Paris Agreement pledges alone won't reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Vatican can respond with an initiative based on the work of the Laudato Si' Action Platform and the competencies of Catholic universities.
Professor Samuel Shephard from Ave Maria University suggests that Catholics can contribute a unique perspective to Earth Day, celebrated each April 22, by viewing it as an opportunity to fulfill their role as stewards of creation. Shephard said Catholics can place the importance of practical actions like reducing plastic use and ethical clothing purchases within the context of God's "loving plan for salvation."
In disaster-prone provinces of central Vietnam, sisters help locals and farmers adjust to climate change through sustainable techniques and financial support, allowing them to adapt and stay on their land.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart build bricks from discarded plastic bottles. It's one way people and communities across the world are addressing the gargantuan problem of plastic waste and plastic pollution.
'I know there are plenty of people out there who believe animals have no souls,’ said Giuliano. ‘And I cannot accept one of God’s creation is, spiritually, the equivalent of a cup of ice cream.'
Undoubtedly the widespread use of plastic has made life easier and made many products less expensive and therefore within the reach of more people. The problem is that plastic is not good for our planet.
"We, like most congregations, believe the life force that flows through creation, through our land, through the animals, through humanity, is sacred," says Sinsinawa Dominican Sr. Julie Schwab.
Though campus conversations about food are often students griping about dining hall meals, an April 9 panel discussion at St. Mary's College in Indiana explored the issues of food waste and the future of food.
Humanity must have more direct contact with nature to counter the modern lifestyles that are destroying the planet, Pope Francis told members of the Italian Catholic Movement of Adult Scouts during a meeting at the Vatican April 13.