This summer, be a climate activist

Summer is a great time to recharge, relax, and forget about the daunting issues of our time, right? Not so if you’re a climate activist. This has been a busy summer for climate-related activity such as the G7’s commitment to phase out fossil fuels by the end of the century, the Environmental Protection Agency’s release of the first-ever standard on carbon pollution in the U.S., among many other local events that have brought together diverse voices calling for action to combat climate change. 

If you’re interested in contributing your voice as well, PennFuture and its partners are hosting two great events next week. 

Harrisburg: Interfaith Climate Advocacy Training 
PennFuture is joining our friends at Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light (PA IPL) in Harrisburg to train people of all faiths to speak with moral authority about climate change and its impact on Pennsylvania.

Image via Flikr user, Nicholas A. Tonelli

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 
Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM 
Location:
Unitarian Church of Harrisburg
1280 Clover Lane
Harrisburg, PA 17113 

Registration (Tickets $30): http://bit.ly/1TTWINd 


Pittsburgh: Clean Energy Solutions Forum 
PennFuture is joining our friends at Mom's Clean Air Force, PennEnvironment, representatives from local clean-energy companies, and other environmental experts for a forum to discuss how America's Clean Power Plan can re-power the local economy while reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

Image via Flickr user Jeff Kubina

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 
Time: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 
Location:
Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building
710 Washington Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15228 

Registration (Free): 
http://bit.ly/1JiUsUD



Katie Bartolotta is southeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Philadelphia. She tweets @KatieBartolotta.  

Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment to be released June 18

Pope Francis’ long-awaited encyclical on the environment is slated for official release on Thursday, June 18. Pope Francis is the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide and considered one of the most influential people in the world. The Pope's encyclical is expected to be a call to moral action for Catholics (and global citizens alike) to embrace environmental stewardship, as the impacts of a changing climate disproportionately affect the world's most vulnerable citizens.

In anticipation of its release, we rounded up answers to basic questions about papal encyclicals and what to expect from “Laudato Si,” which translates as “Praised Be."

We’ve also shared portions of a pre-encyclical release blog post by our friends at Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light (PA IPL), a state affiliate of Interfaith Power and Light, “a national religious response to the threat of climate change.” PA IPL is comprised of hundreds of individuals and over 40 religious institutions across the Commonwealth, bringing people of diverse faith backgrounds together to act on climate. 

As supporters of the environment, we applaud Pope Francis for choosing an encyclical topic with implications for all citizens of this earth but we’d also like to elevate the voices of those for whom this text holds special meaning. As the encyclical is a religious text intended for a Catholic audience, we plan to share commentary from faith leaders in the days after its official release. Follow the hashtags #Encyclical, #OurCommonHome, and #AllAreCalled for the latest on social media.

What’s an encyclical?

From the Pew Research Center:

Encyclicals are papal letters – the word “encyclical” means “circular letter” – usually addressed to Catholic clergy and the laity and containing the pope’s views on church teachings and doctrine in a particular area.

While encyclicals do not set down new church doctrine (the Roman Catholic Church’s core beliefs), they are in essence official statements and are considered authoritative teaching, since popes speak for the church.

How have past popes addressed environmental issues?

From the New York Times:

Recent popes have made clear that human activity is largely to blame for the environmental degradation that is threatening the Earth's ecosystems. They have demanded urgent action by industrialized nations to change their ways and undergo an "ecological conversion" to prevent the poor from paying for the sins of the rich.

Some have even made their points in encyclicals, the most authoritative teaching document a pope can issue. 

Also from the New York Times:

And then there was Pope Benedict XVI, dubbed the "green pope" because he took concrete action to back up his strong ecological calls: Under his watch, the Vatican installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of its main auditorium, a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria and joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions.

What do we expect will be included in Pope Francis’ encyclical?

From The Guardian:

The [leaked] draft is not a detailed scientific analysis of the global warming crisis. Instead, it is the pope’s reflection of humanity’s God-given responsibility as custodians of the Earth.

At the start of the draft essay, the pope wrote, the Earth “is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her, because of the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God has placed on her. We have grown up thinking that we were her owners and dominators, authorised to loot her. The violence that exists in the human heart, wounded by sin, is also manifest in the symptoms of illness that we see in the Earth, the water, the air and in living things.”

He immediately makes clear, moreover, that unlike previous encyclicals, this one is directed to everyone, regardless of religion. “Faced with the global deterioration of the environment, I want to address every person who inhabits this planet,” the pope wrote. “In this encyclical, I especially propose to enter into discussion with everyone regarding our common home.”

According to the leaked document, the pope will praise the global ecological movement, which has “already travelled a long, rich road and has given rise to numerous groups of ordinary people that have inspired reflection”.

How is the environment an interfaith issue?

From Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light (PA IPL) Executive Director Cricket Hunter:

With this encyclical, Pope Francis is creating a beautiful opportunity; while meant for Catholics particularly, his instruction also opens space for all of us to reflect on climate justice, our values, and the teachings of our faiths–to hear the ways in which our diverse traditions speak in harmony and in unison on care of Creation. In this space, we have an opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, linked by our shared calls to care for the earth, care for the most vulnerable, and look together for solutions.

Katie Bartolotta is PennFuture's southeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator and is based in Philadelphia. She tweets @KatieBartolotta.