Earth's natural defences against climate change 'beginning to fail'
The earth's ability to soak up the gases causing global warming is beginning to fail because of rising temperatures, in a long-feared sign of "positive feedback", new research reveals. Climate change itself is weakening one of the principal "sinks" absorbing carbon dioxide - the Southern Ocean around Antarctica - a new study has found.

The Independent, May 19, 2007

UN climate change official expresses optimism about developing countries
A top UN climate change official expressed optimism about developing countries' willingness to enter into talks on a new agreement to limit greenhouse gases. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that key developing countries South Africa and Brazil had shown more willingness to talk about future measures and that "prospects are good" for beginning talks on a post-Kyoto agreement.

Pravda/AP, May 18, 2007

Sea gobbles up five villages in 15 years
So far, you have only heard of theories like this: Maldives will completely go under the ocean due to global warming. But did you know that the effects of global warming have been showing on the Orissa coast for the past 15 years?

Hindustan Times, May 18, 2007

Africa: Getting most of the heat from global warming
Nobody will escape the effects of climate change but the poor in Africa will suffer the most because of decreasing food production and the heightened prevalence of diseases such as malaria, warn environmentalists, church leaders and researchers.

Inter Press Service News Agency, May 17, 2007

Climate change to force mass migration
A billion people - one in every seven people on Earth today - could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years as the effects of climate change worsen an already serious migration crisis, a new report from Christian Aid predicts. The report, which is based on latest UN population and climate change figures, says conflict, large-scale development projects and widespread environmental deterioration will combine to make life unsupportable for hundreds of millions of people, mostly in the Sahara belt, south Asia and the Middle East.

The Guardian, May 14, 2007

We must punish binge-flying
Mark Ellingham has made a sizeable fortune from the creation of the Rough Guides to almost everywhere. He is shortlisted for the Royal Society's prize for science writing, for his book The Rough Guide to Climate Change. Now, in a conversion that would command the admiration of St Paul, he declares that "binge-flying" constitutes a huge threat to the global environment.

Mail and Guardian Online, May 16, 2007

Climate change: "will impact first and foremost the poorest and weakest"
"The consequences of climate change are being felt not only in the environment, but in the entire socioeconomic system and, as seen in the findings of numerous reports already available, they will impact first and foremost the poorest and weakest who, even if they are among the least responsible for global warming, are the most vulnerable because they have limited resources or live in areas at greater risk. We need only think of the small island developing states as one example among many. Many of the most vulnerable societies, already facing energy problems, rely upon agriculture - the very sector most likely to suffer from climatic shifts." Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations.

Zenit News Agency, May 12, 2007

Catholic Earthcare Australia (CEA)
As an agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Justice and Service, CEA's mission is to help promote understanding among people that creation is sacred and endangered, and must be protected and sustained for present and future generations yet unborn. To play its part in helping protect the integrity of creation and the health of Earth's inhabitants and life supporting ecosystems, CEA is mandated, through the activities of research, education, advocacy and outreach to give leadership in responding to Pope John Paul II's call for an "ecological conversion" of the world's Catholics. If you are planning to build or renovate a new school, church or diocesan building, CEA has created an audit which can be downloaded from the site.

www.catholicearthcareoz.net/

World Environment Day 2007 - "Melting Ice - a Hot Topic?"
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on June 5, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns. Visit the World Environment Day website for more information

www.unep.org/wed/2007/english/

An Inconvenient Truth
Former US Vice President Al Gore presents a compelling look at the state of global warming in the fascinating and startling documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The film, which won the 2007 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, is now available in DVD format.

Go to the official site www.climatecrisis.net/ and among other resources, download a free companion education guide to the DVD. Why not borrow the DVD from your local library, rent it from your video store or buy it?

Wonders and glory of creation
We often sing in church about the wonders and glory of creation, the things God's hands have made. But are our lives a reflection of this wonder and respect for creation? Should development be a headlong rush towards industrialisation or moves towards a sustainable lifestyle in harmony with our surroundings? We in the North have lived too long simply taking from creation, seeing the environment as something for us to use. It is time for a radical re-think. We can learn from the people of the South that we do not own the world, the water or the air. We are here for only a short time, but we leave heavy footprints on the face of creation. Our prayer is for simplicity, and it is a challenge to the greed that leads to destruction.

© Linda Jones/CAFOD

"Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men."

Pope Benedict XVI, World Day of Peace Message, 2007, #8