Kimberley Heatherington

Many Catholics, increasingly aware of the environmental impact of fossil fuels, are at the forefront of a "green revolution," heeding the call of several popes to explore and implement alternatives. As the 2023 Season of Creation begins, OSV News discovered what some Catholic dioceses and organizations are doing to become better caretakers of the earth.

More than 80 million Americans are currently under dangerous heat advisories. Temperatures in California's Death Valley hover around 120 degrees Fahrenheit at midnight. Phoenix as of July 31 had seen 31 straight days of heat over 110 F, the cause of 25 deaths. Spain, Greece and Italy have recorded all-time high temperatures. In several Middle Eastern countries, the heat index mid-July reached 152 F, considered almost at the limit for human survival.

In a move timed to coincide with holiday tourism, hotel workers in Southern California walked off the job July 2, asking for higher wages, affordable health care, a retirement pension, and manageable workloads.

The drier conditions and warmer temperatures associated with climate change can create the conditions that make it easier for wildfires to start. Landscapes — both soil and trees — are now often more thoroughly damaged, making it more difficult for them to regenerate. The concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere is also raised by wildfire activity.

A megadrought jeopardizes the Colorado River and, with it, water supplies for major U.S. cities and farms. Catholics in affected states are complementing efforts to prevent disaster with Laudato Si' firmly in mind.

A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling announced April 6 may help Sharon Lavigne's Rise St. James and other environmental justice groups in the region in their fight.

Perhaps the strongest message to emerge from Villanova University's April 18 Second Annual Anti-Poverty Symposium — "Unitas in Action: Fighting Poverty and Living Sustainably" — is that the intersection between poverty and environmental destruction is no coincidence. In the global chain of pollution and profit, poor communities are almost always adversely and disproportionately impacted.

Catholics advocates and agencies in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Flint, Michigan are responding to water pollution in their communities. All three cities have had or continue to experience clean water issues due to things like chemical and radiation contamination and aging infrastructure across the country.

Hailed as a victory by animal welfare groups, new federal legislation now eliminates a long-standing requirement that investigational drugs must be tested on animals before humans receive them in drug trials.