Let it snow svg
Economically, jobs will be created in new and exciting industries. And I hope that the investments promised in the Inflation Reduction Act are a sign that Americans are finally ready to take part in the life-giving cycle of creation that benefits everyone.Īnd so I applaud our congressional leaders and their decision to invest in clean energy. God’s creation is, by definition, life-giving. When floods hit and wildfires rage, they pay a much higher price - often with their lives - than those with an economic advantage. I have seen the growing inequalities firsthand, and I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt: It is the “least among us,” the economically vulnerable, who are saddled with the consequences of climate disruption.
It is Pope Francis’ last point that moves me the most. In his 2020 TED Talk, he said that we are faced with “the moral imperative, and the practical urgency, to rethink many things: the way we produce the way we consume our culture of waste our short-term vision the exploitation of the poor and our indifference towards them the growing inequalities and our dependence on harmful energy sources.” Most recently, Pope Francis has called attention to the moral dimension of climate change. In 1991, Saint John Paul II warned about the “greenhouse effect.” Pope Benedict XVI challenged us: “Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change and pollution?” It is the 'least among us,' the economically vulnerable, who are saddled with the consequences of climate disruption. Leading bishops warned about scientists’ concerns of “significant climatic changes” and that “it would be the height of folly to tamper in ignorance with the ecology of the entire planet.” Conference of Catholic Bishops began communicating the moral requirement to act on climate change. Catholic leaders, including sisters and priests, bishops and popes, have been talking about climate change for decades.
Christians have prayed and advocated for a clean and healthy world for decades, including in the annual initiative that starts Sept. If it seems odd for a Catholic sister to be this excited about a policy decision, let me set the record straight. is about to supercharge our move to affordable clean energy with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Our burning of fossil fuels has made a “pollution blanket” in our atmosphere that heats up the Earth, worsening droughts, heat waves and wildfires. Yet we know that toxins in our air from fossil fuels kill 200,000 Americans every year. We talked about our dependence on the air we breathe, how none of us can survive more than 4-5 minutes without air. A couple weeks ago, I led a retreat in the fresh air of the Rocky Mountains.