Climate Change

Laudato Si' (Praise Be To You)

Laudato si' is the second encyclical of Pope Francis written in June 2015. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home". 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."

“Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years,” says Pope Francis (LS 53).

"The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us." (LS 84)

"With regard to climate change, the advances have been regrettably few. Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most." (LS 169)

Our leaders, especially our political leaders must be held to account - "Those who will have to suffer the consequences of what we are trying to hide will not forget this failure of conscience and responsibility (LS 169)."

"The same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty. A more responsible overall approach is needed to deal with both problems: the reduction of pollution and the development of poorer countries and regions." (LS 175)

In the context of climate change, the global warming affects the whole world but it specifically affects the poor more. Working to solve climate change is a matter of justice.

What is our school doing?

As stewards of God's creation, our school community accepts its responsibility towards the environment. We have a duty to do what we can to ensure we are environmentally responsible. Each individual is responsible for their contribution to the environment and therefore must ensure they act to protect it.

St Pius X High School is committed to educating students and adults in the facts about climate change and in adopting and implementing wherever possible practices that contribute effectively to the fight to solve this serious problem. Parent and Carer support in this vital work is greatly appreciated.

The Pale Blue Dot

As it was heading out of the solar system, on 14 February 1990, the Voyager 1 space probe was ordered to take a photo of Earth from its massive distance of 6 billion kilometres. The link below is to the poignant commentary by Carl Sagan, American astronomer, astrophysicist and science communicator, on the significance of the photo he named: “The Pale Blue Dot”.

What can we do as individuals and families?

Climate change is a big problem and solving it is not simple. One of the dangers with a really big problem is that ordinary people like you and I can feel powerless. It can all seem too big, too difficult for us to do anything about. But that is not true. We can all make a difference. As Pope Francis has said, we all need to do our part to fight climate change.

How? How do we do that?

We need to learn the facts about climate change and about what we need to do to avoid its worst consequences. Students learn that here at school in several subjects. Learning it is important so that we can make sensible decisions about how best to help and so that we can correct the views of those who don’t seem to understand.
We must each set an example of sustainable behaviour for others – consume less, waste less, stop using plastics, stop wasting water, stop wasting electricity, recycle more, reduce car travel. For example, we could decide to reduce the amount of plastic waste we produce. We could recycle the plastics that can be recycled. We could choose to buy eco friendly products to replace plastics. For instance an Australian online company called Activated Eco sells stainless steel clothes pegs and reusable mesh produce bags for fruit and vegetables, among other handy products.
We can talk with our families about what we can do as a family to fight climate change. What changes could we make to our lifestyles to help our planet? Can our family opt for more green energy from our electricity company? Can our family eat less beef and lamb, in favour of fish or chicken or kangaroo? Can we recycle more? Can we get involved in local or other environmental projects?
We could email our Prime Minister, other Government Ministers and our local members of Parliament, demanding action. Their addresses are available online.
We need to pray that all peoples and all leaders work together to solve the problem of climate change.

There is a lot we can each do. The main thing is that we each do as much as possible.

And whatever we do, we must not give up! There are great things happening locally, nationally and around the world in the fight against climate change.