Pollution & Climate Change

Pope Francis identifies 5 major problems we are currently living; the first is pollution and climate change:

Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths.
These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish.
Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents a huge challenge facing humanity in our days.

The Issue of Water

The second of the five major problems identified by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ is the issue of water:
One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. (LS 29)

But water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also in developing countries which possess it in abundance. This shows that the problem of water is partly an educational and cultural issue, since there is little awareness of the seriousness of such behaviour within a context of great inequality. (LS 30)

Greater scarcity of water will lead to an increase in the cost of food and the various products which depend on its use. (LS 31)

Are you aware of the issue of water and its seriousness?
What do you do in your daily life to avoid water waste and/or pollution? How long is your shower?…

The Loss of Biodiversity

The third of the five major problems we are currently living identified in Laudato Si’ is the loss of biodiversity:

The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production. (LS 32)

Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost for ever. (LS 33)

Do you know how endangered our biodiversity is? And its consequences?
Are you aware if your consumption habits include endangered species? Are you ready to review this?

Decline in the quality of human life and the breakdown of society

The fourth of the five major problems we are currently living identified by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ is the decline in the quality of human life and the breakdown of society:

Nowadays, for example, we are conscious of the disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities, which have become unhealthy to live in, not only because of pollution caused by toxic emissions but also as a result of urban chaos, poor transportation, and visual pollution and noise. (LS 44)

The social dimensions of global change include the effects of echnological innovations on employment, social exclusion, an inequitable distribution and consumption of energy and other services, social breakdown, increased violence and a rise in new forms of social aggression, drug trafficking, growing drug use by young people, and the loss of identity. (LS 46)

Look around your neighbourhood… What are the main needs there? What can you do to improve urban environment or help people in need there?

Global inequality

The last, but not the least, of the five major problems we are currently living identified by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ is global inequality:

The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.
[…] the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet […]
The impact of present imbalances is also seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems which are insufficiently represented on global agendas. (LS 48)

How can you help fighting global inequality ? Can you do anything in your community? Advocacy? Fund or goods raising campaigns?…