Social Issues
You water the mountains from your palace; by your labor the earth abounds. You raise grass for the cattle and plants for our beasts of burden. You bring bread from the earth, and wine to gladden our hearts, Oil to make our faces gleam, food to build our strength. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted. There the birds build their nests; junipers are the home of the stork. The high mountains are for wild goats; the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers. You made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun that knows the hour of its setting.
You bring darkness and night falls, then all the beasts of the forest roam abroad. Young lions roar for prey; they seek their food from God.
When the sun rises, they steal away and rest in their dens. People go forth to their work, to their labor till evening falls. How varied are your works, LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures. ~ Psalm 104:13-24
Local
See: Learn More About Enviornmental Issues in Arizona
Environment Arizona - Issues
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality - Children's Health
Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHARA)
Judge: Partnership for the Future -
New Mexico Catholic Conference
The moral challenge begins with recalling the vocation we were given as human beings at the beginning of Creation. Genesis 1.26 tells us that God created humankind to "have dominion" over all creation. However, the use of "dominion" in Genesis does not imply unrestrained exploitation; rather it is a term describing a "representative" and how that person is to behave on behalf of the One who sends the representative. We are God's representatives. Therefore we are to treat nature as the Creator would, not for our own selfish consumption but for the good of all creation.
Act: Through Advocacy, Community Organizing or Direct Service
Responsible Purchasing for Faith Communities,
Center for a New American Dream
A growing number of religious leaders cite consumerism as the Earth’s greatest problem and stress the need to reassess our consuming patterns for
environmental reasons, as well as for personal, social and spiritual reasons. By consuming less, we are free to devote more time and energy to the true meaning
in our lives. It can be difficult when the dominant culture seems to scream “More is better!” But nonmaterial needs, such as meaningful relationships, love, beauty,
a sense of purpose and a spiritual path can rarely be fulfilled by more purchases. Consuming responsibly can improve our own lives as well as the lives of our
neighbors.
Arizona Ecumenical Council Earth Care Commission
Caring for Creation is the educational and outreach program of the Arizona Ecumenical Council's Earth Care Commission. The commission's mission states: As delegates of our respective Christian Communions, and, believing that we are called by God to heal, defend, and care for the earth, we pledge ourselves, as stakeholders in the quest for ecojustice, to ·
PRAY for the Earth and all her creatures; · GATHER AND DISSEMINATE information regarding ecojustice and environmental committees and agencies of all Christian churches and denominations; · EDUCATE our respective communions and the community-at-large concerning the gravity of environmental issues and the promise of spiritual, sociological and technological solutions to those problems; ·
ACT as a catalyst for change through the processes of the Arizona Ecumenical Council; and ·
PROVIDE opportunities for our members to experience Christian unity through caring for creation.
Arizona Solar Center
This is your Arizona source for solar energy information. Come inside and explore various technologies, including photovoltaics, solar cooking, solar water heating, solar architecture, wind power, and hands-on activities for the classroom.
McDowell Sonoran Conservancy
“The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy’s commitment to the community
is to champion the preservation of the Sonoran Desert and its mountains, facilitate their relationship with preserved land, and develop a local culture of stewardship. It is our goal to secure for future generations their unique environmental and archeological heritage.”
Environment Arizona
We all want clean air, clean water and open spaces. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That's the idea behind Environment Arizona. We focus exclusively on protecting Arizona's air, water and open spaces. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.
Arizona Recycles
The ADEQ Recycling Program encourages Arizonans to reduce, reuse, recycle and buy recycled products as an alternative to solid waste disposal in landfills. The Arizona Legislature established the program in 1990 through the Arizona Solid Waste Recycling Act (see A.R.S. 49.831 et seq.) Funded by landfill disposal fees, the program has developed a variety of funding programs to assist communities and organizations in developing recycling programs of their own, access markets for recycled materials and educate people about the benefits of recycling. The program also supports the Arizona Environmental and Recycling Hotline and compiles annual information on recycling rates, material types and tonnage, infrastructure, and recycling organizations and companies.
Valley Metro Trip Planner
Save money and the envrionment. Take the bus!
Freecycle
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,501 groups with 5,270,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun! (This program will fill your email box rapidly, you may want to use a dedicated email address!)
National
See: Learn More About National Environmental Issues
United States Envionmental Protection Agency
EcoHealth Environmental Change and Our Health
Earth911, Environmental Issues
Pew Charitable Trusts, Environmental Science
Judge: USCCB Pastoral Statement-
Renewing the Earth An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching
The whole human race suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear the cost for our failure to act today. But in most countries today, including our own, it is the poor and the powerless who most directly bear the burden of current environmental carelessness....
Today, humanity is at a crossroads. Having read the signs of the times, we can either ignore the harm we see and witness further damage, or we can take up our responsibilities to the Creator and creation with renewed courage and commitment.
Act: Through Advocacy, Community Organinzing or Direct Service
USCCB Environmental Justice Program
The Environmental Justice Program (EJP) calls Catholics to a deeper respect for God’s creation and engages parishes in activities that deal with environmental problems, particularly as they affect the poor.
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
The National Catholic Rural Life Conference applies the teachings
of Jesus Christ for the betterment of rural America and care of God's
creation. We provide spiritual, educational and advocacy assistance
to help rural people shape their own destinies and lead lives of dignity.
The Catholic Conservation Center
National Green Pages
The National Green Pages™ is a directory listing nearly 3,000 businesses that have made firm commitments to sustainable, socially just principles, including the support of sweatshop-free labor, organic farms, fair trade, and cruelty-free products.
Enivronmental Protection Agency Concerned Citizens Resources
Become familiar with environmental issues and potential environmental and human health risks caused by pollution. Learn how you, your family, and your community can protect the environment.
Environmental Protection Agency Personal Emissions Calculator
Use this online calculator to obtain an estimate of your personal greenhouse gas emissions or your family’s greenhouse gas emissions. Then move on to the next section of the calculator to explore actions you and/or your family can take to lower your emissions while reducing your energy and waste disposal costs. For each action you choose to take, the calculator displays the amount of emissions you could avoid and how that amount relates to your total emissions.
Go Green with the United States Postal Service
Save time, save money, save the planet with the USPS Green ideas for moving your mail.
100 Ways to Improve the Environment
International
See:
United Nations Environmental Programme Overview Yearbook 2008
Missionary Society of St. Columban, Issues, Ecology
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Issues, Ecology
Conservation International, Learn the Issues
Sustainable Development
Judge: Compenium of the Social Doctrine of the Church - Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Serious ecological problems call for an effective change of mentality leading to the adoption of new lifestyles,[1012] “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of the common good are the factors that determine consumer choices, savings and investments”.[1013] These lifestyles should be inspired by sobriety, temperance, and self-discipline at both the individual and social levels. There is a need to break with the logic of mere consumption and promote forms of agricultural and industrial production that respect the order of creation and satisfy the basic human needs of all. These attitudes, sustained by a renewed awareness of the interdependence of all the inhabitants of the earth, will contribute to eliminating the numerous causes of ecological disasters as well as guaranteeing the ability to respond quickly when such disasters strike peoples and territories (#486).
ACT: Through Direct Service, Advocacy or Community Organizing
Web of Creation
The Web of Creation was established to foster the movement for personal and social transformation to a just and sustainable world from religious perspectives. To that end, the information at this site will:
- connect you with ideas, resources and strategies for doing eco-justice
- inform, inspire, encourage, educate you about eco-justice
- support you in your efforts to live, work and pray in ways that promote eco-justice
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is made up of 43 staff members in San Francisco, CA and in Tokyo, Japan, plus thousands of volunteer scientists, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens around the world. We believe that a sustainable world can be created in our lifetime, and that aggressive action must be taken immediately to leave a safe and secure world for our children.
United Nations Millennium Development Goals - Ensure Environmental Sustainability
The H2O Project
Save what you usually spend on two weeks’ worth of beverages, and you’ll probably have enough to give one African villager clean water for a lifetime.”
Take the H2O Challenge and Spread the Word!
Partners in Progress Haiti
Partners in Progress” (PIP) is a national, 501(c)(3), Pennsylvania based nonprofit corporation founded in 1999 by members of the Pittsburgh Regional Haiti Solidarity Committee.
Its mission is to help the organized poor of Haiti help themselves to increase human capacity for living with dignity by promoting and advancing a Fondwa community model of (sustainable) rural development through educational outreach and resource networking.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Choices for Healthy Oceans
The choices we make as consumers drive the seafood market place. Your purchasing power can make a difference by supporting those fisheries and fish farms that are better for the environment, while at the same time relieving pressure on others that are not doing as well.
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