Plaintiffs suing the federal government for inaction on climate change gather in New York City’s Central Park. (Photo by Robin Loznak/Our Children’s Trust)
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Today marks the first day of publication for EarthBeat, NCR’s new exploration of the ways Catholics and other faith groups are speaking out and taking action on the climate crisis, one of the most compelling stories of our times.
In the face of the overwhelming evidence of human responsibility for the climate change that threatens our planet, we won’t waste time debating already settled science. Instead, we’ll focus on what it takes to move people — especially people of faith — from recognition of the problem to effective work on solutions that hold the most promise.
At the core of EarthBeat is news and information.
NCR staff writer Brian Roewe, just back from Rome last night after covering the Amazon Synod, profiles 18 year-old Nick Venner in our lead story today. Nick is among 21 young plaintiffs charging that the federal government has supported the fossil fuel industry despite knowing — since 1965 — the damage it was doing to the planet and the risks it was creating for future generations.
Addressing the climate crisis demands collective action by all of us. With that in mind, we’ve designed EarthBeat to be as collaborative as possible. We’ve summarized here the ways you can help us build this thing.
With our Small Earth Stories, readers like you have already begun inspiring the rest of us to stop talking and do something. Fara Warner’s story about composting at her home in upstate New York, for example, is responsible for the new bucket in my own kitchen near Boston.
Got a Burning Question about the intersection of faith and climate or such issues as environmental justice? Send it our way and we’ll do our best to track down a good answer for you. Planning a climate-related event that you think others would like to attend in person or online? Post it to our Upcoming Events calendar. Wondering what people of various faiths are doing about climate change? Welcome to our Interfaith Climate Tracker. You can view it on Twitter or the pages of EarthBeat. If you find it useful, we invite you to embed it into the website of your organization or parish.
As part of this initiative, we’re revamping the Eco Catholic newsletter, complete with a new name (EarthBeat Weekly), to recap coverage by EarthBeat and other outlets and to enlist your help in the storytelling. If you’re not yet receiving it — or if you’d like to recommend it to a friend — you can share this link.
Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you think of EarthBeat so far — and how we can make it better.
Bill Mitchell
NCR climate editor
bmitchell@ncronline.org
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