Environment - Blog

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Durban, South Africa, has begun! There, leaders will discuss progress in dealing with climate change, and negotiate a new international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires this year. Canada’s Minister of the Environment travels to Durban next week.

CPJ created a petition based upon the Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change. It highlights CPJ’s value for the Earth and the importance of creation care. We hope to have many signed petitions tabled in the House of Commons during COP17 (November 28 – December 9, 2011). Take a look at comments from CPJ supporters who have already taken up the petition in their communities. Read more »

Canadians have been deeply saddened by Jack Layton’s untimely death earlier this week. Here in Ottawa – like in so many other places around the country – we’ve witnessed an outpouring of grief and reflection over this loss.

To be sure, Jack was human. Like you and me, he had his shortcomings. He was far from perfect. Many of us didn’t agree with all that he said or did.

But regardless of your politics or theology, I think we can all admire him for the positive, hopeful vision that he so adeptly articulated and promoted. Jack was for something. And, again, even if you don’t agree with all the things he was for, we must admit that there was something likeable and contagious about his ability to inspire change. Read more »

Words are powerful, they can mean a lot. Unfortunately, they can also be completely meaningless. Although the Canadian government has signed on to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and claims to work for Canadian corporate social responsibility (CSR) its actions prove these commitments to be empty. Read more »

The statistics on climate change are often scary enough to make a person feel like they are in a science fiction movie. In response to this, there is a tendency to focus on the little things we can do as individuals, such as biking to work, reducing our home energy use or using different light bulbs. These are important changes that everyone can and should make, but sometimes when we focus too much on the little things we lose sight of the bigger picture. And it’s a very big picture. Read more »

Last week Karri and I participated in Community Justice Camp in Hamilton, Ontario. An initiative of the Anglican Church of Canada, Justice Camp seeks to bring people together from across Canada to explore, promote and expand our knowledge of various issues of social and public justice, and Christ’s calling for us to participate in these activities. This year the focus was community development and how we can build community through our work in various aspects of justice. Read more »

Today, April 22, is Earth Day. Initiated by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 as a national movement for education and promotion of environmental care, Earth Day eventually was recognized and is now celebrated around the world.

The first International Earth Day was held in 1990, with over 140 countries joining the movement. Today, with over 170 countries involved, Earth Day is one of the biggest movements in the world in terms of global environmental education and action. Read more »

Last week, Chandra, Kathryn and I attended “Radically Ordinary: An evening with Shane Claiborne” at a downtown church in Ottawa. The sanctuary was packed with people of all ages representing a wide variety of churches and faith backgrounds.

A very dynamic speaker and co-founder of The Simple Way, a Philadelphia based movement promoting community living and care for one another, Shane challenged us to re-evaluate our own motives and actions in the mission of bringing love and hope to a broken world. Suffering is something most people try to avoid at all costs, but part of Shane’s challenge was for people to enter places of suffering and injustice to bring hope. Read more »

I have been thinking lately as to how care for the environment can be lived out in our consumer-driven society, and what our society might look like if we did.

I find that for many people, knowledge about climate change – that driving cars and over-consuming is causing harm to the environment – is often not enough to change their lifestyle in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. What will then? Read more »

At the G8 meeting in Italy, it was agreed that the 32 most industrialized countries in the world will slash their greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by the year 2050.

This announcement provoked a couple of thoughts for me.

If Canada succeeded in cutting its greenhouse gases by four-fifths in the next forty years, what would our society look like?

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Last week, individuals and communities in countries around the world gathered together and celebrated Earth Day with festivals, prayers and eco-friendly activities.However, while it seems that more citizens than ever are becoming engaged in living more sustainably, Canada’s record on the environment continues to be disgraceful. Read more »