The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Drought, heat waves and wildfires have made climate disruption more visceral for many Americans this summer. We in the Southwest are struggling to get enough water from the Colorado River. We saw record-breaking temperatures in Arizona and, tragically, in the first half of this year, Pima County recorded 17 heat-related deaths, compared to seven in all of 2021. Those numbers do not include migrants who died in the desert, KGUN reported in July. The “world on fire” predictions of climate experts seem to be arriving early.
The major legislation recently signed into law — the Inflation Reduction Act — to supercharge climate investments is a crucial step toward a more sustainable economy and a healthier world. I commend Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema for supporting this act. I feel very hopeful when I think about 7.5 million more families being able to afford solar on their roofs, and many more benefiting from tax credits for energy-efficient appliances and electric vehicles. Seeing the moral necessity of moving to a cleaner world, the bill was backed by a broad range of stakeholders, including faith groups like the Catholic bishops from my own tradition.
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Our country needs to go deeper, however. This bill is a shift in our energy, but we also need a shift in our values.
We must realize we are interdependent on one another in this world. We share water and air. We share public health measures to combat viruses. We share a common home, and disruptions anywhere can reach all of us everywhere. This need not be a burden, but an opportunity to flourish together as one human family.
“There is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed,” Mahatma Gandhi said many decades ago and it seems even truer today. Humanity’s inventions have expanded our lives, but now it is time to question our economy and consumerism.
We can find the intersection of our values and how we spend our money. We can make conscious efforts to learn about the farms and factories where our food and clothes originate. As a person of faith, I believe that we are meant for deeper goals than raising the gross domestic product.
Pope Francis calls for “redefining our notion of progress,” so that we have a future that belongs to everyone. We have real progress when we invest in a safe and healthy future. All people of good will, regardless of faith, can see the environment as a gift; our ancestors handed it to us, and we have a moral responsibility to steward it for the next generation. I strive to instill this in our family values at home with three young children: How do our choices affect others? If we don’t take care of each other and make mindful choices, who will?
Pope Francis gets the last word: “A single question can keep our eyes fixed on the goal: What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?”
>Ellen Fisher is a Catholic mother of three, working for the Catholic University of America – Tucson Program.