Creation Care Teams

All Creation Gives God Praise: Protecting Biodiversity in a Time of Climate Crisis

SPECIAL NOTE: April 22, 2019 marks the 49th anniversary of Earth Day, a secular celebration that many faith communities have incorporated into their annual calendars for awareness and action. This year, Earth Day falls on the Saturday before Easter (April 22nd). Therefore, we recommend celebrating Earth Day during the Easter season or another date that suits your community's schedule.

An information-packed webinar examining:

1) How our food system (the way we produce, transport, and consume food) is responsible for over a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions.

2) How we can take action, both individually and as Catholic communities, to reduce our damaging “foodprints” on our common home.

3) How we can make food choices that are sustainable, less wasteful, and just.

 

Presenters:

HR 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA) is a market-efficient and revenue-neutral approach to reduce the carbon dioxide pollution that is a primary driver of the climate crisis.

June 18th, 2019 marks the fourth anniversary of the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical, "Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home." During the past four years, parishes, schools, colleges and universities, healthcare facilities, and religious communities have responded with faith, passion, and enormous creativity to the Pope’s call to care for creation and care for the poor.

You’ve heard about the Green New Deal, an ambitious, visionary, and for some, controversial Congressional proposal to deal with the urgent climate crisis while simultaneously investing in job creation and advancing social and racial justice. Do you have questions about how we as people of faith should respond to the Green New Deal?

On Tuesday, April 30, 2019, Catholic Climate Covenant hosted this educational webinar to discuss Catholic Social Teaching and The Green New Deal.

Topics discussed:

Every year, Catholic Climate Covenant produces a one-hour educational program. This year we are focusing on the issue of protecting biodiversity to complement the Earth Day Network's "Protect Our Species" campaign. In the webinar we explore why the Earth day Network chose the theme of "Protecting Our Species" and all the wonderful resources and toolkits that they have available for your use. We also delve into the Covenant's Earth Day program and how you can facilitate a program in your parish, school, or religious community.

 

Presenters:

Professor Ed Maibach from George Mason University’s Center for Climate Communication will demonstrate how the faith community is vital to inspire effective climate policy and greater climate action. Dr. Maibach has been at the forefront of polling and messaging on climate change and makes a compelling case for Catholics and other people of faith to use the power of their core beliefs and public witness to change attitudes toward solving the climate crisis.

In the news we hear a lot about institutions divesting from fossil fuels including some Catholic institutions. Have you wondered what this means? Are you curious as to why this is happening or would like to know how different institutions use their portfolios to address social issues? 

In this webinar we will delve into:

1) How Catholic institutions see divestment from fossil fuels and investments in clean energy companies as a way to demonstrate care for creation.

The Catholic Climate Covenant and the Inter-religious Working Group on Extractive Industries invite you to join us in a one-hour webinar exploring how a faithful and just response to climate change must address the extraction and exploitation on a massive scale of natural resources such as coal, oil and gas, with specific examples from the Southwestern United States and Peru.

Join us for a discussion about how climate change is already leading to a rise in displaced people and communities.This webinar will also highlight Catholic efforts to prevent climate displacement and we will consider how this year’s Feast of St. Francis program can help your faith communities discuss and respond to the needs of vulnerable communities displaced by extreme weather and climate change.

Presenters:

Alice Thomas, Climate Displacement Program Manager, Refugees International

Eric Clayton, Catholic Relief Services