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Energy debate heats up

05 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s readings the Lord sends Ezekiel to speak to a rebellious people, “whether they heed or resist” that word. The Obama administration’s quest for a comprehensive energy and climate change legislation, which gained approval in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, will likely face stiff resistance in the Senate. The bill passed by the House would require large companies, including utilities and manufacturers, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases associated with global warming 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a “cap-and-trade” program that allows pollution permits to be bought and sold. Other features of the bill included controlling carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and limiting other greenhouse gases; allowing companies to meet emission-limiting targets by investing in offset projects such as tree planting and forest protection; and establishing standards that will require new buildings to be 50 percent more efficient by 2016. Consumers would be protected from rising energy costs through rebates and credits to low-income households. The bill was loaded with hundreds of pages of special-interest favors in order to secure the necessary votes, critics said, and environmentalists lamented that its greenhouse-gas reduction targets had been whittled down. But key sponsor Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) defended the bill. “We worked hard to craft compromises that addressed the legitimate concerns of industry without undermining the environmental integrity of the legislation,” Waxman said. Although watered down from the original version, it was still the first time either house of Congress passed a bill imposing a limit on the emissions blamed for the warming of the planet. Articles by Jeff Mason for Reuters, John M. Broder for the New York Times, and the Associated Press

barack obama house of representatives climate change energy legislation greenhouse gases henry waxman

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Climactic moment on climate change?

13 Dec 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"What then should we do?" was the question on the minds of John the Baptist's listeners we learn in this Sunday's gospel. It is also the question at the forefront of the debate over global warming. Political leaders and scientists gathered in Copenhagen this week for an international climate summit some dub the world's "last chance" to control warming. At the same time the conference was getting underway the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday that greenhouse gases are endangering people's health and must be regulated. The move puts pressure on Congress to act on stalled climate legislation. The ruling paves the way for regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants, factories, refineries, and other major sources. Industry groups quickly criticized the decision, saying that the regulation of carbon dioxide would be legally and technically complex and would impose huge costs across the economy. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said that the finding was driven by the weight of scientific evidence that the planet was warming and that human activity was largely responsible. Jackson waded into the current dispute over leaked e-mail messages from a British climate research group that have stirred doubts among some people about the integrity of climate science. "We know that skeptics have and will continue to try to sow doubts about the science," she said. "It's no wonder that many people are confused. But raising doubts--even in the face of overwhelming evidence--is a tactic that has been used by defenders of the status quo for years." Worldwide the vast majority of increased greenhouse-gas emissions is expected to come from developing countries such as China and India. But those countries have made it clear that their willingness to reduce growth in emissions will depend on what wealthier countries do first. That puts a spotlight on the U.S. in Copenhagen, observers said, and the EPA announcement was timed to boost the Obama administration's case that the U.S. is indeed taking action to combat global warming even though Congress has yet to act. In conjunction with the Copenhagen summit churches around the world this Sunday will ring their bells as part of what is being called "Hopenhagen," a call to action and prayer in response to climate change. Source: Articles by John M. Broder for the New York Times, Dina Cappiello and H. Josef Herbert for the Associated Press, Jeffrey Ball and Charles Forelle for the Wall Street Journal, and Ecumenical News International

china carbob dioxide emissions climate science lisa jackson summit copenhagen greenhouse gases climate change india global warming environmental protection agency hopenhagen

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Forecast for global warming is clear: Increasingly cloudy

25 Nov 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s first reading the prophet Daniel relates a vision in which he “saw one like the Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven." Such a vision today might be clouded by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which hit a record high in 2011, according to a report Tuesday from the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Chief among these heat-trapping gases is carbon dioxide, the biggest culprit behind global warming.The international body estimates that about 413 billion tons of carbon have been released into the atmosphere since 1750, primarily from fossil fuel combustion. About half of this atmospheric carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, and much of it will linger for centuries, causing the planet to warm further, WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud warned.Historically, the Earth's oceans and forests have helped balance the atmosphere's carbon equation by sucking up large amounts of the greenhouse gas. But “this will not necessarily continue in the future," Jarraud said. "We have already seen that the oceans are becoming more acidic as a result of the carbon dioxide uptake, with potential repercussions for the underwater food chain and coral reefs.”Greenhouse gases trap heat within the Earth's atmosphere and create a warming effect on the climate known as radiative forcing. From 1990 to 2011, radiative forcing by greenhouse gases shot up 30 percent, with carbon dioxide blamed for about 80 percent of this increase, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Homily hint: The issue of global warming hardly came up in the recent election campaign—that is, until Hurricane Sandy caused widespread destruction on the eastern seaboard. The feast of Christ the King provides an opportunity to talk about how we need to be good stewards of Christ’s dominions entrusted to us on this earth. Source: An article by LifeScience.com

greenhouse gases carbon dioxide oceans wmo michel jarraud radiative forcing forests

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Conscious consumption is caring consumption

1 May 2016 - Preaching the News for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Early Christians, it turns out, were as concerned with dietary restrictions as are we, though perhaps for different reasons. The reading from Acts of the Apostles this Sunday recounts how the elders of Jerusalem laid out dietary restrictions for early Christians that involved limits on the kind of meat and animal products to be consumed. Twenty-first century vegans and vegetarians restrict the consumption of meat and animal products for health reasons, and a growing body of evidence suggests that such a diet also would be healthier for the planet for a number of reasons. Researchers found that if everyone went vegan, enough food could be produced to feed the growing world population until at least 2050 without the need to contribute further to deforestation, where forests are destroyed to create agricultural land. A team of researchers from the Institute of Social Ecology found that the way to make sure there is enough food in the next three decades is if the world turns vegan by cutting meat from the diet and eating organic products. This transition not only might help save the forests across the globe but also would promote a healthier lifestyle. Shifting to lower meat consumption, vegetarianism, and lower-yield organic farming techniques could help produce enough food for the growing world population, the researchers found. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation and habitat loss, with 50 percent of the world's fertile land already dedicated to livestock grazing. As the amount of land needed to support the growing population continues to increase each year, without a decrease in the consumption of meat, further deforestation is the expected outcome. Other evidence points to a similar conclusion: Meat provides 17 percent of global calorific intake, but it requires a disproportionate amount of water and feed. More land is given over to grazing animals than for any other single purpose worldwide, and livestock account for between nearly 20 percent of greenhouse emissions leading to global warming—about as much pollution as comes out the tailpipes of all the world's cars. Ruminant livestock, such as cattle and sheep, have stomachs containing bacteria able to digest tough, cellulose-rich plants. But along the way, huge volumes of gases are emitted. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the world’s domesticated ruminants annually release 100 million tons of methane—a greenhouse gas 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Much research in recent years has looked at what is called meat’s environmental hoof print. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2013 presented findings on the quantities of greenhouse gases associated with producing a kilo of protein from different animals. Chicken proved the greenest meal option at 3.7 kg. Pork came in second with 24 kg. And cattle were far behind at 1,000 kg. Lessons drawn from the readings In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis wrote: “Our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings. We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity.’ ” Jesus promised in this Sunday’s gospel that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide and teach in his name, reminding us of everything that Jesus stood for, beginning with peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” A few minutes spent watching the widely available undercover videos taken by animal advocates at slaughterhouses and factory chicken farms will be enough to convince most viewers that we need to find a more peaceful way to coexist with other living beings. Final thought in light of the news Though percentage-wise the number of committed vegetarians and vegans is relatively small in most nations, perhaps between 5 percent and 15 percent, the numbers are clearly on the rise. And a growing number of consumers are choosing a “flexitarian” diet, consciously limiting the amount of meat they consume and aspiring to a more vegetarian lifestyle. Why not take a step today toward a more sustainable diet, one that not only can improve your own health but also the health of the planet!

greenhouse gases vegetarians vegans flexitarians meat consumption

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