The Environment and Global Warming.

For our last post we get to decide what the topic is. We have chosen the environment as a whole and global warming. Seeing as how we are all different people and therefore have different opinions we have decided to each write our views on the subject.

OPINION 1 (Carpenter): You hear it all the time, people going around saying that one person cannot make a difference (and I have been guilty of this myself) but really we take those little differences for granted.  We go around in our big "pimped" (yes I said pimped) cars that get about three miles to the gallon and we are mostly all guilty of it.  The problem with the environment now is our mentality.  So many people are opposed to  helping the Earth because its "not our problem"  but thats the whole point, it is our problem.  We created this monster and we have to put our big girl ( or boy) panties on and deal with the consequences.  Throughout history we have had a live in the day type of a though process, well now we have to think more about the future than we ever have had too.  Now many people (Rachael and Sam) will say that the Earth is going through a process, but really if we weren't killing the earth with pollution and the like do you really think that it would be happening so quickly and so early?  I do believe that the Earth goes through cycles, we know this from history, however I also believe that if we would have been better stewards of the Earth and it's resources then we would not be facing many enviromental issues that we are facing today.  Now me personally do I do all the things that I could to make the Earth better?  No, I recycle and try to use less electricity by buying energy efficient light bulbs but I also take baths instead of showers and sometimes leave my sink running when I am brushing my teeth and also drive a big Honda Ridgline truck and sometimes a Ford Dulley (worst MPG ever!!!!).  Many of you would say " why don't you practice what you preach?" well I'll tell you why,  it's all a learning process that we have to all do.  The littlest step will make the biggest difference we just have to see that no small action is overlooked in the big scheme of things.  I am not by any means telling you to become a tree hugger and protest car use but what I am saying is to try to do little things.  For example if everyone in the U.S put a energy efficient light bulb (just one people) in their home that would be like taking 1.3 million cars off of the roads.  These bulbs are also cost efficient.  We now have recycling in Pascagoula and it is so easy (stealing Gico's logo here) a cave man could do it.  How I see it is we just have to get off our lazy rear ends and do something no matter how small.  We may not like it but if it means double sided printing and not taking a bath every night then you are doing your part.  Just don't give up is what I am really saying.  Don't feel like your one little thing won't change anything because it will.  

OPINION 2 (Rachael-and Sam agrees with me): Environmentalism? Bla bla bla. Global warming? Natural causes. The earth is in a cycle of heating and cooling itself, we actually know that. Just because politicians like Al Gore, whom I might add is a POLITICIAN, not a scientist, tells us it's our fault and our "carbon footprints" will condemn all future generations to sweltering heat, we believe them. Am I the only person who has heard of ice ages? Obviously the earth warms back up after those. That is the stage we have been enjoying the past few millennium. And guess what? It's gonna get cooler again. Then everyone will really be freaking out. Try and tell me that you care more about the animals who may be losing habitat now, than other human beings with souls who will be in danger when the earth freezes again. If you try to tell me you do, I'll call you a liar. I believe in conserving resources and not wasting, that is a duty we owe the earth and each other, but global warming is B.S. I apologize if I hurt your delicate feelings with honesty and truth. And I like my tank of a car, thank you very much. It saved my life. :)

Can RCS Go Green?

We have all heard of the "green movement" and we should all be trying to make our home better by being involved in said movement. However, the reality of the situation is that while "being green" is "socially acceptable" in some circles there are not many people who actually go green for the movement and not so much for the "fad." Going green is a really easy and simple thing to do, however in today's society we are typically lazy. Many schools, including RCS, have started to conserve and use our Earth's resources in a new and better way. Many people have noticed that we now have recycling bins on our campus and now use eco-friendly cleaners and use paper in a more conservative way.
But is that really enough? Many schools are adopting a "Green" lifestyle by asking students to bring "Trash Free Lunches" which have requirements such as a lunch box instead of paper and a washcloth or cloth napkin instead of a paper napkin. Schools are also being asked to provide reusable trays instead of the Styrofoam trays that we see in many of today's schools. Students and teachers alike are turning off lights more and more and opening windows instead of turning on the air conditioning. Schools in California are setting a new policy and hooking all electrical appliances up to a central power unit and turning it off at the end of the day to keep from wasting excess energy while electronics are not in use.
Resurrection is definitely in the right direction as far as "going green" goes. We recycle paper and plastic. We have more eco-friendly cleaners and ink. All in all we are taking steps towards a better eco-friendly lifestyle here at RCS. You have to crawl before you walk and eventually RCS will be running with the green lifestyle.

Santuario Sisterfarm

The Santuario Sisterfarm is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Latina women and Dominican Sisters. They are located in the Hill Country of south-central Texas and rooted in the rich multicultural legacy of the Borderlands. The Sisterfarm has pledged to inspire the work of transforming our relationships with Earth and ourselves from dominace to co-creative. The Sisterfarm has started a movement-an eco-ethno-spiritual quest- with the Latinas that helped to create their organization. They are striving to create a multilingual, multiracial, and multicultural space where mujeres can look into the spirit of the connection we have to the land, traditions, struggles for justice, and women's intuition.
The movement has not extended to a national level because there is not national "hub" to connect all of the local movements together in a national way. While there are movements going on around the world because there is not this central system, this "hub", there cannot be a interconnected movement that involves everyone in their respected movements. Our view is that if there was a central "hub" that the movements that are trying to be achieved would be more heard of and also more wide spread. However, we need to be able to accomplish this centralism to be able to achieve this connection.

Hot Summer

Recently we read an article written by a man (Kyle T. Kramer) and his family who decided to turn off their AC for a whole summer. The Kramer's live in southern Indiana, where the average summer temperature is either near or over 100 degrees. They chose to deprive themselves of comfort, not because they are adverse to technology, but for economic stewardship.
Throughout the article, Mr. Kramer contradicts himself again and again. He goes back and forth between saying that technology is an awesome thing and he loves it, and then saying that he doesn't need it, and we shouldn't take advantage of these comforts.
Our opinion is that this guy (Kyle Kramer) is crazy and not particularly intelligent. If he were our dad making us live through a sweltering summer with no AC, or a freezing winter with no heat, it would not make us happy campers. While he discusses the need to minimize our carbon footprints, turning off the AC for one summer and one family will not make the impact he foresees. It has to be a national effort. While some may suggest that efforts, no matter how insignificant, are needed we feel that there is no reason in depriving oneself and ones family of AC for a summer when there are other means of erasing these so called "carbon footprints". We have all heard of riding our bikes and all that jazz but if we would take the initiative to do it then we could accomplish something. Mr. Kramer's actions in our opinions is just a little to rash in accomplishing what we need, which is a "greener" Earth.

The Teachings of the Catholic Church on the Enviroment

The Catholic Church (or the Church as we shall call it) teaches that there are five ethical principles concerning the environment.

1. A God centered view of the World which recognizes human accountability for the fate of the Earth
*This is basically saying that we as Christians have to accept responsibility for what we do to the Earth and that it needs to be centered around what God would want us to do which is take care of our home.

2. A respect for life that extends to creation.
*Respecting life does not only apply to humans, it includes animals and our planet.

3. A World view that recognizes interdependency and promotes the common good.
*Everyone depends on someone or something else. We cannot be entirely independent, therefore we should not treat others as if they were of no consequence to our well being.

4. Do not be wasteful.
*We only have so much, it's probably smart to conserve.

5. Economic progress that recognizes the limits of material growth.
*We have to be conscious of what we buy and where it comes from. As Christians we need to make an effort to get information about who is making these products( i.e. sweatshops) and how they might affect creation.