There
is important new thinking out there on rescuing the environment and it comes
from what some might consider an unlikely source.
It
is found in Laudato Si, an encyclical from Pope Francis, leader of the world’s
1.2 billion Catholics. That’s not breaking news. The 184-page document was released
earlier this month. Many people have forgotten about it already, which is a
shame.
Anyone
seriously interested in our deteriorating environment should read this
document. Forget that it is written by a pope. Ignore, if you wish, the
religious references. Whether or not you believe in God and Creation,
the earth is a shared inheritance for the benefit of everyone,
Francis writes.
This encyclical needs to be read as the thoughts of a pensive, superbly educated and intelligent man. It
is
clear and relatively easy reading, drawing on scientific research, reports,
observations and other opinions.
Its
key message, in my opinion, is its call for a global dialogue about how we are
shaping the future of our planet. We all need to better inform ourselves with
facts so we all can participate fully in discussing how to stop the
deterioration of our world.
The
Pope’s message is not just about climate change and other symptoms of
environmental abuse. It is about changing our attitude that the world must be
respected and cared for only because it benefits us. We share the earth with
all kinds of other life, and those other forms deserve our respect and our caring.
We
live in an industrial system of over-production and over-consumption with
woefully inadequate capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products. Dollar
stores and other discount operations bulge with mountains of our over-produced
goods. Our garbage dumps overflow despite positive advances in recycling.
Walk
the edges of Highways 35, or 118 or 121 and see the piles of soda cans, beer
bottles, cigarette packages and other detritus tossed from vehicle windows.
Ontario
produces 12.5 billion tonnes of garbage a year, almost one tonne per person,
says the Ontario Waste Management Association.
We have so much garbage that we have to ship some of it to landfills in
the United States.
We
think we are better handling our waste, but that’s an illusion.
For
example, we recycle only a fraction of the paper we produce. Most of the paper we
use goes into the air through burning, or into our soils through burying. Roughly
one-third of the food we produce is not eaten and is thrown out.
We
keep talking about fixes but our fixes are simply bandages. Fixes like carbon
credits, or other pay-to-pollute solutions, are not the answer because they do
not treat the underlying causes.
The
encyclical says the world needs to talk seriously about changing the culture of
consumerism that prioritizes short-term gain and private interests.
“Obsession
with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of
maintaining it, can only lead to violence and mutual destruction,” the Pope
wrote.
Much
of the reporting on the encyclical focussed on climate change and eliminating
fossil fuels but the papal message is much more than that. It sees
environmental destruction as a symptom of a human crisis resulting from an
obsession with economic growth and material accumulation.
Production
means jobs and profits, which lead to a better life for many. However, our
reliance on constant economic growth leaves us with a growing environmental
crisis. The encyclical says that we lack the culture and leadership needed to
find new paths.
It
notes the positive environmental improvements made in some countries. These do
not solve global environment problems but they do show we are capable of
positive interventions.
We
have made some positive changes. Certainly, ecological awareness and sensitivity
are growing but this has done little to change our consumption habits.
People
throughout the world need to begin talking seriously about how we can start
changing our living style, especially our economic system of more and more
production. We need to start talking about how to live happily and successfully
without so much stuff.
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