Faithful Living: Biodiversity

Often our "privatized" and individualistic mentality or lifestyle can make us believe that we live in isolation, and that our lifestyle choices only affect ourselves individually, "My choices, my life." But we belong to one another and no matter how private our actions are, they affect others through a ripple effect either directly or indirectly. If we believe that our life and all of creation are gifts from God, we owe it to God to care for one another by caring and preserving our biodiversity. 

Fundamentally, we depend entirely on the planet’s living systems for survival. We’re a part of these systems and we cannot exist without them. The better we understand how the systems of life work, the more sustainably we can live. The less we know, the more likely we’re going to continue causing irreparable damage to Earth’s ecosystems. (Source: Dr. Peter Raven).  

Ecological destruction and the loss of biodiversity obscure our ability to see and experience God, and are an affront to the Creator. The fate of the natural world and human life are fully intertwined. Ecological destruction harms human life, and human social injustice inevitably has ecological consequences. Source:Celebrate Life: Care of Creation, 1998, The Bishops of Alberta and NWT.
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Consider these for faithful living:

• Make lifestyle choices that care for all creation, being aware that our personal choices do affect each other eventually. 
• Learn more about how our actions impact global sustainability and teach our children to care about biodiversity. 
• Human life, animal life, and plant life - we are all in this together. Support ecological causes aimed to foster biodiversity, and those developing policies for the care of the earth.
• We know the choices we are making today will shape our communities, our economy, our health and the health of our planet for years to come, so let’s make sure our transition is towards a just economy that addresses integral human development. Support "People & Planet First" - Development & Peace Caritas Canada campaign this year. Learn more