Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'environment'

A free-market ‘green revolution’

Mankind has an unquestionable obligation to protect the environment. As Pope Benedict XVI explained in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, “the environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations, and towards humanity as a whole.” Continue Reading...

Gavin Newsom’s gas-powered vehicle ban: the wrong approach to fight climate change

One would expect that the decades-long exodus of low- and middle-income residents fleeing California would be cause for reflection and self-critical introspection on behalf of its effective one-party government. Skyrocketing costs of living and a cratering middle class – caused by years of anti-business regulation, powerful public sector labor union monopolies, and one of the highest tax burdens in the nation – should be ample reason for the Golden State’s progressive leadership to reassess its approach to governance. Continue Reading...

‘Planet of the Humans’: Michael Moore goes off the (ideological) grid

Imagine you have just wrapped up another Earth Day celebration at your church (online only this year) and as long time chair of the Creation Care committee, you reflect on all the accomplishments: banning Styrofoam coffee cups and plastic bottles; mandating locally sourced and sustainably farmed organic food at all hospitality events; convincing your pastor to offer sermons and “climate blessings” provided by the mother church’s Social Justice office. Continue Reading...

Eco-Friendly Terrorism in Somalia

An East African terrorist group has banned plastic bags out of concern for the health of the environment, a bizarre irony that demonstrates the importance of honoring human dignity.  Al Shabaab is a terrorist group affiliated with Al Quaeda that currently occupies regions of Somalia and is apparently very worried about the environmental impact of plastic bags on livestock.   Continue Reading...

Study: GMOs increase crop yields, reduce ag toxins

“Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.” Some readers might assume the epigraph above derives from some classic of moral and economic literature – perhaps, say, Adam Smith’s A Wealth of Nations or A Theory of Moral Sentiments. Continue Reading...

Pope, Patriarch need theology of civilization

Today at Public Orthodoxy, I examine the recent claim of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that The human environment and the natural environment are deteriorating together, and this deterioration of the planet weighs upon the most vulnerable of its people. Continue Reading...