Pope Francis' Encyclical on Integral Ecology and Climate Change

[Balder]

The full document is available here:

Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home

...and I will post some excerpts below from Chapters 4 and 6

~*~

"I. ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ECOLOGY

138. Ecology studies the relationship between living organisms and the environment in which they develop. This necessarily entails reflection and debate about the conditions required for the life and survival of society, and the honesty needed to question certain models of development, production and consumption. It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected. Time and space are not independent of one another, and not even atoms or subatomic particles can be considered in isolation. Just as the different aspects of the planet – physical, chemical and biological – are interrelated, so too living species are part of a network which we will never fully explore and understand. A good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings. It follows that the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of bits of information can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.

139. When we speak of the “environment”, what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it. Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it. Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behaviour patterns, and the ways it grasps reality. Given the scale of change, it is no longer possible to find a specific, discrete answer for each part of the problem. It is essential to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems. We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.

140. Due to the number and variety of factors to be taken into account when determining the environmental impact of a concrete undertaking, it is essential to give researchers their due role, to facilitate their interaction, and to ensure broad academic freedom. Ongoing research should also give us a better understanding of how different creatures relate to one another in making up the larger units which today we term “ecosystems”. We take these systems into account not only to determine how best to use them, but also because they have an intrinsic value independent of their usefulness. Each organism, as a creature of God, is good and admirable in itself; the same is true of the harmonious ensemble of organisms existing in a defined space and functioning as a system. Although we are often not aware of it, we depend on these larger systems for our own existence. We need only recall how ecosystems interact in dispersing carbon dioxide, purifying water, controlling illnesses and epidemics, forming soil, breaking down waste, and in many other ways which we overlook or simply do not know about. Once they become conscious of this, many people realize that we live and act on the basis of a reality which has previously been given to us, which precedes our existence and our abilities. So, when we speak of “sustainable use”, consideration must always be given to each ecosystem’s regenerative ability in its different areas and aspects.

141. Economic growth, for its part, tends to produce predictable reactions and a certain standardization with the aim of simplifying procedures and reducing costs. This suggests the need for an “economic ecology” capable of appealing to a broader vision of reality. The protection of the environment is in fact “an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it”.[114] We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision. Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family, work-related and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to how they relate to others and to the environment. There is an interrelation between ecosystems and between the various spheres of social interaction, demonstrating yet again that “the whole is greater than the part”.[115]

142. If everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life. “Every violation of solidarity and civic friendship harms the environment”.[116] In this sense, social ecology is necessarily institutional, and gradually extends to the whole of society, from the primary social group, the family, to the wider local, national and international communities. Within each social stratum, and between them, institutions develop to regulate human relationships. Anything which weakens those institutions has negative consequences, such as injustice, violence and loss of freedom. A number of countries have a relatively low level of institutional effectiveness, which results in greater problems for their people while benefiting those who profit from this situation. Whether in the administration of the state, the various levels of civil society, or relationships between individuals themselves, lack of respect for the law is becoming more common. Laws may be well framed yet remain a dead letter. Can we hope, then, that in such cases, legislation and regulations dealing with the environment will really prove effective? We know, for example, that countries which have clear legislation about the protection of forests continue to keep silent as they watch laws repeatedly being broken. Moreover, what takes place in any one area can have a direct or indirect influence on other areas. Thus, for example, drug use in affluent societies creates a continual and growing demand for products imported from poorer regions, where behaviour is corrupted, lives are destroyed, and the environment continues to deteriorate."

[Edward theurj Berge]

One of Transition Abq's partners is New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light, where Balder might find resources for his own interfaith inquiry.

[Balder]

Cool, thank you.  I'll check it out.  (It's off-topic for this thread, but I'm finding a good resource for my "Sophia" work - and my recent paper - in Steven Shaviro's The Universe of Things.)

[Balder]

Here are two relevant, and related, stories on Catholics and Buddhists coming together to work on some of these issues.

Pope Francis Meets with Buddhist Leaders

Buddhists, Catholics begin new dialogue on 'suffering, liberation, ...

[Edward theurj Berge]

Here's Lakoff on the Pope's framing. The Pope frames the environment as a moral issue. It is our common home to which we should be grateful and accept responsibility for its healthy functioning. We, meaning the entire planet, are a family that should take care of and support each other. When we don't see it this way, when we see the earth as something to be exploited, this also leads to carrying that attitude over to the exploitation of people for our own greed. The right moral frame and enactment is empathy, and the Pope got it right. And he provides the science to back it up, which when framed in moral terms is an integrated approach to coordinating different domains of experience.

This is not an anti-business stance, only anti-greed and dysfuntional self-interest. There is certainly room for the self, but it must be in relation to others and the environment. The current capitalist system is basically me first and the rest can go to hell, preferably in a handbasket. Business done morally right is win-win for all, not just for me. And there's plenty of profit within that framework, as well as merit pay based on individual performance so that not everyone earns the same. But that must take environmental capacity and sustainability into account as a moral business imperative. Again, showing how different domains interact is an integral ecological approach, one Lakoff calls an ecological spirituality.

See Lakoff's piece for much more detail.

[DavidM58]

See my latest blog post, Pogonomics and Pope-onomics, inspired and somewhat framed around the Nathan Schneider article theurj linked to the other day, but also framed around Joe Dominguez (co-author of Your Money or Your Life) and what he called Pogonomics (after Walt Kelly's Pogo, who said "We have met the enemy and he is us").

[Edward theurj Berge]

Amen brother.