Breaking News needs to cover work of Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia on climate change

The “breaking news” of the past week has included heat waves, flash floods, huge fires, severe drought, and record breaking temperatures. These events tragically contribute to large numbers of fatalities. The mitigation of the effects of these events costs large quantities of money. Certainly these events connect with our economy, environment and ecclesia.

A storm view

[intact] insurance, the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada is a sponsor of the Centre on Climate Adaptation which is a University of Waterloo research centre. One of the economic concerns studied at the centre is mass migration due to inhospitable conditions: Canada is likely to be an attractive destination for climate refugees in the next few decades.

Emily Atkin writes in The New Republic about The Media’s Failure to Connect the Dots on Climate Change. She asks “Why are some major news outlets still covering extreme weather like it's an act of God?”

A record-breaking heat wave killed 65 people in Japan this week, just weeks after record flooding there killed more than 200. Record-breaking heat is also wreaking havoc in California, where the wildfire season is already worse than usual. In Greece, fast-moving fires have killed at least 80 people, and Sweden is struggling to contain more than 50 fires amid its worst drought in 74 years. Both countries have experienced all-time record-breaking temperatures this summer, as has most of the rest of the world.

Her article contains quotes from MSNBC host Chris Hayes on the effect of climate change reporting on ratings.

“almost without exception. every single time we've covered it's been a palpable ratings killer. so the incentives are not great”

Rafi Letzter, a staff writer at LiveScience, commented on the level of public disinterest in the topic.

Covering climate change, with few exceptions, is a traffic killer *for Live Science*, a website for people who like science. We do it anyway, and figure out how to squeeze water out of the rock. But the level of public disinterest in the subject is hard to overstate

Pope Francis suggests that we now consider some elements of an integral ecology, one which clearly respects its human and social dimensions in Chapter 4, Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology, of his encyclical letter “Laudato Si”.

138. Ecology studies the relationship between living organisms and the environment in which they develop. This necessarily entails reflection and debate about the conditions required for the life and survival of society, and the honesty needed to question certain models of development, production and consumption. It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected. Time and space are not independent of one another, and not even atoms or subatomic particles can be considered in isolation. Just as the different aspects of the planet – physical, chemical and biological – are interrelated, so too living species are part of a network which we will never fully explore and understand. A good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings. It follows that the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of bits of information can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.

Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia form important overlapping roles in our efforts to prepare Canada for climate change...

Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia

migration and forming the ethical will to report the climate change effects and develop economic plans to address these drastic changes in our environment.

References

(n.d.). Climate Adaptation in Canada – Intact Centre | Home. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/

(2018, July 25). The Media's Failure to Connect the Dots on Climate Change | The .... Retrieved July 26, 2018, from https://newrepublic.com/article/150124/medias-failure-connect-dots-climate-change

(2015, May 24). Laudato si' (24 May 2015) - La Santa Sede. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia present plans for Climate action

Reports of storms, floods, fires and coastal erosion appear more frequently in our media.

Coastal erosion

The cost of mitigating the effects of these events and restoring infrastructure is very high. This article identifies the plans of some economists, politicians and Church leaders to convert us to action to reduce future costs.

The Guardian reports that eleven teams in a recent Stanford Energy Modeling Forum found that carbon tax is effective at reducing carbon pollution.

Economic analyses consistently show that cutting carbon pollution will benefit the economy, and that a revenue-neutral carbon tax is an efficient way of accomplishing that goal. That’s why there’s a 95% consensus among economists that the US government should commit to cutting carbon pollution, with 81% favoring a market-based solution like a carbon tax.

In an interview on the CBC program, As It Happens, Catherine McKenna calls out politicians who don’t have a climate plan.

Look, I'm here to work with Canadians to find solutions to one of the biggest challenges we face, which is climate change. Unfortunately, it seems that Conservative governments are not committed to climate action.

The Catholic Climate Covenant has prepared resources to assist people interested in the Church plans for the process of conversion called for by Pope Francis in our attitude and action in relation to our Common Home, the Earth.

Catholic Climate Covenant is dedicated to helping all answer the Church's call to care for creation, both through prayer and through action. This resource library contains prayers, study guides, and inspiring videos for your perusal. We ask that you use them to better understand the Church's stance on climate change, and to create your own plan of action for making changes in your day-to-day life. Choose from one of the categories below to see the resources in that section.

Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia form important overlapping roles in our efforts to provide sustainable living for future generations.

Economy, Environment, and Ecclesia

References


(2018, July 16). Comprehensive study: carbon taxes won't hamper the economy .... Retrieved July 19, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jul/16/comprehensive-study-carbon-taxes-wont-hamper-the-economy

(2018, July 19). 'They don't have a climate plan': Catherine McKenna calls out new .... Retrieved July 20, 2018, from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.4751691/they-don-t-have-a-climate-plan-catherine-mckenna-calls-out-new-ontario-government-1.4751696

(n.d.). Resources - Catholic Climate Covenant. Retrieved July 20, 2018, from http://www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/Resources

Dreamer and doer celebrate 43 years of marriage

On July 4 Farris MacPherson and I will begin our 44th year of marriage. Our relationship is one between a dreamer and a doer, an introvert and an extrovert, and a logical and an emotional decision maker.

Dreamer and doer

The dreamer is inclined to recall the great explanation of Love from St. Paul in the thirteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13.4-7) to describe the loving characteristics of the doer.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Farris does act with patience, is generous in her kindness, and avoids boasting about her work to help others. She is appalled by arrogance or rudeness. She seeks and celebrates the truth. She bears, believes in, has hope for those she loves “warts and all”.