Archive

This is a collection of press articles relating to Laudato Si' and to the care of the Earth and the Poor, that were previously published on the main page.

These are the places that could become ‘unlivable’ as the Earth warms

‘Big Earth energy’: A new era of nature spirituality is here

Plastics are everywhere in health care. That must change.

Pope Francis launches program to put Laudato Si' into action throughout church

Pope Francis: Throwing plastic in the sea is 'criminal' and 'kills the Earth'

We are drowning in plastic bottles

Message of the Holy Father.pdf

These are the places that could become ‘unlivable’ as the Earth warms

In the hottest parts of the world, high temperatures and humidity will, for longer stretches, surpass a threshold that even young and healthy people could struggle to survive as the planet warms, study says

By Scott Dance

Washington Post - October 9, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. EDT

Heat waves can already be deadly for the most vulnerable people — but in a warming world, temperatures and humidity will, for growing stretches of every year, surpass a threshold that even young and healthy people could struggle to survive,

Lahore, Pakistan, already an epicenter of human ills linked to climate change, could surpass that survivability threshold for two or three weeks out of the year by the middle of the century, for example, the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found. Under the most dramatic global warming scenarios, it could last for months.

Asghar Ali distributes a sweet drink for free to people in one of the busiest markets in Jacobabad, Sindh, Pakistan, in June. He and his family distribute this drink every day as an act of kindness in the summer months and hope that God will reward them. (Saiyna Bashir for The Washington Post)

‘Big Earth energy’: A new era of nature spirituality is here

But growing interest in nature spirituality doesn’t necessarily lead to more climate activism, experts say

By Michelle Boorstein

(The Washington Post - May 24, 2023)

A few months ago, Colleen Kane realized she was falling out of touch with the spiritual side of life. She felt lost. For her, reviving it meant drawing closer to Earth.

So Kane, 28, renewed practices she had started but set aside earlier in her 20s and added new ones: Checking an astrology newsletter and doing rituals outside during new and full moons. Meditating with crystals. Looking for ways to integrate with and be guided by ancestors who she believes have passed on through a mysterious energy that binds all living things.

On a recent Saturday, she lay on the floor alongside a dozen other women in their 20s or 30s in a darkened high-ceiling studio in Falls Church in Northern Virginia. It was lit only by a small corner altar adorned with tiny lights, flowers, tarot cards, dirt, seeds and images of ancient female spiritual figures — in honor of Mother’s Day. A workshop leader talked about “big Earth energy.”

A Divine Feminine Workshop in Falls Church, Va., weaves together nature and spirituality on May 13. (Julia Nikhinson for The Washington Post)

Plastics are everywhere in health care. That must change.

By Leana S. Wen

Contributing columnist

(The Washington Post - June 15, 2023)

After my column last week urging the health-care sector to consider the environmental costs of medical care, many readers wrote to ask why I didn’t address the “elephant in the room.” As Bob from Oregon wrote, “Every time I go to the hospital, I see plastic everywhere. Everything’s wrapped in plastic, and then it’s all thrown away. Why aren’t we calling for the health-care industry to reduce their plastics use?”

Bob is right. Every day, U.S. health-care facilities generate 14,000 tons of waste. One patient being hospitalized results in nearly 34 pounds of waste every day. Of that waste, up to 25 percent is plastic.

A gown and gloves at the bottom of a trash can outside an ICU room at the Stillwater Medical Center in Stillwater, Okla., on Sept. 17, 2021. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Pope Francis launches program to put Laudato Si' into action throughout church

The Vatican's long-awaited program for putting Pope Francis' ecological encyclical into action throughout the church debuted Tuesday, with the pope inviting all Catholics on a journey "to create the future we want: a more inclusive, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world."

At the same time, a top Vatican official confirmed that the pope is pondering a journey of his own — a possible trip to COP 26, the next major United Nations climate summit, set for November in Glasgow, Scotland.

That news came at a May 25 press conference where the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development introduced the Laudato Si' Action Platform. The ambitious churchwide initiative outlines seven categories of sustainability goals in the spirit of Francis' 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," which emphasizes integral ecology. Seven sectors of the church are asked to achieve those goals within a seven-year timeframe.

ROME — Pope Francis on Feb. 6 blasted the throwing of plastic in the sea as "criminal" and pleaded for a renewed commitment to caring for the environment.

"It kills biodiversity, it kills the Earth, it kills everything," said the pope.

Francis' rebuke of littering came during an hourlong interview with popular Italian news presenter Fabio Fazio on the national broadcaster RAI.

The pope's words echoed remarks he made last July on the occasion of "Sea Sunday," an annual day dedicated to "all those who rely on the sea for their work and livelihood."

"Take care of the health of the sea: no plastic in the sea!" Francis said at the time.

According to the United Nations data, more than 8 million tons of plastic are discarded into the ocean each year, a figure that is expected to triple by 2040.

We are drowning in plastic bottles

Single-use plastic water bottles are clogging our oceans, rivers, streets, landfills and poisoning our air when they're burned in incinerators. And in most parts of the United States, they’re completely unnecessary as tap water is an affordable, safe and good-tasting way to stay hydrated without generating huge amounts of unnecessary single-use plastic pollution.

Consider the following stats:

At least 15 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year; experts predict that there will be one pound of plastic in the ocean for every three pounds of fish by 2025 and that plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 unless we change course soon.

One million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. As of 2021, more than half a trillion plastic bottles will be sold annually. At best, less than 1/3 of all plastic bottles will be recycled. So by using a reusable water bottle, you could prevent an average of 156 plastic bottles annually.

There’s also the question of all the money and resources that go into “making” bottled water and transporting it. The total energy required for bottled water production is as much as 2,000 times the energy needed to produce tap water. Producing just one liter of water bottled in PET plastic requires three liters of water, a significant waste of natural resources and contributor to climate change.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse