From the Franciscan Action Network –
Every year at the Solemn Vigil of Easter, the Church welcomes new members into the Body of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism. This Sacrament initiates persons into the community of faith and unites them with Christ’s ministry. Descending into water, which can both destroy and sustain life, catechumens share in Christ’s death; rising from water, they share in His Resurrection to new life. Made new in Christ, baptized persons are called to be Resurrection people, co-creators of life.
Many of our choices bring death …

From Southwestern University’s Newsroom -
Southwestern University has signed an agreement with the City of Georgetown that will enable it to meet all its electric needs for the next 18 years from wind power.
The agreement makes Southwestern the first university in Texas to have all of its electricity supplied by wind power and one of fewer than 20 universities in the country to have a totally “green” source of power, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“In recent weeks, much attention has been focused on how the world can reduce greenhouse …

Reposted from – environment360
by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
Last month, the Pew Research Center released its latest poll of public attitudes on global warming. On its face, the news was not good: Belief that global warming is occurring had declined from 71 percent in April of 2008 to 56 percent in October — an astonishing drop in just 18 months. The belief that global warming is human-caused declined from 47 percent to 36 percent.
While some pollsters questioned these numbers, the Pew statistics are consistent with the findings by Gallup in …

Destroying the earth is not a human right.
There I said it.
Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is climate change. I thought about writing well reasoned pleas as to why we all need to be aware and care for the earth. I thought about addressing the Christians who even in their gnostic rejection the earth can find reason to care for people. But I’m tired and I’m fed up with self-centered excuses. So I’m just going to say that we need to get over ourselves. …

via Reuters –
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Rather than throwing that bag or hosepipe into the recycle bin, how about turning it into a belt or a shower curtain, joining a growing band of upcyclers?
Upcycling refers to reusing an object in a new way without degrading the material it is made from, as opposed to recycling which generally involves breaking down the original material and making it into something else, using more energy.
Supporters of the environmentally friendly practice of upcycling say people in developing countries have effectively been upcycling for years, …

The Not for Sale twitter recently posted a link to an article from this past spring that named the world’s seven most irresponsible companies. They write –
Money isn’t everything – or is it? To most corporations, making a profit is goal number one – but some of those companies take it way too far, sacrificing the health of the planet and its inhabitants for a bigger bank balance. Far too many corporations turn a blind eye to the consequences of their destructive, exploitative practices. The worst of them are …

Are you looking for easy ways to find just businesses around you? Do you wonder if the product you are thinking of buying was fairly made? If you have an iphone, there are a couple of apps than can help you make those decisions.
Better World Shopper – an app that helps consumers vote with their dollars for the sorts of companies they want to support. From the app description – “Many companies claim to be “good corporate citizens,” but how many actually make the grade? With …

AlterNet recently posted Mike Sowden’s piece on the eight weirdest ways to go green. From eating free-range snails from your garden to solar-powered bikinis that charge your ipod, some people are getting really creative in the ways they can care for this earth. And of course, some of these eco-option fall into the “you gotta be kidding me” category. As Sowden writes, there’s “a dilemma for the eco-conscious military man: is there a sustainable way to bomb 10 shades of cr*p out of the enemy? Now …

As the school year gets ready to kick-off, it’s time to consider how we can seek everyday justice through something as simple as how we pack our lunches.  Those plastic baggies and juice boxes add up and head straight for our landfills, but there are environmentally friendly options available.
ReusableBags.com has put together a fantastic guide to how to pack a waste-free lunch and what the benefits of doing so are -
From brown-paper lunch bags to plastic wraps and baggies to the unnecessary packaging of single-serving foods, our addiction to fast …

In their promotion of their “Eat This, Not That” diet, Men’s Health Magazine has a new article titled “The Truth About Bottled Water.” It’s a basic intro to the various issues with bottled water – from heath concerns to environmental issues. Their recommendation is to drink this (tap water) not that (bottled water). Kudos to pop culture for getting the word out about the negatives of buying bottled water.