Unless you’ve been on a media fast for the last 6 months, chances are you have heard something about the Paris climate talks.You may have thought that the adoption of the Paris Agreement last year by...
From 2006 – 2010, the country of Syria suffered the most severe drought ever recorded. Climatologists maintain that this drought was exacerbated by climate change: crops and animals died, and an estimated 1.5 million Syrian farmers were displaced. Food insecurity, economic depression, and social instability contributed sparks to the explosion of chaos now infecting the entire Middle East.
Last month I was in India where the people of Chennai were whacked with the worst flooding in 100 years. Hundreds died. Many more lost their homes and small businesses. Facebook asked me if I was...
When I was growing up, my preferred diet earned me the nickname, “Papa’s little carnivore.” Years later I married someone with a similar palate: my Iowa-bred husband loves marinated chops, smoked...
I think about money a lot. I think about it in a way that I’m told was passed on to me through my Dutch heritage: namely, I think about how to spend the smallest amount possible. Last night, for...
“Climate change is affecting us all, and is especially impacting our Indigenous brothers and sisters here in North America and in most of the global south.” These were just some of the challenging...
You’ve likely heard a lot lately about the Paris climate talks that wrapped up a few weeks ago, and you’ve likely been left wondering what it’s all about. The follow up from Paris has seen lots of...
At the opening session of COP21, President Áder of Hungary shared a conversation he had with his unborn grandchild in a dream. The dream was haunting; his grandchild repeatedly asked him why he did not take action on climate change despite overwhelming evidence from scientists.
An ancient Chinese proverb states: “Whoever defines the terms wins the argument.” I used to quote this proverb when I was teaching logic courses as a member of the philosophy department at a college...
While the scientific and policy issues raised in the encyclical will get the most press attention, Francis is primarily doing theology. He emphasizes repeatedly that non-human creatures are not here only to serve us.
It is a letter that brings substantial hope as it bridges across both all creation and human society, inspiring everyone to envision an “integral ecology” for which creation and human society have been waiting in eager expectation.
