1 Nov 2019

Glennis Moriarty shares her ideas about climate change from her journey ‘as a wife, mother, grandmother and almost-great-grandmother, a former science teacher and a member of the Catholic Parish of Hastings, Hawke’s Bay’.

Are you already muttering – or shouting – ‘Climate change! Enough! Anyway, what can I do about it?’

If we understand sufficient science to be aware that climate change is real and happening, and that it has been brought about in large part by human actions, then, in addition to prayer, we can usefully:

• become more fully convinced
• get involved with one cause
• vote accordingly.

It is hard to accept that something like the air around us, which we take so much for granted, can be changing to the extent that there is an ‘emergency’. Those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo will certainly seek to convince you otherwise. Therefore – do some research. Make Google your friend and seek information from institutions or individuals you trust. Certainly read contrary material, but check where it comes from before believing it. Feeling fully informed will make it easier to move forward and take positive action.

Where to put what time, thoughts and money you can spare will depend on your inclinations and experience. Helping climate change refugees? Planting trees? Caring for freshwater sources? Every good action, however small, does make a difference, often in ways we can’t foresee. In addition, such actions help form and uphold the communities that will become even more important when the effects of climate change become more evident in our country.

Then vote. Vote in the next general election. Vote for candidates who will do what the country needs, even if that makes them unpopular. We need politicians who can see the likely effects of climate change on the world and its people, and who are willing to take the bold steps necessary to prepare our country for the challenges ahead.

Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato Si’ (Praise Be to You) with the subtitle ‘on care for our common home’, dated 24 May 2015, was officially published on 18 June 2015. In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take ‘swift and unified global action’. To read or refresh on what Pope Francis has written in Laudato Si’ a pdf copy can be downloaded from: w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf or hard copies can be purchased in New Zealand from Pleroma Christian Supplies at www.christiansupplies.co.nz or call 0508 988 988.

Published in WelCom November 2019