Care of the Earth
Posted on 11. Jan, 2018, in Christian Values, Ecology, Economy, Faith and Justice1 Comment
Fr. Pedro Walpole SJ is the Director of Research at the Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change in the Philippines. He is passionately concerned about global warming, says that we are heading for a three degree rise in temperature, but that we need to keep it to a minimum of 1.5 degrees if we want to keep the world intact and specifically keep many of our islands. He also berates the world of plastic that we live in and calls for everyone to make a difference. Pat Coyle points out that Ireland has one of the poorest records of climate change and asks Fr. Walpole why we aren’t doing more despite more people than ever being aware of the problem.
Father Walpole gives a true account of the sorry situation of our attitude to our Earth. Our short view of our lifestyle is most entrenched. However, Father Walpole praises our efforts and I can only hope that I/we can listen more carefully. Perhaps, hearing the message over and over can help us to develop the new attitude about which Father Pedro speaks. I am most impressed by his familiarity with the Irish scene. Another skill that has to help change. His final question, can we not do it?, will stay with me today.