See ‘everything in creation as a brother or sister’

Cardinal Turkson video 2Watch WOSU Public Media’s video of Cardinal Turkson’s Nov. 2 talk at Ohio State by clicking the image. CFAES Dean Bruce McPheron speaks starting at 1:59, Ohio State President Michael V. Drake at 6:50, Cardinal Turkson at 10:02. Their “fireside chat” starts around 35:40.

‘Caring for our common home’

Greg Hitzhusen, an assistant professor in CFAES’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, wrote about Cardinal Peter Turkson’s Nov. 2 visit to Ohio State on his Faithful Earth Stewardship blog:

“The enthusiasm that greeted Cardinal Turkson reminds me of the spirit of my students in ENR 3470, Religion and Environmental Values in America … Their vision, creativity and energy will be a crucial ingredient if present and future generations are to rise to the challenges of caring for our common home.”

Turkson helped write the first draft of Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ encyclical on climate change and the environment. Hitzhusen served on the committee that helped organize Turkson’s visit.

Read his post.

Still time to get tickets for Cardinal Turkson’s talk on Monday

Cardinal Peter TurksonA reminder to get tickets while you still can for this Monday’s talk at Ohio State by Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. The title of his presentation is “How Are We to Live in Our Common Home? Reflections on Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Ecology.” He’s shown holding a copy of the document, whose title means “Praise be to you.” Learn more here. Get tickets here. Read Laudato Si’ here. (Photo: Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.)

On faith and being stewards of the Earth

JoAnne Viviano of the Columbus Dispatch reported on yesterday’s Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program, “Faiths Worldwide Tackle Environmental Challenges”:

The 20 Muslim youths who spent last weekend cleaning up Sullivant Avenue on the West Side as a community-service project were hoping to make their city a bit greener.

Some of the teens might own just one pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts. But for them, protecting the environment wasn’t something to deal with only after all their other needs were met.

Read the story …

Does nature have intrinsic value?

Does nature have value beyond what it provides people? CFAES researcher Jeremy Bruskotter and colleagues discussed that question in a recent Epoch Times article. A survey by the team in Ohio, for example, found that more than 82 percent of Ohioans acknowledged the intrinsic value of wildlife. In the same survey, more than 90 percent of people who strongly identified as “conservationists” acknowledged nature’s intrinsic value.

But if so very many of us believe in nature’s intrinsic value, then why do we seem to behave otherwise? … Why do we as a society make so many decisions that appear to be, or that actually are, inconsistent with the idea that nature possesses intrinsic value?

Read the article …

Sept. 28: Brundtland to speak on global sustainability

brundtland_gro-feature.bebb54ccOn Monday, Sept. 28, the Discovery Themes Provost’s Lecturer Program at Ohio State will present Gro Harlem Brundtland, an internationally known thought leader and advocate for human rights and a leading voice on climate change, sustainable development and global health issues. She will deliver “Our Common Future: Global Sustainability in the 21st Century” at 3:30 p.m. in Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St. in Columbus. The lecture is open to the public. Continue reading