> Parish and School Actions

                      > Family and Personal Actions

In 1789, Thomas Jefferson stated that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, the people, when well informed, may be relied on to set them right. As a result of citizen action, the U.S. Congress has enacted some of the most comprehensive environmental legislation in the world to clean up our air, water, and land such as formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. New environmental challenges face us. Climate change and overconsumption of natural resources are taxing the earth’s capacity to provide prosperity and security for future generations. Pope Francis states, “political institutions and various other social groups are entrusted with helping to raise people’s awareness. So too is the church.” The “Green Team” should stay informed on these critical environmental issues and develop a menu of options for getting parishioners engaged in moving society to address them.

According to a 2017 Gallup poll, 68% of Americans believe global warming is caused by humans and 61% believe that the effects of global warming have already begun.  These poll results are at a three decade high.

While this website provides an Action Plan which have many individual actions people can take to reduce their environmental footprint, it also critically important for people to let our elected officials know we care about "our common home."