An article in the National Catholic Reporter’s Global Sisters Report quotes several Catholic Sisters around the world, including Joan Brown, osf, executive director of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light.  She talks about the major challenge in places like the Permian Basin in New Mexico.

Brown said the Permian Basin is “a climate bomb right now. It’s one of the highest-producing oil and gas regions in the world, so there’s a lot of pollution.”

There are concrete concerns to consider, too: More than a third of tax income for the state’s schools come from the oil and gas industry, Brown said.

“That’s something I don’t think that is often thought of is the implications that trickle down in all kinds of ways. It’s not just the worker; it’s the grocery shop person, it’s the education, it’s the school district,” she said. “Communities really need to be engaged in that.”

“The communities there feel that they’re a sacrificed zone and are continually a sacrificed zone,” Brown said. “They’re suffering from pollution now. Everybody else is using their energy. And yet with this transition, where are the jobs going to come from?”

The full article, entitled “In the face of catastrophic climate change, sisters join call for a just transition.” also contains great insights from other Catholic Sisters around the World.