon SUV with ethanol, which is the same number of calories needed to feed a human being for one year. This is an area where those who are working for justice ought to be able to team up with environmentalists to promote a more just and sustainable future for humankind and all creation.
On the practical side, religious should also do a carbon audit on their property, transport vehicles and ministries and begin the process of reducing their carbon footprint. They should set realistic goals and encourage other organizations within the Catholic community to take similar steps. The challenges posed by global warming and climate change can provide an opportunity to build a more peaceful, just and sustainable human society. But time is running out. We need to act NOW or future generations will not forgive us.
1 The Australian, February 17-18th 2007, page 12.
2 Irish Examiner, April 7, 2007, page 1.
3 Tim Flannery, The Weather Makers and Future Impact
of Climate Change, Allen
Lane,
(Penguin), London, page 104-112.
4 David Adams, "Royal Society tells Exxon: stop funding climate change
denial", The Guardian, September 20, 2006.
5 "Climate plan sets stage for global negotiations", Omaha
World-Herald,
May 5, 2007, page 7A.
6 http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2117913,00.html.
7
C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Senauer, "How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor",
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2007, pages 41 – 68.
All is a shrinking circle.
To my shame
I am safe inside,
white skin
birthed in this shining
city on a hill
where the lights grow dim
candles of hope
snuffed
one by one
for you called "alien"
branded "illegal"
(as if any Earth-child
has no birthright)
most of you brown-skinned
who speak and sing
a musical "unofficial"
language.
So, leave us, the legal ones.
Return to your land of birth
to feed your children dust
and leave us sniveling
with our unharvested fields
shuttered restaurants
overgrown gardens
our English only
land of the free
treasured values
in archives
locked.
[Marie Lucey, OSF, 6/29/07 - the day after immigration reform died in the Senate. May it be resurrected in stronger form which addresses root causes of immigration, including unfair US trade policies which force small farmers to come north in order to feed their families.]
Protect Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families
VATICAN CITY, JUL 11, 2007 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was a speech delivered by Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, during the Global Forum on Migration and Development, held in Brussels, Belgium from July 9 to 11.
Speaking English, the archbishop recalled how "migrants contribute to their host country's well-being, and also because of this their human dignity must be respected and their freedoms guaranteed: the right to a dignified life, to fair treatment at work, to have access to education, health and other social benefits, to grow in competence and develop humanly, to freely manifest their culture and practice their religion.
"But rights and duties go together," he added. "Therefore,
at the same time, migrants have the duty to respect the identity and
the
laws of the country of residence, strive for proper integration (not
assimilation) into the host society and learn its language. They are
to foster esteem and respect for their host country, even to the point
of loving and defending it.
"Unfortunately, among them there are immigrants in an irregular situation, who, however, independently of their legal status, have inalienable human dignity. Therefore their rights must be safeguarded and not ignored or violated. An irregular migration status, in fact, does not mean criminality. The solution is better international cooperation that discourages irregularity, with increased legal channels for migration."
Archbishop Marchetto concluded his talk by renewing the call made by the Pope in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees for "governments who have not yet done so, to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and the Members of their Families."
62nd Anniversary of the Nuclear Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The week of August 6 marks the 62nd anniversary of the deaths of over 200,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the use of the atomic bomb. Despite the world's witness to the indiscriminate destructive power of this weapon and commitments from almost all nations to rid ourselves of these horrific killers, we are still living in the shadow of nuclear weapons.
President Kennedy's prediction of 15 to 20 nuclear weapons states by 1970 has not materialized, but the nations of the world continue to be divided into nuclear haves and have-nots. The dangers of this situation are great, but past successes limiting the number and spread of these weapons of mass destruction prove that we can help prevent catastrophe. Treaties have helped cap the quantities and types of nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Russia, nonproliferation programs have secured hundreds of kilograms of at-risk fissile material, and just this year, FCNL and constituents like you successfully stopped Congress from funding a new nuclear bomb plant.
Yet, we have much more to do. The Bush Administration insists on developing a new generation of nuclear warheads and refuses to renew key treaties with Russia. This week, we remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in honoring the hundreds of thousands that were killed, let us work toward the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Devin Helfrich, Legislative
Assistant
Friends Committee on National Legislation
The fourth installment of "Iraq: Catholic Resources for discernment" is now available on the Jesuit Conference web site.
Essays
to mark the fortieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio
Millions of people in our world today live in misery. Children in Central America scavenge in rubbish tips to survive; in sub-Saharan Africa life expectancy has dropped to forty-five, due largely to HIV/AIDS; and over a billion people around the world live on less than two dollars a day.
Such poverty in a world of plenty is a scandal and a shame. In the light of this, the urgent call for action for global justice issued by Pope Paul Vl in his encyclical Populorum Progressio is as necessary today as when it was written in 1967.
To mark the fortieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio, its central messages have inspired experts in development to reflect on its enduring relevance. The Development of Peoples: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow looks at issues across today's development spectrum, including poverty, debt, trade, peace and conflict, human rights, globalization, HIV/AIDS, gender inequality, the environment, and migration.
Contributors
The writers come from five continents, and the Foreword is by Mary
Robinson, the founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization
Initiative, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The essays
were commissioned by the International Jesuit Network for Development,
and were prepared for publication by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and
Justice in Dublin.
Details
The Development of Peoples: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow
by the International Jesuit Network for Development
ISBN: 9781856075749
Publisher: The Columba Press (Dublin, Ireland)
Date: June 2007; Pages: 208; $27.95
Online ordering
- Columba Press: Columba Catalogue, or
- Amazon's UK or US site: available by searching for full title and subtitle: "The Development of Peoples: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow".
Join with Jubilee to Cancel Debt Fast, September 6–October 15, 2007
"Must we starve our children to pay our debts?" Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania.
Today, millions of men, women and children around the world are literally starving for debt cancellation.
Please stand in solidarity with those who are suffering from poverty and economic injustice by joining Jubilee USA's 2007 Cancel Debt Fast campaign.
The Cancel Debt Fast is a rolling 40-day fast to support the 2007 Jubilee Act for Expanded Debt Cancellation and Responsible Lending (HR 2634). The Jubilee Act provides debt cancellation for every country that needs it to address extreme poverty.
During the 40 days of the fast, thousands of people of faith and conscience across the nation will fast for a day or more and, on that day meet with, call, or write their member of Congress to urge support for the Jubilee Act.
How You Can Join the Cancel Debt Fast:
- Register to fast today! You can register online at www.canceldebtfast.org/register.html or call 202-441-6763
- Order Cancel Debt Fast brochures or download them from our website to share with your church
- Hold a "Collection of Plates" in your church – supporters are writing letters to Congress on empty paper plates to bring attention to the fast (see our website for details)
- Use our Cancel Debt Fast Worship Resources to make Jubilee and the fast part of your worship service (Call to order or download from our website)
Why now? 2007
is a Sabbath Year. It has been 7 years
since people of faith and conscience worldwide launched the historic
Jubilee 2000 campaign
to cancel the debt of the world's impoverished countries. While
progress has been made, there is still much to be done.
For more information contact Brian Swarts, National Field Organizer brian@jubileeusa.org or 202-441-6763. Visit us online at: www.jubileeusa.org
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
How
can the Justice and Peace Office help you get involved?
T. Michael McNulty, SJ, editor
mmcnulty@cmsm.org
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