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Earth Day Call to Action: Request Responsible Legislation for Environmental Stewardship
As women of faith, our ethic of environmental stewardship is informed by prophetic counsel. For example, President Russell M. Nelson proclaimed: âWe should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations.â Likewise, MWEGâs Principle of Ethical Government (2f) states: âGovernments and members of society have an obligation to exercise responsible stewardship of the earth, thereby protecting not only the wellbeing of their citizens, but also that of both future generations and other citizens of the planet (see D&C 59:18-21 and D&C 104:13-15).â We are at a critical juncture for taking effective action and implementing policy to mitigate the effects of climate change. This…
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The U.S. Rejoins the Paris Climate Agreement
On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, in one of his first acts as president, President Biden signed a letter to the United Nations recommitting the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement. The U.S. officially left the Paris agreement in November 2020. The onboarding will take 30 days, with the U.S. officially back in the pact on February 19, 2021. The U.S. remains the only country to have left the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement began in 2015 when 195 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change. Climate change is responsible for not only higher air temperatures, but also stronger storms, rising sea levels, drought,…
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The Global Problem of Plastic Waste â and How to Reduce It
Plastic production and consumption is a global problem. From 1950 to 2015, the world produced 8.3 billion tons of plastic. In 2015 alone, the production of plastic was 380 million metric tons. Of all this plastic, over half was designed to be used only once then discarded. Most of this plastic does not get recycled. The rate of plastic recycling from 1950 to 2015 was only 6%, and despite significant gains, the recycling rate in 2015 was only 20%. Further, much of the recycling of plastic waste from the U.S. is diverted to other countries, many of which are unable to manage their own waste or do not want it.…
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Official Statement by Mormon Women for Ethical Government on Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change
October 19, 2018 The recently released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the deleterious effects of global climate change. The consequences of maintaining the status quo of carbon emissions and the resulting rate of global temperature change are dire and include major shifts in patterns of weather, fire, and hydrology; large-scale impacts on biodiversity; and disruption to human systems, including agriculture and food supplies, migration, national security, and economies. According to the IPCC, âthere is no documented historical precedentâ for the worldwide changes required to avoid these dramatic consequences. Two days after this report was released, Elder Steven E. Snow, historian and recorder for The Church…
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Principles of Ethical Government: The Environment and Sustainability
Mormon Women for Ethical Government’s Principles of Ethical Government (2)(f) states: Governments and members of society have an obligation to exercise responsible stewardship of the earth, thereby protecting not only the wellbeing of their citizens, but also that of both future generations and other citizens of the planet (see D&C 59:18-21 and D&C 104:13-15). We are blessed through our physical and spiritual connections to the earth, and we are accountable for treating it in a manner that honors the creator. Further, our treatment of the earth is interconnected to our treatment of other people. Climate change threatens a wide range of human rights and needs to be addressed through systemic…
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Recycling: The Whys and the Hows
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that in 2017, 35.2% of waste generated was recovered through recycling. Within individual categories, paper and cardboard were recycled at about a rate of 66%, and yard waste/grass clippings were composted or recovered at a rate of 69%. Materials like plastic and glass came in at only 8% and 27%, respectively. Contrast these statistics with the estimated time it takes each of these materials to biodegrade: Glass takes a whopping 1 million years to decompose! Plastic can take upwards of 500 years to decompose, with some types taking less time. Cardboard can take as little as a few months to biodegrade if soaked, shredded,…
