Catholic Climate Covenant Urges Action to Save Environment

Tell Your Senators to Support Bill to Ban Hydrofluorocarbons! Please urge your Senators to support S. 2448, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, a bipartisan bill that gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to ban hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning. The bill establishes a pathway for our nation’s participation in the global phase down of HFCs that could save the world as much as 0.5 degrees centigrade of warming.  This bipartisan effort is supported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, industry, and the environmental community. TAKE ACTION Catholics Leading the Way Get to Know Catholic Energies Quiz Time! Pick the one that is NOT true: Buildings waste 40% of the energy they consume. The average Catholic parish can save $14,000 per year through energy upgrades. Catholic Energies can be your single point of contact for energy procurement, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Porcupines in Peru have been shown to have x-ray vision, but only at night. Wouldn’t if be great if D were true? The good news, however, is that A, B, & C are true! Contact Catholic Energies to learn about how we can reduce your energy waste, save money and save the planet. New Website: Catholic Energies will be launching its new and improved website on 4/9 – check back often…we may be offering a sneak peak later this week! Upcoming Webinars: Interested in learning more about Catholic Energies? Have others you want to introduce to the program? Like the communal feel of hundreds of people from all over the world gathering on a webinar together?   Sign up today for one of our upcoming Introduction to Catholic Energies webinars: April 19 – 3pm EDT May 1 – 1pm EDT   Are You Ready for Earth Day? The Covenant’s 2018 Earth Day program is now available! We invite your parish, school, youth group, university, or religious community to celebrate this year’s Earth Day (April 22nd or a date of your choosing) with a one-hour education program designed to address the growing problem of single-use disposable plastic. The “Beyond A Throwaway Culture: Reduce Waste-Grow Community” program includes prayers, readings, actions, and a short video to help you explore how we as Catholics can work individually and collectively to move beyond a throwaway culture. By the end of the hour, we hope you and your community will commit to using less disposable plastic and participate in activities to reduce single-use plastic.     Download Earth Day Program Cardinal Ribat of Papua New Guinea Speaks About Care for Creation Catholic Climate Covenant, along with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic University's School of Theology and Religious Studies, the Global Catholic Climate Movement, and the Franciscan Action Network was pleased to welcome and host Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea.  He came to the United States to share with various groups and political leaders the impacts that climate change, rising seas, and the new threat of deep sea-mining are having upon the very future of the people and ecosystems of Pacific island nations. You can read about his visit here and also read an Op-ed written by Cardinal Ribat here. Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea  Reducing Plastic Waste and Moving Beyond a Throwaway Culture: Webinar Recording and Resources Available Last month’s webinar focused on our Earth Day ’18 theme and how the exponential growth of plastics is threatening the survival of our common home. The webinar is a good complement to the one-hour educational program and is full of tips and ideas for plastic waste reduction. The recording of the webinar and PowerPoint slides, as well as links for extra resources are available here. Support the Covenant Every Time You Shop on Amazon We're excited to share a new way for you to support Catholic Climate Covenant. When you shop though AmazonSmile, the company donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Catholic Climate Covenant: same products and service, only with a bonus donation to the Covenant. Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-1503864 and support Catholic Climate Covenant every time you shop!

Faithful Action on Climate Change

St. Louis Climate Summit The 2018 Saint Louis Climate Summit (April 22-24) hosted by Saint Louis University as a part of its year-long Bicentennial Celebration, will bring some of the most authoritative minds in climate science and related disciplines to the Midwest for three days of discussion on climate change. The list of world-renowned speakers includes: Cardinal Peter Turkson, Carl Pope, Mario Molina, Peter Raven, Jane Lubchenco, Jeffrey Sachs, and more. View Conference Agenda  and register here.  Ignatian Ecological Examen available! Reconciling God, Creation and Humanity: An Eco-Examen is a virtual experience tool for prayer, reflection, and action for us to use in our homes, parishes, schools, universities, or communities.. The Eco-Examen can help deepen our call to care for creation and the most vulnerable. Join the Ignatian Family in seeking a conversion of heart to embrace ecological justice and Pope Francis’ call to care for our common home. Catholic Health Association’s Earth Day Resources  Our partner, the Catholic Health Association (CHA) has excellent Earth Day resources available! Check out their Earth Day Reflection Video, Earth Day Prayer Service, and 2018 Earth Day Prayer Card (FREE in the CHA Store). Developing countries need fossil fuels to reach the standard of living we enjoy, right? Watch Dr. Katherine Hayhoe tackle the myth: “Are you suggesting that we deprive poor countries around the world of the energy resources that brought us to prosperity? That’s not fair!”  Watch the video with her response.