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Pope Benedict XVI added to his growing reputation as the “green Pope” yesterday (July 7) with the release of a new encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). A call for sustainable development in the broadest sense, the Pope’s letter addressed the human and environmental costs of “business as usual,” and established “doing well by doing good” as the business philosophy most consistent with Church doctrine and Biblical teaching.
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SYDNEY, Australia, July 17, 2008 (ENS) – Pope Benedict XVI opened the official portion of his first visit to Australia today by reminding everyone at the Government House welcoming ceremony of “the need to protect the environment.”
“With many thousands of young people visiting Australia at this time, it is appropriate to reflect upon the kind of world we are handing on to future generations,” the Pope said. “In the words of your national anthem, this land “abounds in nature’s gifts, of beauty rich and rare.’”
“The wonder of God’s creation reminds us of the need to protect the environment and to exercise responsible stewardship of the goods of the earth,” he said. “In this connection I note that Australia is making a serious commitment to address its responsibility to care for the natural environment.”
The pope is here on the occasion of the 23rd World Youth Day, the largest youth event in the world, which opened in Sydney on Tuesday and continues through Sunday. Organized by the Catholic Church, World Youth Day gathers young people from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith.
In his welcoming statement, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd acknowledged “the first Australians on whose land we meet and whose cultures we celebrate as among the oldest continuing cultures in human history,” and welcomed the pontiff on their behalf at their request.
One in every four Australians is Catholic and there are 1,300 parishes across the continental country, in each of which the pope would be most welcome, the prime minister said.
“It is fitting that his holiness’s first visit to Australia is for the occasion of World Youth Day,” said Rudd, “in part because Australia itself is a young country, although as this young country we inhabit this vast and ancient land.”
Later in the day at Barangaroo, a waterfront renewal area in Sydney Harbour, Pope Benedict returned to his environmental message.
Addressing an estimated crowd of over 150,000 pilgrims who traveled to Sydney for World Youth Day ‘08, the pontiff told of his feelings of awe while traveling from Europe to Australia by air.
“The views afforded of our planet from the air were truly wondrous,” he said. “The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur of the north African desert, the lushness of Asia’s forestation, the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and set, and the majestic splendour of Australia’s natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy these last couple of days; these all evoke a profound sense of awe.”
“It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story – light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures; all of which are “good” in God’s eyes,” said the pope. “Immersed in such beauty, who could not echo the words of the Psalmist in praise of the Creator: “how majestic is your name in all the earth?”
But Pope Benedict also called attention to environmental degradation.
“Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption,” he said.
“Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought,” said the pope.
“God’s wondrous creation is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to its stewards, even something dangerous. How can what is “good” appear so threatening?”
The planet is in urgent need of caring stewardship, the pontiff emphasized, saying, “My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity.”
The World Youth Day events began on Tuesday with an opening Mass at Barangaroo celebrated by Cardinal George Pell and bishops from around the world.
On Friday afternoon, there will be a live theatrical and devotional re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross, the last days of Jesus’ life against the backdrop of the Sydney Harbour.
On Saturday, there will be an evening vigil and candlelight ceremony with the pope at Southern Cross Precinct.
And on Sunday, World Youth Day, Pope Benedict celebrate Mass for what organizers predict will be the largest gathering of people in the history of Australia at Southern Cross Precinct.
The pope will fly over the precinct in a helicopter and then drive through the precinct in the pope-mobile, a bullet-proof vehicle designed for the pontiff.
Through Friday night, the Youth Festival features music, performing arts, visual art exhibitions, debate, film, community gatherings, street performers, workshops and a Vocations Expo. All Youth Festival events are free and open to the general public.
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WASHINGTON, DC, April 21, 2008 (ENS) – It rained and it poured, but thousands of people enjoyed Earth Day on the Washington Mall anyway. A few performers were heard before concert organizers pulled the plugs as thunderstorms threatened.
Vocal problems forced planned headliner American Idol Jordin Sparks to cancel her appearance at the Earth Day Network and Green Apple Festival concert on the Mall, but she would not have been able to sing anyway as organizers shut the concert down at about 4 pm. Scheduled headliners The Roots did not get to play their set.
In New York the festival concert went off as planned and thousands had fun in Central Park. On the grounds of the Central Park Bandshell, art tables were set up with free blank canvas and supplies, so people could paint their vision and bring the completed work back to artist Paul Kostabi to assemble in a 500 foot mural, billed as the world’s longest eco-mural.
But two tree-planters participating in a canoe launch into the Harlem River were arrested Saturday afternoon for trespassing on an abandoned stretch of pier near 135th Street.
Ten people working with Friends of Brook Park, a community organization revitalizing green space in the South Bronx, tried to launch the canoes, loaded with shovels and young trees. The activists were planning to paddle upriver to join an Earth Day celebration when police arrived and made the arrests, citing tightened security due to the arrival in New York City of Pope Benedict XVI.
At Grand Central Terminal in New York, the week-long celebration organized by Earth Day New York, consisting of The Giant Earth Images, and the two-day EarthFair is in full swing with booths featuring organic and natural products and fun activities for the kids.
Toyota brought its nationwide exhibit, Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience, to the EarthFair. The walkthrough trailer features a Prius driving simulator to help visitors learn about hybrid technology and alternative fuels even as gas prices soar above $3.50 a gallon.
At Fair Park in Dallas, the concert went ahead as planned in the spring sunshine, although organizers did not get the 20,000 people they had hoped to attract – fewer than 500 people showed up for the event.
At the Santa Monica Pier, Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal and Juliette Lewis and the Licks played to a joyous crowd of thousands in the California sun.
Elsewhere around the country, people hugged trees, planted trees, made art, took photos and posted them on the Internet, went for hikes, took part in local cleanups and participated in walks and runs.
In Des Moines, Iowa, more than 70 hybrid vehicle drivers competed for the best miles per gallon rating on a 25-mile course in 45 minutes. Each driver paid a $10 entry fee to offset the carbon footprint of the event. The winning car, a Toyota Prius hybrid, recorded 79.1 miles to the gallon.
About a dozen people participated in the Des Moines Walk for Climate Justice, one of Oxfam America’s Earth Day celebrations in 10 U.S. cities. The Walk represents the hardships that climate change creates for people in vulnerable communities.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, thousands listened to local musicians, learned about recycling and other Earth-friendly activities, and took part in an All Species Parade. Children and adults in costume and walking floats celebrated the Earth with Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden as Grand Marshal.
Today, more people are concerned about the environment but Gallup’s annual environment poll finds just 28 percent of Americans surveyed say they have made “major changes” in their lifestyles to protect the environment. Fifty-five percent have made “minor changes.”
The environment ranks in the middle of a list of “problems facing the country” that Americans worry about. Forty percent told pollsters they worry “a great deal” about “the quality of the environment,” ranking far below the 60 percent who worry about the economy and the 58 percent who worry about the availability and affordability of healthcare.
Gallup reports that, 34 percent of women but only 21 percent of men say they have made major changes in their lifestyles. Also, 32 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents have altered their habits in an environmentally friendly manner, but only 20 percent of Republicans have.
Earth Day falls on April 22 each year, marking the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest “to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. “It was a gamble,” he recalls, “but it worked.”
Many Earth Day events are planned for later this week and next weekend, but some organizations wanted to get a jump on the day with their announcements.
The National Association of Manufacturers, NAM, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced an agreement to help improve the energy efficiency of U.S. manufacturers, who use nearly a third of the energy in the United States.
“Under the agreement, the NAM will challenge its member companies to reduce energy use across all operations by 10 percent or more,” said NAM President and CEO John Engler.
“If the manufacturing industry reduced its energy use by 10 percent, manufacturers would save nearly $10.4 billion and enough energy to power nearly 10 million American homes for one year,” he said. “As we celebrate Earth Day this week, let’s remember that building upon U.S. manufacturers’ leadership in energy efficiency makes good economic and business sense.”
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said, “Environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility – and today I’m pleased the NAM is taking this motto to heart. By making smart energy choices, U.S. manufacturers are helping improve our nation’s energy and environmental outlook.”
The EPA will support NAM members in developing and refining company-wide energy management programs, sharing best energy management practices, providing training and recognizing the energy efficiency achievements of NAM members.
On the government side, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said addressing climate change is the most important thing Americans can do in support of Earth Day.
“Almost four decades ago, a group of visionary Americans energized the environmental movement, and indeed our nation, by dedicating a day to this ideal: we must preserve God’s creation, our planet, for the generations to come,” she said.
“On this Earth Day, the greatest challenge facing the United States, and indeed our world, is climate change. Its effects already can be seen in severe weather, coastal flooding, deadly heat waves, and spreading infectious diseases.
“That is why I made achieving energy independence and reducing global warming flagship issues of the New Direction Congress. We enacted bipartisan legislation that increases the efficiency of appliances and lighting and boosts fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks for the first time in 32 years. This increase in fuel efficiency alone will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to taking 28 million cars off the road in the year 2020 alone.”
“The Bible tells us in the Old Testament, ‘To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us,’” Pelosi preached. “On this Earth Day, and every day, let us honor the Earth and our future generations with a commitment to fight climate change.”
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Pope Benedict the XVI attended a “Save Creation Day” rally in Loreto, Italy, where hundreds of thousands of catholics waited to hear his prayers. His message to the audience and the world at large was one of conservation, charity and peace. The Pope seemed to state that spirituality can be strengthened, if not created by a strong bond with nature.
The Pope also exhorted young people to resist the lures of modern consumerism and fleeting pleasures. There certainly is an interesting connection between a rampant consumer market and a lack of natural resource conservation, since a constant stream of resources is needed to fuel the production lines of the free market. Perhaps the Pope was suggesting that if you are happy with fewer material objects in your life (and more spiritual activities), then there would be less demand for the harvesting of natural resources. This would in turn put less strain on the environment and would mean that the life system on the planet would be better off than it is now.
Perhaps the most heartwarming fact about this rally was that the whole event was made carbon neutral by planting trees in fire ravaged southern Italy, which suffered terribly in Summer wildfires. Additionally, all the people in the crowd were given recycling bags to separate all of their trash as well as hand cranked cell phone chargers. In addition to this, the Pope wore a green tinged golden robe for the event.
The Catholic Church has been making an effort to become sustainable themselves. Recently the church installed solar panels on many church buildings, hoping to set an example in sustainability.
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