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

'My job is to clean up the environment. China really wants to do that'

September 9, 2017
By Jane Gleeson-White
The Guardian

Environmental lawyer James Thornton says China’s ‘ecological civilisation’ concept is the best response to the world’s environmental crisis

James Thornton’s specialty is suing governments and corporations on behalf of his only client – the Earth – and he’s very good at it. In his four decades of legal...

Hajj: How to make this three-million strong Muslim pilgrimage environmentally friendly

September 5, 2017
By Akeela Bhattay
Independent

Guyana's Indigenous Amerindian traditional conservation strategies may be shared with Guiana Shiel

September 5, 2017
By Denis Chabrol
Demerara Waves

A British-funded three-year project to integrate Amerindian traditional knowledge into national environmental conservation policy and practice is likely to serve as a pilot project for the rest of the Guiana Shield while ensuring that Guyana achieves benchmarks of several international agreements.

Pope and Patriarch: A common declaration for a shared world

September 1, 2017
By Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis
Crux

[Editor’s note: This commentary was written for L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, to appear along with the joint statement of Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for the World Day of...

Pope and Orthodox Christian leader issue unprecedented appeal for the environment

September 1, 2017
By Christopher Lamb
Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis and Orthodox Christian leader Patriarch Bartholomew have released a passionate joint appeal to protect the environment, marking the first time that a pope and the ecumenical patriarch have joined forces in such a way.

"One thing is clear, faith communities can be a tremendous driver of change"

August 31, 2017
By Albin Hillert*
World Council of Churches

Gathering at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden on 30 August, representatives from a range of faith communities and organizations engaged in water issues held a session exploring how faith communities can help achieve the sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), ensuring availability and sustainable...

The Struggle to Protect a Tree at the Heart of Hopi Culture

August 31, 2017
By Kate Ruder
Sapiens

A rumbling, low boom unfurled over the land like a current of thunder. But it was a clear, cloudless day in northern Arizona. We realized the reverberation was the echo of an explosion—dynamite loosening the earth—and that the strip mine was finding its way toward a colossal seam of coal.

Pope asks world leaders to listen to 'cry of the Earth'

August 30, 2017
By Associated Press
Washington Post

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is urging world leaders to “listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” and take measures to protect the environment.

Francis made the appeal Wednesday in announcing that he and the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I, would be releasing...

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew to issue joint environmental statement

August 30, 2017
Crux

September 1 is observed in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This year, the leaders of both Churches will issue a joint statement inviting everyone “to take an attitude of respect and responsibility towards creation.”

 

During his general audience on Wednesday, Francis...

Muslim worshippers seek green inspiration at annual Haj pilgrimage

August 30, 2017
By Adela Suliman
Reuters

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Some 2 million people are expected to travel across the globe to eat, sleep and pray in unison from Wednesday, as the annual Islamic pilgrimage of Haj gets underway in Mecca.

For billions of Muslims who are physically and financially able, Haj is a mandatory act of worship. But the religious...

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