Catholics ponder climate change

Dioceses across New York State earned grant money for environmental protection efforts by attending a recent training session on global warming.

"Called to be Stewards of God's Creation: The New York State Catholic Community Responds to Global Climate Change" was held last week at the Albany diocesan Pastoral Center.

About 50 representatives from a half-dozen dioceses participated in the training, which included talks on the status of global warming, Catholic social teachings around care for the earth and ideas for taking action.

Climate change

David Gahl of Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY), a non-profit lobby group based in Albany, told the group that his organization is working on a report about projected climate change in New York State.

Although "skeptics deny the existence of global warming," he noted, major scientific bodies across the globe, including the National Academy of Sciences, have issued joint statements on the disturbing trend of climate change worldwide and its harmful impact on the environment.

He added that New York State is one of the worst offenders: It produces more global warming pollution than 99 developing countries combined, as much as some entire European countries.

New York ranks eighth in the country in terms of the carbon dioxide emissions that lead to global warming.

Greenhouse gas

A study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) breaks down the state's greenhouse gas emissions as follows: 39 percent from transportation, 24 percent from electricity generation, 18 percent from residential sources, 13 percent from commercial sources and 6 percent from industrial sources.

Scientists say that such gases, trapped in the atmosphere, lead to higher global temperatures. In turn, those cause glaciers to melt (thus changing the salinity of the world's oceans), more frequent storms and flooding, and evaporation of bodies of fresh water.

That could mean that major parts of New York City and Long Island would eventually end up underwater, the Great Lakes would drop to levels that could not support current hydroelectric plants, and heat-related mortality and asthma would vastly increase.

Global issue

Dennis Fisher, Northeast program director for Catholic Relief Services, took the argument to the global level.

CRS, the official emergency relief and development agency of the Church in the U.S., works in 80 countries around the world.

Mr. Fisher gave examples of environmental changes that CRS relief workers are reporting:

* In Bangladesh, flooding has become so severe that residents are becoming "environmental refugees," permanently displaced by environmental changes; and

* In Afghanistan, drought has resulted in less water for drinking and for irrigation, decreased crop diversity and productivity, and shrinking forests. That, in turn, has led to increased unemployment and child labor, earlier marriages of girls in exchange for dowries, the digging of unplanned wells, and increased dependence on poppy growth for income (poppies are used to make opium).

Catholic action

Sister Linda Neil, CSJ, a theology teacher at Catholic Central High School in Troy and ardent environmentalist, brought home the need for Catholics to address global climate change.

In Scripture, she said, the concept of a Sabbath day of rest is so important that even the land itself was allowed to rest every seven years before being planted with crops again.

"The land is in relationship with us," she said. "I believe this has profound implications [for] our use of the gifts of the earth."

Example from Scripture

The biblical story of the great flood speaks to the contemporary struggle with global climate change, Sister Linda noted.

She told the group that the story points up the effect of human wickedness on all creation, and the need for a covenant relationship with creation instead.

"We no longer can imagine redemption is simply between humans and God," she said. "We flourish or flounder to the extent that we care for creation."

Speakers

The day-long training session continued with speakers from several environmental organizations who gave suggestions for change, from becoming more energy efficient through the use of wind energy to advocating for statewide public policy changes.

Conference organizers hope participants will sponsor protection efforts for populations most impacted by global warming.

"Climate change is happening and will continue to happen," Mr. Gahl advised the group. "We need to put ourselves on a completely new path."

(Information and ideas on reducing global warming are available at www.usccb.org (the U.S. bishops' website), www.ncrlc.com/globalclimatechange (the National Catholic Rural Life Conference), www.eany.org (Environmental Advocates of New York), www.interfaithpowerandlight.org, www.pewclimate.org (the Pew Center on Climate Change) and www.ipcc.ch (the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change). Contact the New York State Catholic Conference at 434-6195. By attending the conference, dioceses became eligible for a $1,000 grant from the New York State Catholic Conference to fund education and advocacy on climate change. The Conference speaks for the state's bishops on public policy concerns.)

(11/02/06)