Wait! Don’t leave the page! This is not another tree-hugger train-guy rant. Hear me out.
President-elect Biden has made the argument for weaning us off fossil-fuels, mostly for environmental reasons. Anybody who remotely believes in science or has witnessed the cataclysmic changes in our weather knows we must do something to stop global warming.
Jim Cameron
But I still drive a car (albeit a hybrid) and am not ready to give it up for a bicycle or skateboard like some crazed Gen-Z’er. We need cars to get around in Connecticut despite our meager attempts at mass transit… especially in the time of COVID.
My argument is that price of the fuel we use (gasoline) doesn’t cover the real cost to our environment (or each other) when we drive. Gasoline is too cheap.
Why does a gallon of gasoline, which moves us 20 – 50 miles (depending on your car’s efficiency), cost less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks? Enjoying your java doesn’t destroy the ozone layer.
Why does a gallon of gas in the U.S. cost roughly half of what it does in Canada? Or a third of the price in Europe?
The answer is taxes. Other nations put huge taxes on fuel and reinvest the proceeds into mass transit, subsidizing the fares.
OK, so you don’t want to take the train or a bus. That’s fine. Drive your car and enjoy the crowded highways… and our polluted air. Those are the cost of cheap fuel, too. Did you know that Connecticut’s air quality is, by many criteria, dirtier than Los Angeles’? Sure, a lot of that airborne crud is floating our way from New York City, but we’re not helping ourselves by adding to it. Nor are we aiding our residents who have conditions like asthma.
Caring parents obsess about protecting the health of their kids by buying organic food, but drive to the supermarket to acquire it in SUVs. There seems no incentive for buying a car, truck or SUV that uses less fuel with gas prices so low.
When I visit Europe again (soon, I hope) I won’t see SUVs, but smaller, cleaner, much more fuel efficient cars. With the higher price of gasoline reflecting the actual cost of driving, European motorists don’t waste fuel the way we do. The oil companies get it. That’s why BP (British Petroleum) is investing in solar and wind, expecting to produce 40% less fossil fuels in the next decade.
Wall Street also understands it, witness the more than quadrupling in the share price of Tesla (maker of electric cars) in the last year.
So why don’t we get it? Why is gasoline so cheap? Depending on whom you talk to, we have about 47 years worth of oil left before we run out. That assumes current consumption levels. If we use less, it will last longer. That’s why the price of gasoline should go up so we are incentivized to drive less in smaller cars and make our oil last longer while we transition to renewables, right?
Of course, what do we care? We won’t be around when the oil runs out. That, along with the rising sea level and coastal flooding, will be the next generation’s problem. I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Good luck, kids.
Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media. Jim Cameron is founder of The Commuter Action Group, and a member of the Darien Representative Town Meeting.
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The five-year programme, announced on Tuesday, aims to improve maternal and newborn health in some of the communities with the highest mortality rates in Eastern and Southern Africa.
It will start in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya, and later expand to other countries in the region.
“Investing in the health of women and children is a smart investment”, said Mohamed M. Malick Fall, the Regional Director for UNICEF.
“Indeed, investing in the health of the poorest children and communities saves nearly twice as many lives as equivalent investments.”
Although the world has witnessed very promising progress in maternal and neonatal health over the past decades, maternal and newborn mortality rates in the Eastern and Southern Africa region remain alarming, according to UNICEF.
In 2017, roughly 70,000 women there died due to complications during pregnancy and birth, while in 2019, more than 440,000 newborns died in the first 28 days after birth.
“Our new partnership with Laerdal Global Health will bring investment, research and innovation to help improve the delivery of quality health services”, said Mr. Fall.
“Additionally, the partnership will seek new solutions to avert preventative maternal and newborn deaths.”
Scaling-up to save lives
Together with governments, UNICEF and Laerdal Global Health will provide training for 10,000 health workers, focusing on safe pregnancy and births, by 2025.
The partners will implement the ‘Helping Mothers Survive and Helping Babies Survive’ training programmes, which are designed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in low-resource settings.
The trainings are based on simulation methodology and will equip health professionals with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed, said UNICEF. They also have a “refresher component”, thus ensuring long-term and sustainable capacity building.
UNICEF will contribute lifesaving equipment for newborns and training of health workers, while Laerdal Global Health will provide educational materials and simulators through the company’s ‘Buy One, Gift One’ scheme for customers in high-income countries.
In 2012, Laerdal Medical established a ‘Buy One, Gift One’ initiative, “where birth simulators sold in high-income countries support training programmes in low-resource settings”, said Tore Laerdal, Chairman for Laerdal.
“We look forward to our cooperation with UNICEF where we will use a combination of on-site and remote learning solutions to contribute to scaling-up more efficient training modules that can save lives.”
PORT-AU-PRINCE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti welcomes a contribution of €2 million from the European Union (EU) that will provide emergency cash assistance to 27,000 severely food insecure people over four months and support the coordination of humanitarian actors on food security and cash-based interventions.
This new funding will enable WFP to expand cash assistance in the Nord-Ouest department, where food insecurity has reached one of the highest levels in the country. Currently, at least 4 million Haitians face hunger, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) study – and almost one in four among them is in dire need of food assistance.
“The European Union’s commitment to food security in Haiti is firm and we are grateful for this strong partnership,” said Pierre Honnorat, WFP Country Director in Haiti. “Partnerships like the one between WFP and the EU are critical to save lives in acute crises such as this pandemic,” he added.
WFP and the EU partnered earlier this year to bring emergency cash assistance to 90,000 people in the Nord-Ouest, Nord, Artibonite and Ouest departments. Thanks to this support, families were able to buy their preferred food on local markets, supporting merchants and farmers in their community.
Haiti’s protracted economic crisis has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing many families deeper into poverty and hunger. High food prices, an economic slowdown and a decrease in remittances from abroad have made it difficult for many Haitians to put food on the table.
This year WFP has reached 365,000 Haitians with emergency food rations and cash assistance.
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
On Tuesday, Christians were presented an opportunity to delve deeper into the spirit of Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical letter Fratelli tutti, through a webinar hosted by the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO).
The online formation session, guided by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, was streamed live via the Facebook account of the women’s organization. Participation was open not only WUCWO member organizations around the world, but also to the general public.
At its peak, the participants numbered around 55, with people from different continents actively following the session.
One distinctive trait of Fratelli Tutti, Cardinal Tagle explained, is that it forms a triad with two other encyclicals – all three unified by the memory of Saint Francis of Assisi. The first, Evangelii Gaudium, is inspired by the request Saint Francis received from God to rebuild the Church. Pope Francis, echoed this by creating the idea of a vision in which the Church in the 21st century is “re-built” through the joy of the Gospel. The second, Laudato sí, outlines our shared r,esponsibility for our common home. The third, Fratelli tutti, invites us to social friendship and to be brothers and sisters to one another.
A methodology that is a spiritual vision
Cardinal Tagle highlighted that the Pope adopts a methodology in Fratelli tutti that involves: first, reading and analysing the situation, the signs and trends of the present world; next, the interpretation of the present times in the light of faith, with discernment and judgment; and third, responding – going beyond seeing and analysing to construct a world that is a better place to live in. The last step leads to ecclesiology – a vision of the Church at the service of our brothers and sister.
“Some would say that this is not just a method but a spiritual vision” Cardinal Tagle added.
Looking at the world today
Cardinal Tagle highlighted that the Encyclical calls us to take notice of the current signs in the world today, especially a lack of brotherhood and sisterhood. It also calls us to be honest in declaring that these signs are “often hidden” and “clothed beautifully in order to hide the destruction that is happening in the human family.”
“We should be attentive to how the poor, the forgotten, the neglected are all the more suffering in this throwaway culture,” which happens within a mentality and context of “being closed” to others.
These signs are visible, he said, “from the perspective of the poor” including the migrants, women, the girl child, victims of human trafficking, among others.
Universal love
The Cardinal noted that a fundamental part of the Pope’s vision of a world open to brotherhood and sisterhood is universal love,and said that only through it can we make social friendship possible.
“Universal love is openness to the other as opposed to being closed in on oneself – on my group, on my family, on my culture on my community… Love is a form of seeking union with others. Love sees the value of the others; love celebrates the worth of the others… Love sees what is best for others.”
It is different from mere romanticism or idealism, Cardinal Tagle affirmed: “This is how God loves! This is how God has manifested Himself! This is how Jesus loves and even died for all! This is how the Spirit blows! God who is love is total, full openness.
This, he added, is also illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan which the Pope refers to in Fratelli tutti. The openness of the Samaritan led him to come close to the stranger left on the roadside and treat him like a brother. The Samaritan also invited others – the innkeeper – to become an instrument of universal love by taking care of the injured stranger.
The importance of responding
Cardinal Tagle warned that universal love without genuine response risks remaining a mere concept or a slogan.
Response, he continued, keeps the tension between the specific concrete person and the common dignity of all human beings. Because “you cannot enter the dignity of all human beings without entering into concrete, specific human beings.”
He noted that the Pope speaks of social friendship – applying it to local cultures which should be developed and appreciated but must be open to universal solidarity which does not eliminate the uniqueness of every culture.
Cardinal Tagle went on to note that social friendship can be made concrete in dealing with private property for example, pointing out that property should never be absolutized at the expense of the common good. He also noted that social friendship can inspire national politics and political charity in international relations, guiding countries against the trap of populism and the misuse of the people to promote narrow ideologies and agendas that create division.
In addition, the Holy Father also speaks of forgiveness, referring to the experience of mothers who always forgive erring children. Cardinal Tagle pointed out that forgiveness – though a grace – should not deny justice or forget the horrors inflicted on others, but rather refuse to remain closed in hatred and vindictiveness even towards the greatest criminal.
The call to all, Cardinal Tagle said, is to find our place as Christians in fraternity and sorority through our friendly relationships with peoples of other religions or other faiths. This is done through dialogue and a “culture of encounter” in openness and loving.
Concrete suggestions
Cardinal Tagle proposed some steps to inspire concrete responses to the appeals in Fratelli tutti.
He highlighted the importance of the formation of the character of the human, Christian heart at both the individual and collective level. He noted that the Encyclical inspires us to confront the biases that hinder us from being open.
Secondly, the Cardinal said that since cultures are inspired by human beings, we, as human beings, should invest in the transformation of policies, institutions and cultures that have been accepted as normal.
Thirdly, addressing the WUCWO directly, he suggested collecting the stories of women – of women who have suffered but refused to close their hearts and doors – stories of universal sisterhood that affirm the validity of the Encyclical with narratives that go beyond theories.
Concluding, the Cardinal invited all to look to Jesus and his ministry and earthly life, inspiring ourselves from how he related with “outsiders” whom he “treated like brothers and sisters” – Zaccheus, Matthew, the Syrophoenician woman, the woman from Samaria at the well and the promise of paradise to the thief hanging by Jesus’ side on the cross.
The EU must consider establishing Brussels as the sole base of the European parliament, breaking its historic links to Strasbourg, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, an internal report has advised.
The decision would involve a treaty change and a major row with the French government but the study’s authors say it is clear the EU needs to “rationalise” despite the symbolic importance of the Alsatian city as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation.
The parliament sits in Strasbourg for three and a half days 12 times a year, involving a monthly grand déménagement of 2,400 MEPs, assistants, drivers and parliament staff, along with journalists and lobbyists. MEPs and their staff otherwise work in Brussels and their constituencies.
The report, commissioned by the parliament’s environment committee, argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has provided an “image on how working and operational conditions of the European parliament could look like in 2030”.
To the frustration of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the parliament has not sat in Strasbourg since February because of the health crisis. He has recently claimed that if the parliament does not return to Strasbourg, the EU will be “screwed”.
According to the authors of the report, a decision on the future of Strasbourg, which only has a small number of permanent staff working even during normal times, should be taken within six to nine years.
“Instead of its current three sites [Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg], in a carbon neutrality pathway, it is evident that the European parliament needs to consider operation in one site,” the authors from the EU’s directorate general for internal policies write.
“Although the emission difference for the MEPs’ travel from their home to Brussels or Strasbourg is not big, additional emissions are associated for example with the travelling of staff, stakeholders, journalists, lobbyists, etc.”
The reassessment is said to be one of a number of measures necessary to achieve domestic carbon emission neutrality by 2030, a target passed in a resolution of the chamber, the report says.
The parliament claims to be emission-neutral on the basis that it offsets its carbon footprint through financial payments to energy conservation projects in Ghana, Uganda and Malawi.
The report notes that the European parliament has made repeated recommendations in favour of ending the Strasbourg sittings.
Previous economic studies have found thatterminating the link with the French city could generate annual savings of €114m plus a one-off saving of €616m if the buildings were sold off.
The seats of the parliament are determined under article 341 of the 1992 treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The formal seat of the European parliament is in Strasbourg, and Brussels and Luxembourg are “working places”. Luxembourg hosts the parliament’s secretariat.
Any modification would require a treaty change, with the consent of all the member states.
In September, Macron told students in Lithuania that he was “fighting tooth and nail for the idea that the European parliament should meet in Strasbourg”.
“If we accept that the European parliament only meets in Brussels, we are screwed – because in 10 years everything will be in Brussels and people will only speak among themselves in Brussels,” he told students at the University of Vilnius. “But Europe does not represent this idea, the idea is for everyone to respect each other, for one to go toward the other”.
Speaking, via a video message, at the launch of the Fund, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed described safe sanitation and hygiene as “critical to the response that we want to see, first, because it is about human dignity; second, it is a health issue.”
4 billion people worldwide do not have access to safely managed sanitation services, and until they do, the world cannot meet the goals of inclusive and sustainable development by 2030.
Many of the world’s most serious diseases stem from poor sanitation and hygiene, the coronavirus pandemic has blown the lid off this fact, with over three billion lacking access to basic hand washing facilities – a key action to keep the virus at bay.
“Basic hygiene of washing your hands and being able to have a toilet that is accessible is key [to enabling healthy communities] in the longer term,” stressed Ms. Mohammed.
The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is hosted by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), a specialized UN entity providing service, technical advice and implementing projects for the Organization and partners globally.
A global financing mechanism, the Fund will provide accelerated funding to countries with the heaviest burden and least ability to respond, focusing on four strategic objectives: expanding household sanitation; ensuring menstrual health and hygiene; providing sanitation and hygiene in schools and healthcare facilities; and supporting innovative sanitation solutions.
It aims to raise $2 billion over the next five years to support the efforts.
‘A great equalizer’
Even though proper sanitation is at the core of development to any community, family or individual, over 600 million schools and countless households do not toilets and many lack basic sanitation services.
Terming sanitation and hygiene as “a great equalizer for children”, Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), called on countries to treat sanitation as a public good.
“During a lockdown, how do you cope with the fact that your household does not have a toilet? This is particularly difficult for girls and women. If everyone had access to sanitation and hygiene in households, in their schools, in their health facilities and communities, it would make an enormous difference in our world,” she said.
“Good sanitation has to be a public good. Governments have to own the fact that sanitation is their problem to solve, and that they have ways to solve it,” added Ms. Fore.
“The Economy of Francesco is a really innovative event,” says Si Chun Lam, one of the young people taking part in the meeting.
Pope Francis, he says, is hoping that the young economists, entrepreneurs and change makers, as well as some of the world’s leading minds that have been invited to take part in the event will “come up with some ideas for the global economy that serves all humanity and all creation.”
In an interview with Vatican News, Si Chun says, “What’s really quite special” about the Economy of Francesco “is that, instead of having the leading minds teach and lecture us, they’re invited here to listen. They’re listening to our ideas as young people… about our ideas to transform the global economy.”
Reflecting on happiness and human flourishing
The participants of the event have been grouped into twelve thematic “villages” dealing with topics such as finance, the economy, women, and family.
Si Chun took part in the Policies and Happiness Village, which focused on individual and social welfare, relations in families, communities and cities. In the lead up to the final meeting, members of the Policies and Happiness Village learned about, shared, and debated ideas “about what makes our life full of purpose, how our current economic models can hinder and limit our ability to fully prosper.”
After “many hours” online and in Zoom chats “developing and nurturing those ideas and offshoots into practical proposals,” says Si Chun, the group “met” in October to choose their “very, very best ideas” to bring to the main event.”
Listen t o the interview with Si Chun Lam
Inspired by penguins
Si Chun says his Village’s ideas are “about how we can really invest in relationships, invest in spending that time to build and nurture relationships to create the flourishing new global economy where everybody can take part.”
The first, he says, was inspired by penguins.
“Why penguins?” he asks, admitting that the idea sounds “a bit strange.”
He explains that penguins are “able to build sustainable colonies that don’t just survive, but they thrive in the most inhospitable and challenging environments. And that actually teaches us as humanity a lesson about how we can build thriving small to medium cities where we can be better connected to each other, and also to creation.”
Maps that include rather than divide
The group’s second idea focuses on mapping, and turning the very idea of maps on its head. On a normal map one sees boundary lines that divide people and place from one another.
“Our proposal turns this around, by using maps in an inclusive way to draw up what connects us,” says Si Chun. “It creates a bit of a narrative where it’s about unity in place of division.”
Helping future generations flourish
Finally, Si Chun says the Village wanted to find ways to promote human flourishing by encouraging decision makers “to support policies that ensure future generations can flourish.” This, he says, means looking beyond the concrete, present realities, like the gross domestic project; and even going beyond broader notions such as human development, and instead “looking to the future.”
It involves “nourishing things that protect the future. Like nature. Like beauty. Like curiosity. And like being able to dream about the future, and of course things like equality and participation as well,” Si Chun says.
Passionate about making the world a better place
Si Chun says the experience of the Economy of Francesco has helped him gain “a bit of a network and connection with other like-minded individuals around the world who are also really passionate about how we can make the world a better place.”
He also notes the “prayerful” and “positive” atmosphere of the event, saying he and the other participants were able to really reflect on the words of the Gospel and the Bible, as well as the encyclicals of Pope Francis.
“So, really I think that’s what I really gained,” he says, “that bit of network, that prayerful approach and that bit of positivity and hope in quite a difficult time with the pandemic and everything as well.”
Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said on Monday during an international ministerial conference that religion is a “vector of unity against divisions.”
The minister participated in the Third Ministerial Conference on the “instrumentalization growth of religion for terrorist purposes in the context of the pandemic,” hosted by Poland and the US.
In an address via videoconference, the minister said Morocco’s conviction is that religion is hijacked when it should be a “vector of unity in the face of divisions advocating the negation of the other.”
For Morocco, religion should also be “a factor of dialogue in the face of the rejection of tolerance and coexistence and a source of light in the face of obscurantist currents which refuse moderation and remain in ignorance.”
Bourita also recalled that Morocco’s model of religious tolerance centered around three aspects: Clairvoyance, openness, and pragmatism.
Referring to clairvoyance, the minister said King Mohammed VI has stressed that religion is “no longer an alibi for the ignorant, because religion is light, knowledge, and wisdom.”
In terms of openness, Morocco’s foreign minister recalled the meeting of King Mohammed VI and Pope Francis in 2019, saying that the trip came at a time “when the world needed a renewed leadership for a dialogue between religions.”
Pope Francis’ visit to Morocco was deemed as historic. The visit marked the Moroccan monarch and the pope’s appeal — or the Al Quds Call — emphasizing the sacred character of Jerusalem.
Regarding pragmatism, the minister vowed that Morocco’s commitment to religious freedom is based on concrete actions.
“Morocco has set up two flagship insitutions to promote the values of a tolerant Islam: the Mohammed VI Insitute for the training of Imams, Mourchidines, and Mourchidates and the Mohammed VI Foundatin of African Ulema,” he underlined.
Thousands of imams come from foreign countries, including from states across Africa, to benefit from Morocco’s training programs.
Several reports lauded Morocco’s approach, including those from the US Department of State.
“Morocco’s approach [to religion] is always constant, even in difficult times,” Bourita said.
The minister aso spoke of Morocco’s “courage and determination” to protect Jews from Nazism during World War I. Decades later, Morocco continues to support its Jewish community and heritage through the renovation of synagogues and cemeteries and the creation of scientific and cultural institutions, including the House of Memory in Essaouira and the Museum of Jewish Culture in Fez.
Bourita concluded his speech with a quote from King Mohammed VI, who called during the visit of Pope Francis for an embrace of “the values of moderation to achieve the imperatives of co-knowledge and to apprehend the awareness of otherness” to live in a better world.
.png?itok=NGRNv-b2&w=696&resize=696,0&ssl=1 "New funding from the European Union helps WFP tackle severe hunger in Haiti")
