Weekly Justice Highlights

Promoting the Common Good: As the debt/deficit deal deadline draws near, calls and emails are highly encouraged to members of Congress (1.888.907.1485 – toll free OR 1.202.224.3121 – not toll free) and the President (1.202.456.1111 – not toll free).  Urge leaders to vote NO on any debt/deficit deal that does not protect low-income people and fails to raise revenues. Both spending cuts and revenues are necessary to protect poor individuals from these harmful cuts. All socio-economic levels must share the burden, not just those individuals who are poor.

Care of Earth: The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 2012 (H.R. 2584) that funds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several other departments is making its way through the House this week. Urge U.S. Representatives to vote no on this legislation because it would prevent the EPA from regulating coal ash as a hazardous waste, protecting streams from coal mining, and clarifying that headwaters streams are protected under the Clean Water Act.

Human Trafficking: Urge textbook publishers McGraw-Hill to educate students about human trafficking.

The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179) is working its way through Congress. This measure will ensure that those who participate in the health care system “retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions.” Action is available here.

Write or call U.S. Representatives urging them to co-sponsor legislation calling to close the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) also know as the School of the Americas.

Urge President Obama to reject Keystone XL (toxic tar sands oil) and invest in clean, safe energy solutions.

Urge Congress to protect impacted communities of the Gulf Coast, accelerate the restoration process and prevent future oil spill disasters.

Want to release some tension with regard to the deficit talks, join in singing It’s a Binge on Top

Louisville, KY: Residents are urged to sign the petition that reads, “Coal Ash from LG&E’s Cane Run plant endangers the health of Louisville residents. Please take immediate action to protect Louisville residents from this harmful pollution and hold LG& E accountable.

Weekly Justice Highlights

U.S. Debt and Budget Update: Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 2560, Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011. The bill would cut spending across all areas, cap spending in successive years of the budget and submit to states a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution mandating that each year spending be no greater than tax receipts and be limited to a decreasing percentage of the Gross Domestic Product. Urge Senators to oppose this bill. 

Care of Earth: To protect individuals’ health from the effects of global warming, individuals are invited to urge President Obama to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency releases strong standards to curb emissions from our nation’s dirtiest coal plants and oil refineries.

Urge Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador Rice to support Palestine’s membership in the UN Security Council.

To date, the UN Security Council has remained silent on the situation in Syria. Three critical members of the UN Security Council need to join other members to call on the Syrian government to stop the use of tanks, snipers and torture to suppress peaceful dissent. Urge these members to support the current draft resolution to end the bloodshed and ensure accountability for crimes committed.  

Urge U.S. Senators to become co-sponsors of S. 1346, Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.  This bill would work to close the loopholes that exist when corporations hide money in accounts outside the U.S., in nations which have very low or no taxes on income by foreign companies. This avoidance of tax responsibility means small businesses and individuals have to cover more of the nation’s expenses.

As part of Mind the Gap! Campaign, a petition to President Obama is available for signatures that would call for a White House Summit on the wealth gap.

How clean is U.S. air? The Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign has launched an online air pollution map that shows how much air pollution there is where you live, how many people are at risk for health problems from coal pollution and how many asthma attacks and premature deaths are caused by coal-fired power plants.

A study researched by the Chinese examines birth defects as a result of coal smoke and pesticides.

The Journey of the Universe book has been released and is now available.   A collaboration of Brian Thomas Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker, and John Grim, the Journey of the Universe project also includes a film (available late July 2011) and an educational series (available October 12, 2011).

Weekly Justice Highlights

In the Spirit of St. Vincent: As individuals and families continue to struggle around the world with regard to being able to live daily, United States residents are invited to National Budget Call-In Days on July 13-15 to Senators. Call this toll free number 888.907.1485 and urge Senators to protect millions of vulnerable Americans who rely on federal support to meet their critical needs, to oppose a balanced amendment to the Constitution and to rely as much on fair revenue increases as spending cuts when resolving the budget.

Water: Call U.S. Representatives urging them to oppose HR 2018 (Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011) that gives states a veto power over a host of critical water quality decisions that the Clean Water Act currently authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to make.

Water: Urge U.S. Representatives to protect clean water and oppose H.R. 2354 that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Core of Engineers from making any changes to protect these streams.

Human Trafficking: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (S. 1301) is in need of reauthorization (expires September 2011) to continue funding for the momentum in the work against human trafficking and to protect victims. Urge U.S. Senators to co-sponsor and pass this legislation.

Immigration and E-Verify: Urge U.S. Representatives to oppose H.R. 2164, the Legal Workforce Act that would mandate E-verify, a verification system that allows employers to verify an employee’s legal immigration status before hired still has a significant error rate.

Join Jose Antonio Vargas whose story was in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago in calling for a new national conversation on immigration

Urge President Obama to push for greater civilian protection and humanitarian access to displaced persons in Sudan (look for Stop the Violence in Sudan)

Urge U.S. Representatives to oppose the Korea, Panama, and Columbia Free Trade Agreements when they are submitted to Congress for a fast track vote

Did you know that the wealthiest 1% of our population own more than 90% of us combined? Urge President Obama to host a White House Summit on the wealth gap. Information on Mind the Gap! campaign is located here.

The U.S. Department of Energy is open to public comment on hydraulic fracking. Adapt a message to urge an equal voice on fracking rather than pushing the industry agenda.

July 2011 Action Alert

Environmental Choices with Heart

Earth continues to need our actions and prayers as a result of choices individuals and corporations make. Many of God’s species are being displaced as environmental refugees (i.e. think recently about the flooding around the world). As we grow in our understanding of The Universe Story and the interconnectedness of all life, it is imperative that we be alert to what Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching have to say with regard to God’s creation and how we are to care for Earth and all species. The following is a glimpse of that which can be used to pray in solidarity with Earth and all species as we listen to action calls from a variety of sources.

“We must never lose sight of how we have been created: from the earth and from the breath of God.” (On Social Concern (Solicitudo Rei Socialis), 29)

“The environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 48)

“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.” (Exodus 23:10-11)

“It is all too evident that large numbers of people in different countries and areas of our planet are experiencing increased hardship because of the negligence or refusal of others to exercise responsible stewardship over the environment. The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole. Yet the pace of environmental exploitation is seriously endangering the supply of natural resources for the present generation and for generations to come. There is a need to…practice the solidarity we owe to those living in the poorer areas of our world and to future generations.” (2010 Peace Message, Pope Benedict)

“Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, loss of agricultural land, the pollution of rivers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions? Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of “environmental refugees,” people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it and often their possessions as well? Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources?” (2010 Peace Message, Pope Benedict)

“[First] one cannot use with impunity the different categories of beings, whether living or inanimate, animals, plants, the natural elements simply as one wishes, according to one's own economic needs.
[Second] natural resources are limited; some are not, as it is said, renewable. Using them as if they were inexhaustible, with absolute dominion, seriously endangers their availability not only for the present generation but above all for generations to come.
[Third] the direct or indirect result of industrialization is, the pollution of the environment, with serious consequences for the health of the population....
The dominion granted to humans by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one... dispose of things as one pleases.... When it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity.” (On Social Concern (Solicitudo Rei Socialis), 34)

Reflection/Action:

• What phrases from the quotes above capture my heart? What is stirring as a result?
• When reading/listening to Scripture and song, how attentive am I to references on...

                 nature
                 ecology
                 water
                 food security
                 food sovereignty
                 sustainable living
                 sustainable development

• What prayer rises as a result of these reflections on Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching and the reality of our world?
• When with nature, what erupts from my heart as the "Glory of God?"
• Where do environmental refugees exist within my country? How have I demonstrated compassion toward them?
• How have I educated others on these topics and/or these areas of concern? What resources do I have that might prove helpful?
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Rio+20 Conference in 2012

The Rio+20 Conference will take place in June 2012 and marks the 20thanniversary of the Earth Summit in Rio, thus the name. In 1992, assembled leaders in Rio signed the Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biodiversity. They also endorsed the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21. The United Nations (UN) created the Commission on Sustainable Development to monitor and report on the implementation of these Earth Summit agreements.

The Commission on Sustainable Development held this past May has threatened the Rio+20 Conference due to the inability to come to agreement on critical issues, the disagreement over ‘green economy’ and the future governance of sustainable development. Much work needs to be completed before the Rio+20 either at events in Bonn this September or in Durban in December.

In preparation for Rio+20, much discussion has centered on the concept of a ‘green economy’ and the future governance that will facilitate the implementation of Rio+20 outcomes. The objective of Rio+20 is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development. As a result, Rio+20 will focus on two themes:

• The green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication
• The international structures necessary to promote sustainable development

Rio+20 presents a moment of opportunity in the wake of the past decades which have seen economic crises, social disparities (with one fifth of the population consuming 80% of the Earth’s resources), and environmental disasters including food scarcity, water shortage, loss of biodiversity and natural disasters. These three pillars for a sustainable economy and the current relationship between these signify the need for a new paradigm, one that views the systems as a whole and inter-related. Rather than seeing aspects of these three pillars outside of each other and unconnected, the new paradigm looks to view the economy and society as subsets of the planetary ecological system.

The concept of ‘green economy’ can provide a current response to the crises of our time. These include the climate crisis, the food crisis and the economic crisis. While no universally acceptable definition of ‘green economy’ has been agreed upon at this time, the UN environment program and the World Resource Institute offer their own descriptions. Depending on one’s perspective of these three pillars, ‘green economy’ is viewed differently by different people and groups.

Reflection/Action:

• In what order of priority are the climate crisis, food crisis, and economic crisis given in my country?
• What actions by leaders in my country verify this priority?
• To ensure environmental sustainability as Millennium Development Goal (MDG) #7 states, in what order would the global community need to prioritize these three pillars?
• MDG #8 speaks of developing a global partnership for development. What else keeps nation states from promoting sustainable development?
• How does environmental sustainability relate to poverty eradication?
• How are these three pillars ordered in my own life and what evidence suggests this?
• What does this say with regard to my efforts at promoting sustainability?

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Forced Labor and Food Consumption

According to two articles recently, forced labor is real in the U.S. agriculture business. Maryam Al-Zoubi in Source of Missing Jobs in America Found: Forced Laborers speaks of how “Americans becoming unwittingly complicit supporters of labor trafficking.” In this same article, Ambassador CdeBaca testified at a Senate committee hearing that “eliminating broker fees from the guest worker visa process is one of the many steps the United States government can take to stop the enslavement of foreign workers in the United States.” The worker visas (H-2A and H-2B) do not offer protection from enslavement of workers who remain at a specified work site for the duration of their stay in the U.S. Kentucky is one of the main states receiving these workers.

In another article, Martori farms, the exclusive fresh fruit and vegetable supplier to Wal-Mart’s Supercenter and Neighborhood Market stores, uses women from the Perryville, AZ women’s prison unit to hoe weeds and thin plants. Currently, the women work in deplorable conditions (i.e. hot sun for 8 hours often running out of water; fields infested with spiders, bees and snakes; without medical attention for injuries; etc.). The women are not screened medically before being sent out. They only need to be able to stand to work in the fields.

Reflection/Action:

• How much of the food that comes to my table is nurtured and harvested by forced labor?
• How might I find out if forced labor is a part of the food that comes to my table?
• What options exist for making sure that forced labor is not used in that which comes to my table?
• Which option is realistic to take action on based on my current reality?
• How does this reality relate to food sovereignty?
• View the updated video, Look Beneath the Surface located here.
• The latest issue of Stop Trafficking, co-sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth is located here