'In Christ's resurrection, the earth itself arose.'

Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

March 29, 2024

Fr. Christopher Dabu demonstrates to Highly Hangoma the importance of planting trees to restore degraded land in Chirundu, a town in the southern region of Zambia, on March 6. (Doreen Ajiambo)

While there's no shortage of climate news that embodies narratives of unjust suffering and death — like Holy Week — several stories this week at EarthBeat align more with the ideas of resurrection and renewal that we find in the Easter season that begins this weekend.

Theologian and Sister of St. Joseph Elizabeth Johnson wrote in her 2014 book Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love: "It is as if Earth were undergoing its agony in the garden, about to be crucified, and we, the disciples of Jesus, are curled up fast asleep."

On a global and systemic scale, that often feels true. However, when we look closely at local communities in specific places, examples of people rising to the occasion to address the impacts of climate change in meaningful and effective ways abound.

Freelance journalist Shadrack Omuka writes from Kenya about the faith-based Mother Earth Network founded by Fr. Herman Borg that is working to restore the Maragoli Forest.

And Doreen Ajiambo, Africa and Middle East correspondent for Global Sisters Report, reports from Zambia — where she was on a climate change reporting fellowship with Catholic Relief Services — about how CRS Zambia is supporting farmers to restore soil nutrients to yield more crops as farms have become less fertile, caused in part by increased droughts and flooding exacerbated by climate change.

In both cases, efforts aimed at the restoration of ecosystems seek to contribute to the livelihood and flourishing of local communities, providing hope for the future of the land and those who call it home.

"In Christ's resurrection, the earth itself arose," writes Johnson in her book, quoting Ambrose of Milan. May this Easter season be filled with such stories of rebirth.

What else is new on EarthBeat:

Report: US Catholics say environmental justice important, but most unaware of Laudato Si'

by Gina Christian, OSV News

The massive copper mine that could test the limits of religious freedom

by Taylar Dawn Stagner, Grist

"Oak Flat is like Mount Sinai to us — our most sacred site where we connect with our Creator, our faith, our families and our land," said Wendsler Noise of Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit fighting to protect the area. "We vow to appeal to the Supreme Court."

What's happening in other climate news:

Florida is about to erase climate change from most of its laws —Kate Yoder for Grist

Athletes at This Summer's Paris Olympics Won't Have Air Conditioning —Laura Ratliff for Runner's World

How Two Top Car Salesmen Pitch EVs, One in Trump Country and One on Biden's Turf —Dan Gearino for Inside Climate News

Study: No top oil companies aligned with Paris climate goals —Zack Budryk for The Hill

The surprising reasons why Big Oil may not want a second Trump term —Maxine Joselow for The Washington Post

US awards record $6 billion to back industrial emissions reduction projects —Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson for Reuters

Final Beat:

Lent is coming to an end, but your vegetarian habits don't have to!

"As a vegan Catholic, I want to eat plant-based meals during Lent that serve as a way to abstain and fast prayerfully," said recipe developer Elizabeth Varga in a column for EarthBeat last year. "But vegan recipes can also be incredibly indulgent and celebratory — when Lent is over, and the church is feasting, I continue to abstain from meat and other animal-based products, but focus on more delicious and abundant recipes."

Revisit Varga's five indulgent plant-based recipes to feast on.

And earlier this month on EarthBeat, Kimberley Heatherington reported that if U.S. Catholics adopted the practice of abstaining from eating meat on every Friday of the year, it would have significant environmental impacts. According to research by John Hopkins' Center for a Livable Future, it would prevent more than 32 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions and save more than 20.5 trillion liters of water annually. Read more.

Thanks for reading EarthBeat!

Stephanie Clary
Environment Editor
National Catholic Reporter
sclary@ncronline.org
Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr