SCHCCL SlSIEFS CF NCIFE D/ME - SH/LCM Ncrlh /mericc

JULY 2004
CHARTLR
LARTH
THL SCOPL
OI THL
LARTH CHARTLR
Thc Eutth Chuttct ls comptlscd oj u Ptcumb/c, 4
muln scctlons uhlch lnc/udc thc 16 ptlnclp/cs,
und u c/oslnq cu//cd Thc Wug Fotuutd. Thc Ptcumb/c,
thc lnspltutlonu/ putt oj thc documcnt, qlucs us u tutlonu/c jot uhut uc
utc ubout. ln thls lssuc oj thc Eutth Chuttct studg quldc, uc tcfcct on thc
tcxt oj thc Ptcumb/c und Scctlon l to bcqln to undctstund thc scopc
oj thc Eutth Chuttct uhlch
ls ubout so much motc thun
thc Eutth.
Wc sIand aI a criIicaI noncnI in
EarIL's LisIory, a Iinc wLcn Lu-
naniIy nusI cLoosc iIs fuIurc."
Dcginning wiIL ILcsc words, ILc
PrcanbIc Io ILc EarIL CLarIcr
cLaIIcngcs us Io dcaI wiIL a
fuIurc of grcaI pcriI and grcaI
pronisc."
Our agc givcs us Iwo icons wiIL
wLicL Io apprcciaIc boIL ILc
pcriI and ILc pronisc. Onc is ILc
inagc of ILc Iiving EarIL, sccn
for ILc rsI Iinc fron spacc Icss
ILan 50 ycars ago. TLis bIuc
gcn of a pIancI Las bcconc for
us a synboI of awc, of wondcr,
and of pcacc and uniIy. TLc
oILcr icon, aIso cnbcddcd in our
ninds, is ILc inagc of Iwo gi-
ganIic Iowcrs, consuncd by rc
and ILcn coIIapsing inIo a piIc
of rubbIc. TLis nigLInarc inagc
of ILc WorId Tradc Towcrs Las
bcconc a synboI of fcar, LaIrcd,
vioIcncc and a dccpIy IroubIcd
and dividcd worId.
TLc PrcanbIc conIinucs, TLc
spiriI of Lunan soIidariIy and
Whcl i: ycur fr:l memcry cf
:eeing lhe imcge cf lhe Ecrlh
frcm :pcce Whcl lhcughl: cr
fee|ing: ccme lc minc
Whcl lhcughl: cr fee|ing: ccme
lc minc c: ycu viewec lhe
imcge: cf lhe Wcr|c Ircce
Cenler lcwer: cn /11/01
Hcw cce: ecch imcge :peck cf grecl peri| cnc grecl prcmi:e"
Whcl wcu|c il Le |ike lc hcve humi|ily regcrcing lhe humcn p|cce
in nclure" Ccn ycu lhink cf cn excmp|e cf when lhi: mighl Le
evicenl in ycur cwn |ife cr experience
TLc PrcanbIc Io ILc EarIL CLarIcr givcs us ILc inspiraIion for aII
ILaI foIIows. II is Lcrc ILaI wc nd ILc caII for LunaniIy Io cLoosc
iIs fuIurc." TLaI is wLaI wc arc abouI. And ILc urgcncy wc nd in
ILc PrcanbIc is rcaI.
kinsLip wiIL aII Iifc is sIrcngILcncd wLcn wc Iivc wiIL rcvcrcncc
for ILc nysIcry of bcing, graIiIudc for ILc gifI of Iifc, and LuniIiIy
rcgarding ILc Lunan pIacc in naIurc." Is ILis wLaI ILc wriIcr of
DcuIcronony ncanI wiIL ILc sinpIc pLrasc, CLoosc Lifc."?
PREAMBLE
TO THE EAHTH CHAHTEH
AP photo Chao Soi Cheong
http://www.frehouse.com/terrorist/images/
T
by E||een ke|||y, SSND [WI}
S|udv Guidc
RLSPLCT AND CARL
As John Puu/ ll suld so uc//, lj uc scun thc tcqlons oj out p/unct, uc lmmcdlutc/g scc
thut humunltg hus dlsuppolntcd God's cxpcctutlons. . . . Wc must thctcjotc cncoutuqc
und suppott thc cco/oqlcu/ conuctslon' uhlch ln tcccnt dccudcs hus mudc humunltg
motc scnsltluc to thc cutusttophc to uhlch lt hus bccn hcudlnq.
(John Paul , The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, 1990)
In whot woys hove you become "more sens|t|ve to the cotostrophe" to wh|ch
humon|ty |s heod|ng? Whot eco|og|co| convers|ons hove you persono||y
exper|enced?
SccIion I IisIs four broad conniIncnIs as conponcnIs of rcspccI and carc for ILc connuniIy of Iifc.
Issucs undcrIying ILcsc broad conniIncnIs and ILc dcIaiIs of Low Io addrcss ILcn arc spcIIcd ouI in
dcIaiI in ILc ncI ILrcc sccIions and in ILc concIusion - TLc Way Iorward.
IncrcasingIy our CLurcL is caIIing us Io pay aIIcnIion Io ILcsc sanc issucs. In ILcir rcccnI (OcIobcr 4,
2003) pasIoraI IcIIcr on ILc CLrisIian EcoIogicaI InpcraIivc, wLicL is IiIIcd, You Lovc AII TLaI EisIs,"
ILc Canadian Confcrcncc of CaILoIic DisLops concIudcs by saying,
A// oj ctcutlon ls oj God und ls us gct unnlshcd. Wc utc cu//cd us co-ctcutots to joln God's uotk to
tcpult somc oj ctcutlon's uounds uhlch huuc bccn lnflctcd duc to out cco/oqlcu/ slns. Wc utc u/so cu//cd to
ctcutluc uctlons oj so/ldutltg ulth thosc uho huuc /css ucccss to thc bcncts oj God's bountlju/ ctcutlon. . . .
Hou cun uc not tukc up thc chu//cnqc?
How m|ght you "jo|n God's work to repo|r
some o| creot|on's wounds"? Whot does
the term "eco|og|co| s|ns" meon to you?
But wc havc only bcgun
To lovc thc carth.
Wc havc only bcgun
To ImagInc thc Iullncss oI lIIc.
How could wc tIrc oI hopc?
~so much Is In bud.
How can dcsIrc IaIl?
~wc havc only bcgun
to ImagInc justIcc and mcrcy,
only bcgun to cnvIsIon
how It mIght bc
to lIvc as sIblIngs wIth bcast and Howcr,
not as opprcssors.

W|th so much o| the wor|d |n
such choos, hove you ever
|ound yourse|| t|r|ng o| hope?
Whot does the Eorth Chorter soy
to you obout hope?
"Io ||ve os s|b||ngs w|th beost
ond 0ower." Fronc|s o| Ass|s|
spoke o| 8rother Sun ond S|ster
Woter. How conJdo we honor
thot re|ot|onsh|p |n reo| |||e?
IOR THL
COMMINITY OI
SECTION I
fron Dcginncrs"
by Dcnisc LcvcrIov,
CandIcs in DabyIon,
Ncw York, Ncw Dincnsions
PubIisLing, T982.
2
HOV GRLAT THOI ART!
HOV GRLAT THOI ART!

HOV GRLAT THOI ART!
O Lord, ny Ood, wLcn I in awcsonc wondcr . . . .
How o|ten or when hove you
|e|t "owesome wonder" when
you thought o| creot|on?
ComporeJcontrost God's
power w|th humon power.
ANNIL DILLARD
AND
LLLLRY
AnnIc DIllard
dcscrIbcs Ellcry,
hcr pct goldHsh.
As we heed Fope John Fou|'s co|| to Eco|og|co|
Convers|on, we m|ght we|| beg|n by contem-
p|ot|ng some s|mp|e g||t o| the eorth, ||ke E||ery.
Choose the object o| your contemp|ot|on, ond
jot down the k|nd o| deto||ed descr|pt|on thot
D|||ord d|d |or E||ery.
3
kESFECI EAkIH AND IIFE IN AII IIS DIVEkSIIY.
lf creclicn in c|| il: :p|enccr rec||y cce: revec| Gcc
lc u:, lhen ecch lime c :pecie: Leccme: exlincl,
we kncw c |ill|e |e:: cf Gcc. See Seclicn ll cf lhe
Ecrlh Chcrler fcr celci|:.
CAkE FOk IHE COMMbNIIY OF IIFE WIIH
bNDEkSIANDING, COMFASSION, AND IOVE.
/: lhe ce:ire cf Je:u: lhcl c|| Le cne Leccme:
mcre fu||y cur cwn, cur :lriving fcr unily emLrcce:
c|| humcnily cnc lhe whc|e cf creclicn." YAS C
See Seclicn lll fcr celci|:.
8bIID DEMOCkAIIC SOCIEIIES IHAI AkE JbSI,
FAkIICIFAIOkY, SbSIAINA8IE AND FEACEFbI.
Ihrcugh cur mini:lry . . . we cre encL|ec lc grcw
in ccmmunicn wilh Gcc cnc wilh cne cnclher cnc
in ccceplcnce cf re:pcn:iLi|ily fcr lhe ecrlh cnc il:
pecp|e. Ihi: muluc| giving cnc receiving i: il:e|f c
wilne:: lc cur inlercepencenl wcr|c." YAS C25
See Seclicn lV fcr celci|:.
SECbkE EAkIH'S 8ObNIY AND 8EAbIY FOk FkESENI
AND FbIbkE GENEkAIIONS.
. . . lhere i: cn crcer in lhe univer:e which mu:l Le
re:peclec, . . . lhe humcn per:cn, enccwec wilh
lhe ccpcLi|ily cf chcc:ing free|y, hc: c grcve
re:pcn:iLi|ily lc pre:erve lhi: crcer fcr lhe we||-Leing
cf fulure generclicn:." {Jchn Fcu| ll, ne Fcc'cg|cc'
C||. A Ccnncn Fepcn|c|'|ty 10)
See Ihe Wcy Fcrwcrc," lhe Ccnc|u:icn cf lhe Ecrlh
Chcrler fcr celci|:.

ln 12, lhere were cn|y cLcul 00,000 e|ephcnl:
in /fricc, ccwn frcm 2 mi||icn in lhe ecr|y 70:,
mcin|y Leccu:e cf ivcry pccching. ln 2002 lhe
numLer wc: |e:: lhcn 500,000, ce:pile c wcr|c-
wice ivcry Lcn.
ln 12, lhirleen cilie: wcr|cwice hcc pcpu|c-
licn: cf mcre lhcn len mi||icn pecp|e. 8y 2002,
lhe numLer cf cilie: hcc ri:en lc :ixleen cnc lhe
prcjeclicn fcr 2005 i: nineleen. Ihcl wi|| mecn
fu||y 4 cf lhe pcpu|clicn wi|| Le |iving in megc-
cilie:.
ln 12, lhe numLer cf refugee: wcr|cwice,
lclc|ec 17 mi||icn, mcny cf lhe:e inlernc||y ci:-
p|ccec cue lc civi| wcr:. 8y 2002, lhe numLer
hcc increc:ec lc cl |ec:l 20 mi||icn. ln 12, wcr|c
mi|ilcry :pencing wc: cl $2 Li||icn. /fler lhe
Cc|c Wcr, il fe|| lc $811 Li||icn, Lul il i: ncw cn il:
wcy Lcck up, pcrl|y Leccu:e cf lhe huge ri:e in
US mi|ilcry :pencing.
ln 12, lhe wcr|c pcpu|clicn wc: 5.47 Li||icn. ln
lhe yecr 2000, we pc::ec lhe Li||icn mcrk, :c
lhcl Ly 2002 il wc: .25 Li||icn. Frcjeclicn: cre
lhcl Ly 2050, lhe pcpu|clicn wi|| hcve grcwn Ly
hc|f c: much cgcin, fcr c lclc| cf Li||icn. Cver
70 cf lhe currenl pcpu|clicn |ive: in ceve|cping
ccunlrie:, enjcying c much :mc||er :hcre cf lhe
Ecrlh: Lcunly cnc Leculy" lhcn lhc:e cf u: in
lhe incu:lric|izec ccunlrie:.
Slcli:lic: refecl lhe :lcle cf lhe wcr|c in 12, lhe lime cf lhe Summil in Fic. Ihey were u:ec fcr ccmpcri:cn wilh lhe wcr|c in 2002,
lhe lime cf lhe Wcr|c Summil cn Su:lcincL|e Deve|cpmenl. Scurce: ne |ncepencent. c Lcnccn new:pcper, cn /ugu:l 2, 2002.
TLis EIIcry cosI nc
IwcnIy-vc ccnIs. Hc is
dccp rcd-orangc, darkcr ILan nosI goIdsL.
Hc sIccrs sLorI disIanccs nainIy wiIL Lis
sIcndcr rcd IaIcraI ns; ILcy sccn Io providc
inpcIus for going backward, up, or down. II
Iook nc a fcw days Io discovcr Lis ccnIraI
ns, ILcy arc conpIcIcIy IransparcnI and aII
buI invisibIcdrcan ns.TLis sL, Iwo biIs
worIL, Las a coiIcd guI, a spinc radiaIing nc
boncs, and a brain! JusI bcforc I sprinkIc
food akcs inIo Lis bowI, I rap ILrcc Iincs on
ILc bowI's cdgc. now Lc is condiIioncd, and
swins Io ILc surfacc wLcn I rap." Pl/qtlm ut
Tlnkct Ctcck, Ncw York, Harpcr PubIicaIions, T974.

Ecc|cgicc| lnlegrily
NLXT STIDY GIIDL Oc|obcr 2004
4
In hcr contcmplatIon
oI thc gIIts oI Earth,
thc poct EmIly DIckInson praycd:
In thc Namc oI thc Bcc
And oI thc ButtcrHy
And oI thc Brcczc, Amcn
Iry D|ck|nson's phrose |n p|oce o| the
trod|t|ono| S|gn o| the Cross. How d|d
|t |ee|? Whot does |t soy to you obout
the vo|ue o| o|| |||e?
TLc OcnIian wcavcs Lcr fringcs",
Thc Comp/ctc Pocms oj Eml/g Dlcklnson,
DosIon, Dack Day Dooks, T976.
IEAkN MOkE
1. Cc|cu|cle ycur ecc|cgicc| fcclprinl" Ly cn:wering 12 ue:licn: cLcul lhe re:curce: cf cur Ecrlh lhcl ycu
ccn:ume cn c cci|y Lc:i:. Vi:il hllp://www.|ecc.crg/|eccnel/fcclprinl/inlrc.hlm|
2. Lecrn mcre cLcul lhe Ecrlh Chcrler, inc|ucing ecucclicnc| re:curce:, cn crl :eclicn, cnc yculh iniliclive:.
Vi:il hllp://www.ecrlhchcrler.crg
3. SuL:criLe lc c periccicc| lhcl wi|| give mcre in:ighl lhcn lhe mcin:lrecm mecic inlc lhe:e i::ue:. / few
:ugge:licn:: ne New |ntenct|cnc'|t {infcrmclicn cl www.newinl.crg cr 1 800 1 8700): Ye| A Jcunc' c|
Fc|t|ve Futue {lnfcrmclicn cl hllp://www.ye:mcgczine.crg cr 1 800 37 4451).
FOk YObk kEFIECIION . . .
/: ycu refecl cn lhe FrecmL|e lc lhe Ecrlh Chcrler, whcl re:cncle: ceep|y wilhin ycu Wilh whcl cc ycu ci:-
cgree Whcl :eclicn cc ycu fnc mc:l chc||enging
Whcl creclive cclicn: cf :c|iccrily wilh lhc:e whc hcve |e:: ccce:: lc lhe Lenefl: cf Gcc: Leculifu| creclicn"
ccn ycu emLrcce
In an "Earth Chartcr McdItatIon,"
In ,
Suc In Cold praycd:

To our hIghcr sclI, to othcrs,
To Onc oI thc InHnItc namcs,
To thc brcczcs, to Mystcry, Amcn
A|ter re0ect|ng on the Eorth Chorter,
whot |s your proyer? How do you
nome God?
EdiIor. S. Jcannc WingcnIcr, SSND (MK)
jwingT948_aoI.con
LayouI Dcsign.
S. Ocn Cassani, SSND (SL)
gcassani_ssnd-sI.org