Sister Joan Brown: Will we allow the spiritual wisdom of the young to lead us?

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Following is an excerpt of an opinion piece that Sister Joan Brown, executive director of New Mexico and El Paso Region Interfaith Power & Light wrote in the Gallup Independent.

“..while sometimes we feel despair heavy in the air from many fronts we also see around us signs of hope and spiritual wisdom to guide us. I believe our young people are great partners in our great spiritual work we are given in this time – to address climate justice and care Our Common Home.”

The young, who in recent years have strongly urged us to act, will only inherit the planet we choose to leave to them, based on the concrete choices we make today. – Pope Francis’ written message to world leaders at COP26, Nov. 2, 2021 The UN Glasgow climate meetings that just ended hold only a few bright spots of action forward to limit carbon reductions to address harm already happening. One of those lights that cannot be missed is the engagement of young people from around the world.

But, the question remains, will the world listen to the spiritual wisdom of the younger generations to care for Our Common Home and all living beings whose lives are at stake? 

Young people of many faith traditions were present the last two weeks in Glasgow and their pleas to reduce carbon by phasing out fossil fuels were heard in the streets and halls of the conference. Their words and banners focused on “loss and damage,” care for the forests, and hearing the voices of the most vulnerable countries and peoples.

Listening to their presentations to world leaders and the many videos they created and prayer services they spoke at, I was reminded of Jesus and the children. He commanded the disciples, the leaders around him, to “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kindom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

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Sister Joan Talks About Need for a ‘Just Transition’ in Permian Basin

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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.

Op-Ed: Fix Oil & Gas Leasing System

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Here is an excerpt of an opinion piece that James Jimenez,  executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, wrote in the (Santa Fe) New Mexican.

In New Mexico, we have lived through many boom-and-bust cycles of the oil and gas industry. But recent years have shown just how much we need to break this cycle — particularly as we plan for the transition from oil and gas to clean energy — by tipping the scales away from the oil and gas corporations and back toward New Mexicans who have shouldered the consequences. That’s especially true for our state’s children, whose school funding is too dependent on the vagaries of international oil and gas markets.

Thankfully, this could all be changed, but it will require a commitment from the Biden administration to fixing the federal government’s out-of-date oil and gas leasing system and putting our communities before oil and gas CEOs.  Read full article