Participants should be prepared to journal, as they will be asked to reflect and record their thoughts during the sessions.
Choose one of the two options for opening prayer. There is a short prayer in the text of the Self Study Guide for Session 1. There is also a longer prayer resource available here.
Several slides are available for this session, if you choose to use them. They cover the definition of extractivism (two slides), the Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting, Deep Transformation process (three slides) and Contemplative Dialogue (one slide).
The content in Definitions of Extractivism will be relevant for all the sessions in this process. It is that participants have a good understanding of this material. There may be times during future sessions when it is helpful to revisit these resources.
Outline for Session 1
Welcome, Introductions and Prayer
Welcome participants and introduce the theological reflection process. If this is the first gathering of this group, consider spending time doing introductions. Then, lead the opening prayer you have selected.
Defining Extractivism
Read aloud the definition of extractivism, or ask a volunteer to do so. (Two of the optional slides can be used here.)
Extractivism is a destructive and exploitative model of development
that extracts natural resources on a massive scale,
disrupts or destroys biodiversity,
impacts global ecosystems, and
devastates the health and well-being of local communities,
while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few
Read each of the phrases in the definition again, asking the group to pay attention to the adjectives and circle them in their minds.
Invite participants to pause and then journal on the following questions:
What feelings stir within you?
What questions surface for you?
Read each phrase in the definition again, asking the group to pay attention to the verbs and circle them in their minds.
Again, iInvite participants to pause and then journal on the following questions:
What feelings stir within you?
What questions surface for you?
After sufficient time has been offered for journaling, invite everyone to share one feeling, thought, insight or question from their reflection.
Defining the Process
Introduce the process of Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting, Deep Transformation using the overview from the Self-Study Guide, the optional slides or this summary:
We will “see” what extractivism is and how it impacts people, communities, and Earth. The word “see” here connotes “deep listening, a seeking to understand.” Here we will decenter ourselves and listen carefully and attentively to the stories and experiences of those most impacted by extractivism. After deep reflection, we “judge,” that is, analyze what our response needs to be. Finally, we will determine how we might be transformed by what we have heard and learned. We discern how we might act in response to extractivism.
Preparation for Session 2
Prior to Session 2, all participants should read Deep Listening from the Self Study Guide found here. In addition to the reading material, a focus of this session is the video “In Defence of Life” (33 mins). You should either instruct participants to watch the video prior to Session 2 or make arrangements to watch it together during the session.
As our journey into Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting and Deep Transformation is never fully completed, we need to pause occasionally to look for opportunities to take action in solidarity with people, communities and Earth.
We hope that you find the resources below helpful in discerning ways to address extractivism.
Additionally, since extractivism has very local impacts, we suggest focusing your efforts on what is happening in your local community. Seek out organizations working with communities threatened by extractive industries. Get on their mailing lists and discern where your skills, time and knowledge can best be utilized.
We would love to know how you choose to take action and to hear about the fruits of your actions. You may email us at justice@sistersofmercy.org.
Webinar recording: “Awakening to a New Consciousness on Extractivism.” Sisters in Panama, the Philippines and the United States and an associate in Guyana talk about their struggles against the harms of mining, oil and gas drilling and other forms of extraction of natural resources in their communities.
Inter-religious Working Group on Extractive Industries
This coalition responds to extractivism with education, advocacy on federal policy in the United States, and solidarity with impacted communities. This backgrounder on extractivism explains why people of faith are called to engage this issue and suggests avenues for action.
Call to Prayer
We place ourselves in God’s Divine presence, deep within and all around us. We take a breath and breathe in the air that is essential for life and breathe out the dangers of polluted air. We place our feet firmly on the ground and hear the cry of Earth beneath our feet, her moans and aches from the cracks and holes that have been created below the surface and her cries of grief from the species that have been taken. We look around to those who are here with us and center ourselves in the cries of those whose voices may be muffled by the power and greed of our world. May our ears be opened to the cries, may our eyes be opened to the damage and may our hearts and minds be open to change. Amen.
In answering the challenges of our times, we begin by listening deeply to the experiences of those traumatized and most impacted by extractivism and to our own experiences. We reflect and learn from these experiences by placing ourselves in a new light. The process of conversion begins when we experience the unexpected in ourselves and in the vulnerability of the other.
These inner and outward encounters unsettle our own habitual ways of thinking and acting. We begin “to see what we have made invisible.” In effect, when we become “seared by an experience,” we are compelled to change and to address systemic change. We realize that the small steps of our own conversion keep us personally engaged in larger collective decisions that are needed in a world where supply and demand shape the forces that entrap people who are most vulnerable.
Among the vulnerable are the rural Indigenous peoples struggling against corporate pollution of their waters, land and air; the economically impoverished urban people struggling to acquire daily food; and the refugees fleeing desperate situations often entrapped in border places. It cannot go unnoticed that most of these communities are Black, indigenous and other persons of color. Our Earth is among the most vulnerable, suffocating with explosive human consumption and multi-national greed.
This exploration of extractivism calls us to seek a more intense union with God through contemplative dialogue and through a cyclic process of conversion. In this kairos time, God asks us together to engage our prophetic voice. As we enter into this study, we seek to learn more about extractivism and the systems that maintain it, about its effects, and move toward a conversion that leads to common action. Through our prophetic collective action, we will challenge ourselves: How do we choose to stand together as a whole on the critical issue of extractivism?
Extractivism is a destructive and exploitative model of development that extracts natural resources on a massive scale, disrupts or destroys biodiversity, impacts global ecosystems, and devastates the health and well-being of local communities, while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few.
This process takes an integral approach, engaging us in three ways:
Deep listening in which we hear personal and communal experiences that bring the effects of extractivism to life;
Deep reflection on these experiences and on the root causes and effects of extractivism that is grounded in our theology and our social analysis; and
Deep transformation as we discern how to act at this moment in time.
We will rely on intercultural and interdisciplinary lenses that shift power out of dominant Western worldviews and theologies. We will look to engage the whole body: mind, heart, flesh, hands and feet, understanding that knowledge is not located exclusively in the head, nor solely in facts and figures and scientific data. We are summoned to listen to the stories our whole body reveals to us. Even so, we cannot dismiss empirical data, as this information shows us what our bodies do not: the invisible poison in the crystal-clear river as it works its way down the mountain, the unseen toxins in the air that does not obscure our view of healthy trees, or the hidden contaminants in a deliciously crunchy apple.
We begin by listening deeply to experience, our lived reality and the lived reality from the perspective of peoples, communities and Earth impacted by extractive industries. Deep listening is listening with the heart. We move ourselves deeper by reflecting on these experiences. Deep reflection is letting go of preconceived ideas and norms so we are open to others’ ways of interpreting reality, which compels us to deepen our understanding of the root causes and real effects of extractivism. We will use the lens of eco-feminist theology of liberation rather than the dominant theological lens of the global North. This lens moves us out of the boundaries and dominations of Western analytical processes to include the wisdom, experiences and mediums – such as art, poetry, story and song – meaningful to those who live on the margins of society. The lens of an eco-feminist theology of liberation has risen from within the global south in its struggle against the interventions of the global north, and it will compel us to see differently.
By listening and reflecting deeply, we identify the ways we are called to respond. We engage God’s desires for a deeper communion between ourselves and God, a deeper communion with our neighbors, especially persons made poor by extractive industries, and a deeper communion with Earth and all of creation. Through this process, we are then called into Deep Transformation, a change personally, communally and corporately, to be in solidarity with and responsive to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalized.
This threefold process requires deep listening, deep reflection and deep transformation, and it compels us on both a personal and communal level to respond to God’s call for a new consciousness. It is not a linear progression, but a circular movement, going deeper by listening and reflecting, and coming back to our experience, and going yet deeper again as the cycle progresses through our conversation together and we come into a place of transformation.
Resistance to Change and the Power of Habits
Resistance to change, the power of habits and our support of exploitative systems are among the greatest hurdles we face as we seek to transform ourselves, our communities and our world. To effect real change, we need to understand and engage in change and transformation within ourselves while we seek systemic change and transformation in the world. We cannot challenge extractivism while in the same breath we support it through our daily habits and in our collective decisions. Fear and the complexity of the issue can paralyze our responses unless we follow the lead of those most impacted and their creative responses already underway to address the problems of extractivism. In short, there is hope and a way forward.
As Sisters of Mercy, we developed this material to renew our commitment to our Critical Concerns: Earth, immigration, nonviolence, racism and women. We invite you to join us in challenging ourselves on a daily basis to reflect on our habitual ways of thinking and acting, and at times, choosing to disrupt old habits and form new beneficial ones for the common good. We invite you to engage in this personal transformation when you pray, make choices about what you buy and how you live your daily lives and where you decide to collectively invest; when you educate yourselves and others in addressing these intersecting concerns; when you advocate with legislators and leaders; and when you invest resources to effect systemic change.
Deepening Our Commitment to Conversion
Two major environmental crises of our times unfolded in 2019-2020. In 2019, the burning of the Amazon rainforest, rightly called the lungs of the planet, accelerated. Driven by economic interest, land was and continues to be cleared for cattle ranching and for mineral extraction. The first highway built deep into the Amazon has paved the way for massive destruction of old- growth forests and substantial intrusions into the lands of indigenous peoples. The horrors perpetrated on the indigenous communities led to Pope Francis’ call for the Amazon Synod (October 6-27, 2019). Catholic bishops gathered to listen to the cries of the people who lived and worked in the Amazon. The Catholic Church found itself called to new paths of conversion.
Beginning in March 2020, we faced the unprecedented crisis of a global pandemic. The world was shuttered by a new coronavirus (COVID-19). Daily habits were disrupted, and we were compelled to learn new behaviors. While we were forced to stay home, Earth experienced a mild but measurable healing from our lack of activity. Reduced gas emissions worldwide resulted in cleaner air, bringing back views of our world once obscured in haze. But the behaviors we engaged in then did not all become new Earth-friendly habits once COVID subsided. And so, the warming of the planet continues on its trajectory.
The density of human population and its need for food and energy will intensify as the destruction of the natural world increases. Humans and their communities will persist in overstepping boundaries and encroaching on the habitats of wildlife. As a result, we will see not only the destruction of natural lands and forests as we have seen in the Amazon, but also a continual threat and a rise in frequency of more deadly viruses that originate when humans and domesticated animals “encounter” wildlife. Viruses such as MERS and SARS, and probably now the infamous COVID-19, have been linked to human encounters with bats. COVID-19 in its earliest phase threatened black and indigenous communities with alarming rates of infections and deaths. Viruses probably will alter our world even more in the years to come as climate change and human activity continue to disrupt ecosystems.
A third crisis, while not a new reality, challenges us. The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged longstanding systemic racism in the United States, and particularly racism perpetrated on Black communities. Racial violence fueled first by the historic brutality of slavery was followed by Jim Crow laws and lynching mobs that enforced systemic racism and racial segregation. The Black Lives Matter movement made visible the persistent forms of systemic racism still existing today, especially the inherent racism in our judicial and police systems. Environmental racism and racism embedded in financial structures and the extractive development model is seen when affordable housing and schools serving Black communities are located in old chemical- and waste-dumping grounds. In an area dubbed Cancer Alley in Louisiana, industries along the Mississippi River continue to decimate the health of Black communities. Underlying health conditions and lack of access to affordable healthcare surface are yet another effect of systemic racism. Black people died from COVID in disproportionate numbers. Thousands joined the Black Lives Matter movement to challenge these forms of structural, systemic and environmental racism.
As we struggle with the destruction of the Amazon and with the ongoing impact of COVID, and as we join in the challenge to address personal and systemic racism, we also face the unmitigated forces of extractive industries. Unrestrained extractivism takes many forms, and it affects the whole network of ecosystems, including our own. Extracting minerals and energy or extracting human labor, or extracting members of the community of life all severely disrupt and even eliminate ecosystems. They result in the poisoning of water, land and air and the displacement of whole communities. .
The most vulnerable especially Earth, laborers and the displaced are deemed expendable, with the greatest damage done to those already marginalized by race, ethnicity and money. Minerals and energy are not replenishable. There is no cycle of life, no planting and replanting as with the food cycle. There is only taking of Earth’s limited resources. With extractivism, ecosystems will continue to be radically changed, even destroyed, speeding up the climate emergency and its effects.
As we struggle to cope with the true cost of these challenges, we must engage in hard conversations and decisions and the reframing of our understanding. It is difficult to change values and habits and sustain new ones when we go it alone and are listening predominantly to the loudest voice and extractive industries who continue to make the business case for extractives. It is important to share in the process by which we challenge and change, but to do so in a way that inspires us. Such inspiration will keep us committed and engaged, while fear and anxiety will serve only to paralyze us.
We are in a new kairos moment. We are called to wake up or risk losing something indefinitely. This space of hope compels us forward so that we do not get stuck in a place of fear and anxiety. We begin by exploring the underlying values and inspirations that have already compelled us to change our habitual way of thinking and acting. We ask ourselves: What ways have we already changed and deepened our consciousness in favor of Earth’s health? In what ways have our current actions led to deeper changes?
Called to a New Consciousness: The Journey of Transformation
We long to live in right relationship with all people and with all of creation. This compels us to seek out a new way of seeing, a new consciousness. In this time, we are part of a global system that perpetuates the destructive effects of extractive industries along with their devastating impact on people, communities and Earth. The core business and the extractive development model of fossil fuel companies, mining companies and other companies focused on extraction of natural resources are inherently hazardous to people, communities and Earth. They have devastating impacts on water, land, air, biodiversity which has seen an 80% loss globally, and on the very life force of Mother Earth. It is a primary cause of our climate crisis. Respect for our interdependence with all creation is ruptured by extractive industries.
Indigenous peoples, who have lived for thousands of years in the lands of present-day Latin America, are victims of extractivism. They have experienced death threats, assassinations of beloved leaders and family members, and the destruction and poisoning of their sacred land, air and water. Whole communities have been forced out of their homes and land. Members of Black, brown and indigenous communities in the United States often must choose between their own physical wellbeing and their financial security when making economically disadvantageous decisions to leave an area where fossil fuel companies operate with no regard for environmental impact.
The call to a new consciousness by exploring and responding to extractivism is a challenging one. It requires us to move out of our habitual ways of thinking and acting, which for many of is us driven by Western thinking and economic models. It requires us to engage in new experiences that unsettle us and summon us to listen deeply to what stirs in us. And it calls us to critically examine the ideologies, prejudices and assumptions that inform our worldview.
Questions tug at our hearts: What makes it difficult for me to move out of my comfort zone? What keeps me there? What attracts me if I let go? What gives me joy in choosing differently? Whose stories do I not hear? What does a commitment to climate integrity ask of me at this time? It calls us to a more engaged solidarity especially with Black, indigenous and people of color, who are disproportionately impacted by extractives industries. It asks us to reclaim our interdependence and harmony with Earth and to understand deeply the devastating impact of extractive industries on the flourishing of the whole community of life.
The journey toward a new consciousness opens us in vulnerable ways so we can hear, center and respond to the cries of the poor and of Earth. In this journey of little conversions, we will find ourselves changing our habitual ways of understanding, thinking and acting. Systemic change does not begin with some grand transformation; it begins with a new understanding and these little conversions. While we move to claim our prophetic voice and prophetic actions, we remember that deeper transformation must be held and sustained by our solidarity with those most impacted by extractive industries, especially communities of color, and by an engaged and supportive community. This deep kind of transformation calls us to live together more conscientiously on an individual, communal and corporate level.
So how do we begin this journey toward a new consciousness around extractivism? And how will we empower our new consciousness through acts of solidarity with Earth and her suffering peoples?
Reflection Questions
As we begin, we will see what extractivism is and how it impacts people, communities, and Earth. The word “see” here connotes deep listening, a seeking to understand. Here we will de-center ourselves and listen carefully and attentively to the stories and experiences of those most impacted by extractivism. After deep reflection, we judge, that is, analyze what our response needs to be. Finally, we will determine how we might be transformed by what we have heard and learned. We discern how we might act in response to extractivism.
Start by reflecting on the following questions regarding personal and communal conversions that you have engaged in previously after hearing the cries of the poor and the cries of Earth. Take time to reflect on how far you have come, what compelled you to change and perhaps what holds you back from deeper transformation. Do you own personal reflection and journaling on these questions:
Whose stories have you heard or read that have recentered your thinking towards the cry of Earth and cry of the poor? How have you found those stories?
What concrete action have you committed to that changed a past habit or behavior in answering the cries of Earth (e.g., energy and water waste monitoring)?
How have these changes called for a radical shift in how you live your daily life, such as an awareness of the amount of water used when showering or gas used when driving?
How have these changes led you to acts of advocacy either through education or seeking policy changes in institutions and governments, responding to action alerts calling for just transition to renewables or campaigns to keep fossil fuels in the ground?
Welcome to Awakening to a New Consciousness on Extractivism, a resource developed by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. This process will help participants delve deeply into the issues surrounding extractivism, including personal and societal complicity in the practices involved.
Extractivism is a destructive model of development that extracts minerals, metals, oils, gas and coal on a massive scale. We have come to understand it also extends to commercial over-fishing, deforestation for agricultural commodities and taking of land for tourism. In all its forms this model disrupts or destroys biodiversity, damages global ecosystems and devastates the health and well-being of local communities, while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few.
This material helps participants to:
Deeply listen to the experiences of those most impacted by extractive industries;
Deeply engage in theological reflection and social analysis;
Prepare for deep transformation of individuals and communities;
Take action on behalf of all creation.
Materials
Designed for use over six sessions, this process offers several ways for individuals and groups to engage in theological reflection.
The 48-minute overview can be used as a stand-alone educational component or an extended introduction to the full process.
Individuals can use the self-study materials, resources and reflection questions to explore the issue of extractivism at their own pace.
The group process provides a facilitation guide for religious communities, parishes/congregations and other small groups to engage in education, reflection and discussion together.
Process Overview
The video provides a general overview of the issues connected to extractivism. The self-study and the group process provide the resources that you need to move through deep listening, deep reflecting and deep transformation on your own or with others. We strongly encourage you not to skip any of these steps since they build upon one another to challenge your thinking and lead you to more thoughtful responses.
Options
We invite you to choose how you want to access this rich compilation of resources: the video, the self-study or the group process. Select the one you want to use from the tiles displayed below.
Video Presentation
Use as a condensed version of the program or as an extended introduction.
Use as a condensed version of the program or as an extended introduction.
When you have completed your choice of engagement, we invite you to check out the More Resources and Actions page for information on the most current issues related to extractivism and calls to action.
We hope you find these resources informative, challenging and inspirational. We’d love to hear what you have learned and any commitments to action that you have made. You may contact us at justice@sistersofmercy.org.
“We hear the call of our suffering world. The impoverishment of peoples, the devastation of Earth and oppressive social norms and systems call us at this moment to act … To intensify our efforts to align our investments with our values and, especially now, to pursue education and action against practices of extractive industries that are destroying people, communities and Earth.”
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Chapter 2017 Recommitment Statement
Background
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, an international congregation of vowed women religious, launched the reflection process on extractivism in fall 2021. The process was one response to a 2017 Chapter (governing assembly) call “to intensify efforts to align our investments with our values and, especially now, to pursue education and action against practices of extractive industries that are destroying people, communities and Earth.” Sisters in Latin America and the Philippines particularly urged the congregation “to awaken to a new consciousness” as the result of their up-close experiences of the devastation wrought by extractivism.
More than 300 sisters, associates and staff participated in a five-session, five-month process of personal study and group reflection and conversation grounded in the realities of communities harmed by extractive industries.
At the conclusion of the process, we made a commitment to offer these resources to other congregations of women religious and to faith and secular partners. We adapted the content for a more general audience and then re-packaged the wealth of resources for self- and group- study. We also shared a recording of an online program that we presented to many within our community who were unable to participate in the longer process.
By Sister Sue Gallagher
Once in a while I listen to Vatican News. Today I tuned in to hear that Pope Francis made a visit to the Vatican Summer Camp! The time was described as festive with the children wearing colorful tee shirts and hats. It sounded great until the reporter added “and 300 biodegradable balloons.” I thought this sounded like a bit of greenwashing. I, like a lot of people, enjoy the fun balloons can add to a celebration; however, I swore off balloons of any kind years ago!
A quick search supported my skepticism about ecofriendly balloons! An article in the Conversation reported: “For decades, the industry relied on one industry-funded study from 1989 which claimed that after six short weeks, balloons degraded ‘at about the same rate as oak tree leaves’ and there was no way balloons were a threat to wildlife.” The research in this article debunks the claim that any balloon is biodegradable. These kinds of balloons are just as toxic as any other plastic.
It should be noted here that biodegradable is not the same as compostable. Biodegradable simply means that the balloons will eventually break down into smaller pieces while potentially leaving behind toxic waste in the environment. Compostable refers to organic matter that will completely break down, leaving valuable nutrients and no toxic residue behind. Products that claim to be compostable should be ‘certified compostable’ (albeit only in an industrial facility) by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). Based on recent research, no BPI-certified balloons have been found.
Some states have banned balloons from being released outdoors. For example, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia prohibit balloon release; and Pennsylvania has a law moving through the House banning the same.
Ah, they are so much fun and so pretty! Please consider putting balloons on your “do not use” list! Don’t use balloons! At the very least do not release balloons outdoors. Do not use helium-filled balloons, which is a critically limited resource.
Consider alternatives to balloons, like bubbles. Make educated purchases with federal Green Guidelines. Other reusable and/or compostable options to consider for decoration centerpieces would be potted plants (in ceramic or clay pots, if possible), banners and garland made from cloth, light strings, etc.
Balloons are pretty – to a point. They are quite deadly in many ways!
Last summer three rain gardens were planted in our yard. Individuals constructing the rain gardens engaged in a training program to learn the types of soil and plants that are ideal for this kind of garden. Rain that would normally move from the roof to the municipal sewer is now flowing into the rain garden where it can be filtered. Thus, the gardens are diverting thousands of gallons of water from the sewer. Also, runoff from the property can go directly into the rain garden, making us better neighbors. A bonus of these types of gardens is that they can be home to butterflies, singing birds and other wildlife. If you are curious about rain gardens, watch one of these brief videos.
By Sister Carol Mucha
What have I done to contribute to the sustainability of our good Earth?
I have made many lifestyle changes, but there are two I would like to share.
The first has to do with my Toyota Prius Hybrid; I have taken care of it for 11 years, and it has taken care of me. But I decided that I do not need to have a car for my exclusive use.
So, I looked back at the many years we sisters shared cars and wondered why we could not do the same now. Several of our very generous sisters – four to be exact – volunteered to share their cars with me when needed for errands and other appointments. Now I have four sets of keys and am mindful to ask when I need to use a car. Such kindness is so typical of the Mercy way, and they each are also doing their part caring for Earth.
I have also traded my plastic food containers for glass ones. They were gifts from my niece who is very conscious of the planet and our need to take care of our common home. I gave the plastic containers to a ministry that serves single mothers who need all sorts of items for their children and homes. So, the items will not be tossed out for a long time.
In our Mercy schools, Earth Day, April 22, is not a one-off event to celebrate the environment. The annual commemoration underscores their dutiful year-round efforts to cultivate not only a greener planet but also more conscientious, knowledgeable and compassionate stewards of creation, our future leaders.
Panama has achieved a historic milestone in its fight against mining, thanks to the unrelenting will of Panamanian people who, every day for a month, took to the streets to protest against a controversial contract signed with First Quantum Minerals a Canadian mining company. This contract would have meant another 20 or even 40 years of exploitation of metals such as copper and gold in the Mesoamerican region, the most biodiverse area of the country.
By Marianne Comfort, member of the Mercy Justice Team
One of the most enjoyable aspects of adopting a more sustainable lifestyle is eating locally grown produce as much as possible. For my husband and me, that can be most of the year, with ample freezer space for storing foods prepared during the height of the season.
This is a good time for planning how to source local food. Will you tend to your own garden, participate in a community garden, purchase a share from a community supported agriculture farm or commit to visiting farmers’ markets regularly?
If you have a suitable yard or patio or deck you might want to consider growing your own produce. The Almanac offers a simple guide to starting a vegetable garden from choosing the right location to the types of vegetables and the best time to plant. Farmers’ markets usually sell starter plants early in the season or you can visit a local nursery. Our townhouse sits on a hill, with some woods at the bottom, so it is not ideal for gardening.
Those itching to get their hands in the dirt but who don’t have suitable space might want to research community gardens nearby. These are shared gardening spaces divided into small individual plots. A water source is usually provided and sometimes tools and even gardening expertise. You can always learn some tips from other gardeners you’ll be working alongside. The American Community Garden Association has a map that identifies many community gardens; you may also call your county cooperative extension office for information or search online . Our neighborhood doesn’t have a community garden. Since we choose not to own a car, it isn’t convenient to travel back and forth from a plot a mile or so away. In our area, community gardens seem to be more prevalent on park land, on the fringes of apartment parking lots and on vacant urban lots.
Community supported agriculture (CSA) is quite popular in many parts of the U.S. as a way to have a relationship with and support a particular farm or group of farms. Typically, participants sign up early in the year and pay upfront for all the produce they will receive throughout the designated season. This ensures that farmers and consumers share the benefits and risk of food production. Pickup is usually both on the farm and at sites centrally located to participants. You can choose the most convenient one that matches with your preferences. Another thing to pay attention to in choosing a CSA is whether you can select what you want at each pickup, or if you get a pre-set mix of whatever is in season. I personally enjoyed the weekly surprise over many previous years as a CSA member; I’d then get home and plan meals based on whatever I received.
Currently, my favorite way of accessing local produce is by regularly visiting a year-round farmers’ market. It’s set up in a downtown square filled with all kinds of vendors, sellers of a newspaper produced by people who are homeless, and often some musical entertainment. I know from their signs where the farms are located, and I can ask about their growing practices. My husband and I also enjoy finding farmers’ markets when we’re traveling, since they’re places to soak up local culture as well as buy produce. A simple online search is the best way to locate them.
No matter how you choose to source food locally, you’ll find satisfaction in developing a relationship with the land or local farmers and eating with the seasons. You’ll also be reducing your carbon footprint by avoiding purchases of food transported from great distances.
These are some of the ways in which the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas will more fully live Laudato Si’ in 2024. To see the second year action plan click here.
Responding to the Cry of the Earth
The climate sustainability director will:
Collect utility usage data for smaller residences (i.e., apartments and houses) located throughout the United States.
Expand community solar subscriptions to many of our houses and apartments for which such programs are available.
Continue the electric vehicle (EV) pilot project at Merion, PA, with the purchase of an additional vehicle and the installation of additional EV chargers. One other location will be selected to house an EV. Official guidance regarding the use, maintenance, and charging of EVs, along with concerns regarding metal mining, will be developed and implemented.
Finalize guidance regarding the use of various sustainable and compostable alternatives to single-use plastic products. A pilot location will be selected to test the overall process for implementing various parts of the guidance and determining what is needed (in addition to the installation of water-filling stations) in order to make the elimination of certain plastic products practical. Complete the pilot solar project on the Belmont, NC, campus by the end of 2024.
Mercy Focus on Haiti aims to support the construction of 10 cisterns per month in the Gros Marne region, for the collection of rain water, using locally available materials. Cistern beneficiaries will receive training in the fundamentals of vegetable gardening, tree planting and reforestation, supporting both food production and the opportunity to sell surplus at market.
Responding to the Cry of the Poor
The Justice Team will deepen education and advocacy about the harms of extractivism to communities and the environment through:
Mapping of extractivism near locations where the Institute has a significant presence;
Educating the wider Mercy community about the experiences of communities most harmed by extractivism;
Sharing more widely the statement on extractivism distributed among Chapter participants;
Expanding our knowledge of extractivism to include practices such as agribusiness extracting nutrients from the land and the tourism industry dredging ports for cruise ships; and
Solidarity and accompaniment of communities most harmed by extractivism
Sisters will continue participating in ecclesial networks (ie, in Meso-America and the regions of El Gran Chaco y el Acuífero Guaraní in South America) and will educate the rest of the congregation about how the Church is accompanying communities in these critical eco-systems.
The Justice Team will participate in the “we are going to change the history of the climate and the planet!” campaign with the peoples of the Amazon in advance of international climate talks (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, in 2025.
Mercy Volunteer Corps has placed a volunteer yet again at Sanctuary Farm in Philadelphia and will offer short-term volunteer experiences at Mercy Ecological Center in Vermont.
Mercy Investment Services will expand and deepen the integration of environmental, social and governance investment strategies by:
Actively allocating capital to address diversity gaps amongst decision-makers and financial access within the Inclusive Opportunities Fund;
Expanding the emerging managers program supporting firms owned or products managed by people with diverse or underrepresented backgrounds;
Deepening Mercy Partnership Fund’s continued dedication to racial and gender equity as well as those that emphasize international opportunities; and
Using our shareholder voice to explicitly call on companies to mitigate their impacts on people of color and to increase equity for disadvantaged communities.
Mercy Focus on Haiti will complete the fourth cohort of its poverty eradication program for women, and raise funds and set the stage for the fifth cohort. Participants from the first cohort will be able to create Village Savings and Loan Associations, which was offered to later cohorts as safe places to save money and access small loans. The first cohort participants also will be offered a tablet-based training program to develop the basics of finance and business skills. Mercy Focus on Haiti will arrange for a physician member from the U.S. to make virtual visits with residents and walk-throughs of Bon Maison Samaritain, a house for persons who are elderly and infirm or mentally ill. Deteriorating conditions in Haiti have prevented in-person visits from the U.S.
Ecological Economics
Mercy Investment Services will:
Participate in learning opportunities to deepen our understanding of Catholic investing through documents such as Mensuram Bonam and Laudate Deum;
Increase funding of mission-based environmental, social and governance investment managers and thematic managers in the equity fund;
Originate additional commitments to impact managers in the Environmental Solutions Fund, which invests in renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, materials recycling, green buildings and sustainable agriculture;
Commit additional investments to projects whose primary thematic area is environmental sustainability, impacts from the extractive sector or migration, or that address a just transition to a low‐carbon future in the Mercy Partnership Fund;
Partner with other investors to engage corporations on water stewardship, greenhouse gas emissions, plastics use, biodiversity and other important issues; and engage with other like-minded impact investors through the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, which is led by Francesco Collaborative, and through continued leadership within the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
Sustainable Lifestyles
The Justice Team and Climate and Sustainability Director will start exploring possibilities for working with other congregations of women religious to influence practices of dining service companies who serve our convents, retirement centers and other facilities.
The Justice Team and Climate and Sustainability Director will continue the Mercy Tips to Care for Earth as a monthly feature on the website.
“Generation Mercy,” an online meeting for students who are involved in Earth initiatives/clubs at their school, in the first half of the year;
A commitment to highlight Earth in their newsletter at least 1 issue per month;
Promote Mercy Meatless Mondays for the Lenten season; and
Share some suggestions for Earth challenges for schools (i.e. zero waste meetings) to try to implement before Earth Day in April, then share about these in the newsletter/social media.
The Justice Team will organize an immersion trip to a region of western Pennsylvania experiencing an expansion of fracking and petrochemical facilities.
The Justice Team will organize three immersion experiences at the U.S.-Mexico border to expand the number of sisters, associates, companions and co-workers who are educated about immigration policy and the reality at the border. One of these experiences will be solely for staff and board members of Mercy Investment Services.
A Mercy associate in Guyana will develop a guidebook and set of advocacy tools for communities to understand the risks of the growing oil and gas industry in her country, and that will become a template for similar education elsewhere.
Ecological Spirituality
The Justice Team will promote Laudato Si animators’ trainings and create a network of Mercy animators to work together and support one another.
The Institute will participate in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ exploration and implementation of transformative justice work.
Community Participation and Empowerment
The Justice Team will educate our network on the issues and the importance of voting our values in advance of the 2024 elections in the United States.
The Justice Team will participate in a newly forming collaborative of Catholic organizations engaged in environmental and climate justice education, advocacy and practices.
By Jason Giovannettone, Climate and Sustainability Director
An air filter prevents air-borne contaminants (dust, pollen, bacteria and various other allergens) from entering your heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system and your indoor air supply. Removing these particles from the air helps improve health and reduces the chances of particles clogging up the HVAC system, thereby increasing its efficiency and lifespan and reducing the chance of a breakdown. An air filter’s efficiency is measured by a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV), which ranges from 1 to 16; higher numbers mean that the filter is more efficient at catching smaller particles.
Types and Materials
There are three major types of air filters that are typically used in an HVAC system: fiberglass, pleated and washable/reusable.
Fiberglass filters are made from glass-fiber reinforced plastic and encased in a cardboard frame. These filters tend to be relatively inexpensive but need to be replaced every 30 days. MERV ratings for fiberglass filters are generally lower, making them less capable of removing smaller particles.
Pleated filters are made from either polyester, paper or cotton and folded into an accordion style to create more surface area on which air-borne particles can be captured. Pleated filters are generally more expensive than fiberglass but last longer. It is generally recommended that they be replaced every three months. These filters have MERV ratings ranging from 5 to 13, with the higher-rated filters able to effectively capture dirt, fine dust, pollen and even the smallest bacteria. Many pleated filters are also electrostatically charged, which enables them to attract and capture an even greater number of small particles.
Washable/reusable filters are made from either synthetic fiber, aluminum mesh or both. Though reusable filters tend to cost the most ($25 to $75 per filter), they can last up to 10 years. MERV ratings for reusable filters typically do not exceed 8; therefore, they are not as good at removing smaller particles as a pleated filter. These filters do require additional labor for cleaning; it is generally recommended that be cleaned every three months, a process that consists of shaking off or vacuuming loose debris and rinsing with water.
All filter types are available in a wide range of sizes, although reusable filters cannot be customized to unique sizes based on a particular location’s needs.
From an environmental standpoint, reusable filters are the best option. Fiberglass and pleated filters must be disposed of after being replaced; as such, reusable filters reduce your overall carbon footprint as well as the amount of material (including plastic) being disposed. The main drawbacks are the increased amount of labor that is needed to clean the filters and limitations on the range of sizes; this is especially an issue at larger properties that require more filters.
Objective
If you are responsible for changing the air filters at your residence, consider getting a reusable filter. These can be easily purchased online. If you are not responsible for changing your air filters, consult with your maintenance manager to see if it would be possible to switch to reusable filters given your location’s particular size limitations and labor requirements.
