News Items

The Forum regularly posts news articles of interest here from a variety of sources and news outlets. You can check back here or view the most recent ones from the homepage. We also archive these articles here, for those doing research, with news going back to 2006. Use the menu on the right to explore the archived articles.

News

China to establish ecological civilization demonstration zones in Jiangxi, Guizhou

October 4, 2017  
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China

The general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council jointly released plans to set up ecological civilization demonstration zones in Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces.

According to the plans, a systematic and complete ecological civilization system will be built in the...

'The Dreaming' links with creation

October 3, 2017
By Karan Varker
Global Sisters Report

Assisi diocese among 40 Catholic groups to divest from fossil fuels

October 3, 2017
By Brian Roewe
National Catholic Reporter

On the eve of the Feast of St. Francis, Assisi is cutting financial ties with fossil fuels.

The Italian diocese encompassing the region Francis of Assisi called home joined more than three dozen Catholic groups in marking the patron saint of ecology’s feast day (Oct. 4) by divesting from fossil fuel companies....

Hindu festival chokes Indian waterways with flowers and idol debris

October 3, 2017
By Michael Safi
The Guardian

Environmentalists say holy ceremonies such as 10-day Durga Puja overwhelming already polluted Yamuna river

Sections of a major river in Delhi are choking with plastic, flowers and debris after an annual Hindu festival in which hundreds of idols were immersed in...

Catholic church to make record divestment from fossil fuels

October 3, 2017
By Arthur Neslen
The Guardian

More than 40 Catholic institutions are to announce the largest ever faith-based divestment from fossil fuels, on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi.

The sum involved has not been disclosed but the volume of divesting groups is four times higher than...

Defend life, care for creation and give freely, pope says

October 2, 2017
Catholic News Service
The Catholic Spirit

Everyone, but especially young people, should have the “wonderful experience of giving” of their time and resources; giving open hearts and minds to brotherhood and sharing and is essential for building “the civilization of love,” Pope Francis said.

Inuit traditional knowledge to guide marine management plan off Labrador coast

September 29, 2017
By Levon Sevunts
Radio Canada International

The Inuit in northern Labrador and the federal government signed a deal Thursday evening that will see the Inuit use their traditional knowledge to develop Canada’s first Indigenous protected marine area off the coast of Labrador at the eastern approaches to the Northwest Passage.

New initiative explores how culture is intertwined with nature

September 29, 2017
By Bess Connolly Martell
Yale News

Embracing the idea that human engagements with the natural world are profoundly shaped by culture, ethics, history, politics, and the arts is one of the central tenets of a new collaborative initiative at Yale.

Can religion help save the planet's wildlife and environment?

September 27, 2017
By Curtis Abraham
The Ecologist

Religious values are often consistent with conservation efforts. So it’s not surprising that a variety of religious organisations and conservationists are working together to help mitigate the devastating effects of global climate change, writes CURTIS ABRAHAM

Corporations Have Rights. Why Shouldn't Rivers?

September 26, 2017
By Julie Turkewitz
New York Times

DENVER — Does a river — or a plant, or a forest — have rights?

This is the essential question in what attorneys are calling a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit, in which a Denver lawyer and a far-left environmental group are asking a judge to recognize the Colorado River as a person.

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