Letter to the Editor
No matter how long and cold our winter was here in the Midwest, it doesn’t mean global warming isn’t happening.
Worldwide only a few places were cooler than normal. In the U.S., record high temperatures now occur twice as often as record colds. Extreme weather such as hurricanes is becoming more intense and frequent, and that is costly to taxpayers. Super Storm Sandy, wildfires on the West Coast and a drought in the Midwest cost U.S. taxpayers more than 100 billion dollars last year.
People of faith everywhere agree that we need to be much better stewards of Creation, and that we have a moral imperative to leave a safe climate for future generations.
There is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than ever before from dirty energy such as coal, oil and gas. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, we must transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and use energy more efficiently.
Simultaneously, we also need to counter the commercialization of our culture and to promote positive changes in the way goods are produced. Let us nurture an American dream that upholds a new emphasis on community, ecological sustainability and a celebration of non-material values.
In New York City Colin Beavan and his family pledged to live for a year without doing any harm to the environment: swearing off plastic, turning off the electricity, eating organic and riding bicycles everywhere. In doing so they found it actually made their lives happier, healthier and more abundant. The Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking will be screening “No Impact Man” on Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at The Canticle — home of the Sisters of St. Francis: 841 13th Ave. N., Clinton. The screening is free and all are welcome. For more information, visit www.ClintonFranciscans.com.
Lori Freudenberg
Co-coordinator, Center for Active Nonviolence & Peacemaking
Sisters of St. Francis
Clinton
