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1 / 4 February 2006

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ENVIRONMENT

A Prayer Service for Earth Day, 2006

Leader: Come, let us praise God for the gift of Creation.

All: Creator God, we praise you for the grandeur of the universe.We praise you for the gift of this Earth.We praise you for the land, and we praise you for the seas.We praise you for the great miracle of teeming life on our prolific planet.We praise you for the cycle of growth and for the beauty of bursting blooms in the Spring time.We praise you green growth of summer and for the holy harvest in the Fall.We praise you for the infinity of different creatures on the land and in the sea, each unique in its own way, each fitting into the complex ecosystems you have gifted us with, each dependent on each other and the whole.We praise you, our Creator.Grace us with a sense of our responsibilities to preserve and protect your precious gift,This Garden, this Earth.We praise you, Creator God, and we offer you our hearts and hands for the preservation of your Creation.

Because the earth was entrusted to human stewardship, the natural world is not just a resource to be exploitedbut also a reality to be respected and reverenced as a gift and trust from God. It is the task of human beings tocare for, preserve and cultivate the treasures of Creation. . . The natural resources of Creation need to beprotected against the harmful policies of some industrialized nations and increasingly powerful transnationalcorporations which can lead to deforestation, despoliation of the land, pollution of rivers by mining, over-fishingof profitable species, or fouling the fishing-grounds with industrial and nuclear waste. We must respond to theconcerns of scientists about the warming of the global commons; the world’s countries must work together,taking the necessary and responsible steps to curb this trend, for the good of all peoples and of Creation itself. Pope John Paul II, November 22, 2001

Reflections:

At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisanadvantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. It isabout protecting both “the human environment” and the natural environment. It is about our human stewardshipof God’s creation and our responsibility to those who come after us. With these reflections, we seek to offer aword of caution and a plea for genuine dialogue as the United States and other nations face decisions abouthow best to respond to the challenges of global climate change. . .All nations share the responsibility to addressthe problem of global climate change. But historically the industrial economies have been responsible for thehighest emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists suggest are causing the warming trend. Also, significantwealth, technological sophistication, and entrepreneurial creativity give these nations a greater capacity to finduseful responses to this problem. Energy resource adjustments must be made both in the policies of richercountries and in the development paths of poorer ones. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, June, 2001

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2 / 4 February 2006

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ENVIRONMENT

Litany for a Changing World

Reader One: The Earth’s climate is changing and around the world we see the signs of the times. The seas are weeping and the land is in grief.

Response: God, give us the grace to help heal this world and to reverse the effects of climate change.

(Repeat Response after each reader.)

Reader Two: Everywhere on Earth, ice is changing. The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could virtually disappear by 2035.

Reader Three: Arctic sea ice has thinned significantly over the past half century, and its mass has declined by about 10 percent in the past 30 years. NASA’s readings show the edges of Greenland’s ice sheet shrinking.

Reader Four: Spring ice breakup in the Northern Hemisphere now occurs 9 days earlier than it did in the last century, and autumn freeze-up 10 days later, causing the thawing of permanent frost in places such as Alaska.

Reader Five: From the Arctic to Peru, from Switzerland to the equatorial glaciers of Irian Jaya in Indonesia, massive ice fields, huge glaciers, and sea ice are disappearing, effecting animals and humans.

Reader Six: In the Antarctica, the sea ice has shrunk by a fifth, making it more difficult for penguins and birds of the region to survive. In Canada, the winter ice melts 2-3 weeks earlier than usual, and polar bears are having difficulty finding enough food.

Reader Seven: In the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as in many other reefs, the warmer ocean water is destroying coral and other organisms. In the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, the sea turtles are being effected by the warmer weather and their birth patterns are changing.

Reader Eight: In Argentina and other countries, rising temperatures and water shortages have sparked massive wildfires in the last decade. In Utah, and in other areas in western U.S., the weather has been increas ingly dry and local water sources are lower than normal

Reader Nine: In poor countries in Africa, such as Kenya and Tanzania, warmer weather has increased mosquitoes which carry malaria. Poor countries and people in poverty will have to bear much of the burden of climate change, as they live in vulnerable areas and have few if any resources to cope with its effects.

Closing Prayer: The seas are weeping and the land is in grief. But we are called to be signs of hope in this world, to be co-creators with God of a global community where the earth is respected and cherished. We ask our Creator to give us discernment and to guide us as we become active members of the

human family, working with our sisters and brothers to change the destructive trends that are causing global warming. We have been given a great gift, the richness of Creation, and as we celebrate the earth on this day, we pledge to protect this gift of God. Hear us Creator, and be with us every day as we seek to restore and preserve your Creation. Amen.

Factual Data from National Geographic web site articles, www.nationalgeographic.com

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3 / 4 February 2006

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ENVIRONMENT

What causes global warming?

Here’s how the greenhouse effect works: The sun’s raysarrive in the atmosphere as ultraviolet radiation, whichcomes in short waves so it slips right through the atmo-sphere to the surface. When the rays hit ground and water,they turn into heat, or infrared radiation, which reflectsback out into the atmosphere as long waves. Those wavesare caught by greenhouse gases, which are all composedof molecules that have three or more atoms.

Over ninety-nine percent of the atmosphere is composedof smaller molecules. These “big” three-atom moleculescatch the “big” waves of infrared rising into the atmo-sphere, trapping the heat and warming the planet. Theproblem now is that human activities are releasing toomany three-atom molecules into the atmosphere, enhanc-ing the natural greenhouse effect.

What are the greenhouse gases and where do theycome from?

The major greenhouse gas that humans are adding to theatmosphere is carbon dioxide, CO2, which remains in theatmosphere a century or more. The second largest green-house gas being emitted by humans is methane, CH4,which is around twenty times more powerful than CO2.Much of this comes from agricultural sources such asfarm animals and rice paddies. Roughly three-quarters ofhuman-caused greenhouse warming comes from theburning of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas. Most of theremainder comes from deforestation, primarily of thetropical rainforests.

Why is global warming harmful? Wouldn’t it bepleasant to have milder temperatures, especiallyin the temperate and frigid zones?

Global warming will have winners and losers, but most ofus will be losers. Some of the hardest hit regions will be inthe developing nations of the tropics, particularly in Africa,and since this is primarily a result of gases emitted by therich nations, this is a global justice concern. Other biglosers will be inhabitants of tropical islands who could losetheir homes to rising seas and the Inuit peoples of theArctic whose environment will melt right out from under-

neath them. But even the richest continent is threatened.That is because one of the results of protracted globalwarming would be more violent and frequent weatherdisturbances, including hurricanes, cyclones, and tornados.North America, the continent with the greatest frequencyof severe weather, can expect to be ravaged. As well, theheat stresses that accompany hot spells now wouldbecome greater and affect more people. The kind of heatwaves that killed hundreds of people in Chicago in 1995will become more frequent. Those same stresses affectfood animals and food plants as well, and would disrupt ourefforts to feed ourselves.

Drought and flooding are already on the increase andbringing their disruptions to human populations, plants, andanimals. Global warming stresses also lower the resistanceof all living beings to disease and infections. Mosquitoesespecially would love the increase in their hot humidhabitat. Disease-carrying mosquitoes and other parasiteswould thrive. They are already climbing to higher altitudesand latitudes under the current warming.

Can we stop global warming?

The best science indicates that to stabilize the climate, wemust rapidly reduce human greenhouse emissions on theorder of 70%. Because the climate resembles a speedingtrain that takes a long time to slow, the longer we wait thegreater the risk that we will set in motion natural forceswe cannot stop. We can slow and then stop the train ofglobal warming by transforming our energy system fromone based on fossil fuels to one based on natural, renew-able energies including sun, wind, tides, plant growth, andgeothermal energy.

We have the technology, but applying it will take a largeinvestment by government and business. In shifting toclean energy, we will also eliminate much air pollution, andbuild new industries and a new basis of sustainable pros-perity. If we move quickly to clean energy, stop deforest-ing the tropics, and move to more sustainable agriculture,we will eliminate most greenhouse gases, and avertclimatic catastrophe. We are well up to the task. We justhave to recognize its critical importance to our future, andwe have to work as a united force for the common good.

Frequently Asked Questions About Global Warming

Excerpted from Climate Solutions: www.climatesolutions.org.

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4 / 4 February 2006

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ENVIRONMENT

Simply start with where you are to reduce Global Warm-ing. Consider your transportation. Where are you on thecontinuum of driving alone wherever you go, to not owninga car? Can you imagine taking one step (in the direction ofdriving less) along the continuum? Perhaps car pool to workonce a week. Or, offer the Earth a Sabbath – rest yourautomobile by carpooling, biking, or walking on Sundays.

Or, take food choices. Can you consider eating one lessmeal of meat every week--or even two? Try purchasinglocally grown produce, or locally raised meat: the averagepiece of food today travels 1,200 miles simply to reachyour plate. For a very helpful article which fully describessteps along an actual “food choices continuum,” seewww.earthministry.org/food_and_farming.htm and click on“The Great Hunter-Gatherer Continuum.” Or check outthe book Food and Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread,edited by EarthMinistry’s Michael Schut.

The Center for a New American Dream’s website,www.newdream.org, features a program called “Turn theTide,” which highlights 9 personal actions to protect theenvironment, with web-based calculators that tally andtrack individual and collective impact, giving feedback onefforts to be a good steward of the earth.(See the follow-ing websites for information on reducing emissions:www.zedfactory.com; www.rmi.org .)

Speak Out for Environmental JusticeJust as important as individuals adjusting their consumerbehavior is the need for individuals to work together toadvocate for the kind of society where consumer choicesare not environmentally damaging. We must not overlookthe importance of political activity leading to systemicchange. When we speak out as advocates, we join thelong history within faith traditions of lending our voice tothe voiceless, addressing those who hold power. The proph-ets of the Hebrew Bible and Jesuse voiced their dismayover those lands polluted and harmed under human greedand warfare. We who hold power (as consumers) andhave access to power (via political leaders or corporations)must join our voices with those human and nonhuman voicesthat have been overpowered or silenced. Vote carefully,write letters to elected officials, support and join with or-ganizations advocating for the kinds of systemic changesjustice demands. Take responsibility for Creation.

A Continuum of Actions: Do What You Can St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church:Stewards of God’s Creation

The parish of St. Elizabeth Church, in a community justsouth of Detroit, has truly exemplified what it means tocare for Earth and address the problems of climate changeand energy use. Their congregational “Stewards of God’sCreation” group began in 1994, with the enthusiastic sup-port of their pastor, the Rev. Charles Morris. Initially, theyfocused on environmental fairs and other programs to raiseawareness in the parish at large.

In 1997, they carried out an energy audit of their facilities(church, school, and rectory) and the congregation com-mitted to various efficiency measures, ultimately saving themthousands of dollars in utility bills. After attending the 1999kick-off conference for the Michigan Interfaith ClimateChange Campaign, Rev. Morris led a Bible study based onthe National Council of Churches’ resource “It’s God’sWorld: Christians, Care for Creation and GlobalWarming.”(see http://www.nccecojustice.org)

The actions of the parish were also featured during a “Liv-ing on Earth” National Public Radio segment later that year.What stands out about this parish is that they didn’t stopthere, but moved on to promote alternative energy sourcesby installing a small wind turbine and solar panels on therectory’s roof. During a interfaith press conference in June2001, Rev. Morris climbed a ladder to the rooftop andblessed both the solar panels and windmill, with specialprayers composed for the day. No one there will soon for-get how the blades of the wind turbine caught a puff ofwind and began to move at the very moment they wereblessed!

Since that time, the blessings and example of St. Elizabethhave continued: the congregation has received grants fromthe State of Michigan to add to their clean energy and effi-ciency capabilities as a demonstration site for schools andother civic groups. The media attention they have receivedhelps to spread the message and raise awareness well be-yond the religious community. The parish members havebecome active in advocating for state and national legisla-tion to protect the environment. This parish is an exampleof people of faith doing the work of justice.

What can your parish, school, or faith community doto safeguard the precious gift of Creation?