Loretto Earth Network News Divest/Reinvest/Commit Spring 2016
Vol. 24, No. 1
DO WE REALLY NEED ALL THIS SPACE? By Marcus Hyde, CoMember-in-Process
I
live in a tiny home that my partner, Kristen, and I built together. It is 168 square feet and includes the usual appliances plus a loft for sleeping. Much of the wood used to build the house was cut down in the northern part of Colorado. Infested with pine beetles, this wood needed to be removed from the forest. After milling the wood and treating it with oils, traces of the beetles can be seen in the blue, purple and red swirls left in the wood. Most of the other building materials were found in alleyways and dumpsters or at secondhand shops. When people walk into our home they often remark how unique and different it is. Then come the questions: how does the plumbing work and do we really generate enough power from the solar panels. We built our place with the hopes of creating a housing option for ourselves that reflected our values. We wanted a home that was simple, modest, but full of natural beauty, energy efficient, and cheap enough to own and take care of, so we could be free to invest our energies in our community. For the most part, we feel our home reflects those values, but from a legal and social standpoint, living in a tiny home is not that simple. Over the past 10 years, tiny homes, meaning homes that are under 200 square feet in size, have become ever more popular. Those interested in sustainable building practices ought to be concerned, as experts agree that the best way to build greener is not to have enormous buildings with solar panels, but to build smaller
structures because less energy is spent in construction, long-term maintenance, heating and cooling. A look at history would highlight the frivolity of these rules, as many homes built before the 1980’s were in fact less than today’s legal minimum size.
Home Sweet Home The path towards bigger homes (or “McMansions”) ought to concern us from an economic standpoint. We can see a direct correlation between the number of affordable housing units in a community, the general population size, and the number of people living out on the streets and in emergency shelters. Modern legislation and building codes have virtually outlawed smaller homes, causing fewer reasonably–priced or affordable homes to be built on the free market. While the demolition and sale of public and truly affordable housing ought to be central to any conversation around
homelessness, homeless policy for the last 35 years has primarily focused on the development of individuals (through case management and counseling) rather than addressing the systemic underlying causes of mass homelessness, i.e. the lack of housing people can actually afford. Consequently homelessness continues to be a growing phenomenon, having reached unprecedented numbers. Today, an estimated 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness at some point. Many are children. Tiny Homes, to me, are first and foremost an affordable housing option that works. But unfortunately, I also feel that for many in the Tiny Home Movement, the dream of living in a small space without a mortgage is simply the epitome of a very individualistic vision of a greener utopia free of other people’s problems. Some refer to Tiny Homes as the Whole Foods of housing: smaller sizes, prettier packaging and much more expensive. In some cases this is accurate as a number of companies build and sell these glorified mobile homes, for nearly $100,000 (and of course that doesn’t include any land to put the house on). I suppose this fits into the general ethos of capitalism — being better than the next person. The truth is that Tiny Homes can be in line with what poor people have always done: live simply, with less, and for less. In October 2015, a plot of vacant land is ready for sale by the Denver Housing Authority. A group of Continued on page 2
Continued from page 1 DO WE REALLY NEED ALL THIS SPACE?
courageous homeless people wanted to build tiny homes for themselves as a solution. The plot, located in historic Curtis Park, had at one point been the site of hundreds of affordable housing units, which were razed after years of budget cuts and maintenance issues. Year’s later urban farmers were given permission to use the land to create Sustainability Park, a teaching ground for youth and adults on sustainable food growing and building practices. However, as Denver’s rents zoomed up and a development group bought the property in order to build micro unit apartments – units less than 500 square feet in space with solar panels and a private garden on site. Unfortunately each unit would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase. The group of homeless persons felt the need to expose what was about to occur. The economic injustice of real estate speculation at the expense of affordable housing for the sake of modern green apartments was clear. Our goal was now to reclaim public land for the public good, rather than let it be sold to a private entity. The hope was to draw the connection between eco-logical and eco-nomic justice. In the end, 10 people were arrested and sent to jail for civil disobedience. They are all awaiting trial for trespassing. Tiny Homes are still illegal in Denver, and affordable housing waiting lists are years long. But many of us are working towards a more sustainable future that includes all of us. Maybe tiny homes are a part of that.
Editor’s Note Mary Ann Coyle SL
A
t a recent meeting of Loretto Earth Network Coordinators, we began a conversation about the most effective way to celebrate LEN’s 25th anniversary. I suspect at various points in one’s existence it is good to think about where you have been as well as where you are headed. So in this issue you will get a multidirectional approach! Let me begin with some introductions. First comes Teresa Blumenstein. In 2013 Teresa was a Loretto volunteer at the Family Health Care Center in St. Louis, MO. She returned to our volunteer program in 2015 as an intern with Sally Dunne CoL at the Loretto United Nations Office in New York. Next comes Marcus Hyde. Marcus is a CoL-in-process and was in Denver volunteering at the Catholic Worker when the house caught fire during the early morning hours on January 28th, 2016. You will enjoy his story of building a “Tiny House.” And last comes Sally Maresh, an attorney. Sally (and her sister Ellen) attended Machebeuf High School, a Lorettosponsored school in Denver. As Sally advanced in wisdom and grace, she found that those Loretto values were nudging her back into the Loretto fold. Sally has begun a six-month internship with LEN. I am certain you welcome Teresa, Marcus and Sally into these pages with as much enthusiasm as I do. Other new columnists in this issue are Concha De La Cruz and Magdalena McCloskey. Concha is a Sister of Loretto who has lived in St. Louis, MO for many years working with the Hispanic community. I am grateful for her willingness to share her remembrances of her growing up years in El Paso, TX, and the ways in which the sharing of food has a sacred, cultural value. It is perhaps true that it does contribute to longevity within this community. Magdalena McCloskey is a Loretto Comember. You may remember her as the one who prepared the solstice ritual for community use. She now writes about how it is possible to eat healthy and locally even through a Denver winter when moisture, short days, and cold would seem to push healthy eating out the window. Magdalena gives us a challenge we might take up! Kathy Wright SL has written for our pages before. She lives in Kentucky and is the treasurer for Loretto. Her article introduces you to Cody Rakes. Cody is new to Loretto and is in the process of learning all he can about management of the motherhouse farm. A piece of the management has to do with moving animals, directing the water flow to appropriate places and mending fences wherever the holes may be. In this issue we have reprinted an article that was in LEN News 18 years ago. It was written by Elaine Prevallet SL. We have reprinted it simply to help us remember that the road to sustainability is long and winding but always moving. Elaine wonders, in essence, if we change our thinking and our habits, can we bring a new awareness to our culture and save Earth for future generations. Shall we try?
Page 2
LENN Spring 2016
The Importance and Inadequacy of the Paris Agreement: A critique from UN Headquarters
A
By Teresa Blumenstein, Loretto Volunteer at the UN
s Loretto Earth-lovers know, the United Nations Conference of Parties convened 135 heads of state and thousands of activist and advocate members of civil society in Paris in early December to jointly address the imminent threat posed by climate change to our planet and to our very survival. After 12 days of intense negotiations, demonstrations and exhibitions, the governments emerged with the Paris Agreement, a plan that inspired a mixture of hope and disappointment from civil society. The outcome of the conference was certainly an improvement on those of previous climate talks. Its commitment to keep global temperature rise “well below 2°C” was stronger than the “2°C” limit that came out of the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen after research of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that a temperature increase of over 2°C above preindustrial levels would lead to serious consequences. The fact that by the close of the conference, 186 countries had submitted commitments to lessen their carbon output was also an unprecedented victory for the planet. Never before has such a pragmatic, quantifiable and universal pledge been made by humanity on behalf of the environment. Another promising feature of the Agreement is its forward-facing language, which calls for a fiveyear review cycle to assess global progress toward the goal of zero emissions. The document stipulates that this review shall include a renewal or strengthening, not a lessening, of commitments by all parties to the agreement. Additionally, the agreement urged a joint, annual allocation of $100 billion (USD) by developed nations for the support of developing nations’ efforts to
mitigate their own impact, adapt to environmental changes they have already suffered and build resilience to future natural disasters. This provision signifies some level of recognition by industrialized nations that they owe a “carbon debt” to developing nations who have suffered most from the effects of climate change but have made nearly negligible contributions to it. Still, the Paris Agreement leaves much to be desired. The collective commitments of the 186 participating countries amount to a reduction in carbon emissions that will only limit the global temperature rise to 2.7°C. The agreement also failed to address the impact of other greenhouse gases. This oversight is particularly concerning with regard to atmospheric methane, whose potential to contribute to global temperature rise is 28 times that of carbon dioxide and whose atmospheric levels have risen 150% from pre-industrial levels as
opposed to the 40% increase we’ve seen in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the same period. Civil society representatives who attended the conference also expressed concerns for the lack of integration into the agreement of the perspectives and special needs put forth by members of indigenous populations and small island nations. Others felt the obligation of “developed” nations to lead and support the global transition to renewable energy was not fully captured within the agreement. Those who hailed the document as a signal to world markets that the era of fossil fuels is over cannot deny the significant, ongoing power those markets demonstrated in the recent repeal of the U.S. oil export ban, approval of fracking in several countries of the United Kingdom and ongoing allocation of multimillions for fossil fuel exploration by world governments. Whether optimistic or dubious as to the extent of tangible progress we can expect as a result of the Paris Agreement, it is clear that we, as the Loretto Community and as citizens of this planet, must continue to monitor and push back against those who would exploit the earth and the future generations from which we borrow it. Moving ahead, Loretto representatives at the UN will persist in our advocacy for the planet through our work with the Mining Working Group, whose efforts are focused on putting a stop to fossil fuel extraction, especially fracking, protecting the human right to water and sanitation and decrying all threats posed to the rights of people and planet by the operations of extractive industries. We continue to make connections between human development and environmental conservation that may not be obvious to the leadership of the UN member states.
LENN Spring 2016 Page 3
Memories of My Childhood By Concha De La Cruz SL
I have yielded to American ways of eating, especially fast food. How and when this happened, I do not know.” Food for us, according to my mother, is sacred — from the ground in which it grew and how we ate it. I remember she prayed over everything she planted, cooked or ate. The sign of the cross was as ordinary as breathing, yet took on a quiet solemn space, like when we bow before the Blessed Sacrament. When I was around 5 years old, I remember being in a very large field with many straight rows. My cousin Fermin made holes in which I deposited 3 kernels of white corn. After a time, they yielded a large field of corn stalks, tall and green, through which I could run and hide from the El Paso heat.
A
n article entitled “Who Lives Longest—and Why?” appeared in the most recent issue of YES! Magazine, (Number 76-Winter 2016). It brought back many memories of my childhood pertaining to food: how it was grown, where it was grown as well as how it was cooked and reverenced. When you open the magazine to pp. 42-43, you are faced with a delightful picture of three Latino women enjoying each other’s company. The women are Celia Aguilar, her mother and grandmother and all live in El Paso, Texas. Although I presently reside in St. Louis, MO, I still call El Paso home.
Aguilar’s mother very early in her marriage practiced a traditional form of mother care. Called, cuarentena, this form consists of 40 days of rest and bonding with the newborn while others (relatives or friends) run the household as they see fit. Celia plans to do the same when she has her own children. As an aside she tells us: “It is true that
When it came time to harvest the corn, my mother would show me how each ear was put together and how each piece could be used. There were the outer leaves for wrapping food to keep it from rotting. When dry, these leaves served as wraps for tasty tamales. The silk made a refreshing nutritious tea that was good for “your kidneys.” The fresh sweet corn kernels were ground for masa for tortillas, tamales, and gorditas. And of course, the corn could be enjoyed in soup, fried like popcorn or added to rice and beans. Finally when the kernels were dry, she would grind them into a delicious powder with cinnamon and sugar—“pinole.” What I am saying is that our indigenous cultures did not waste anything. And, everything had its time and took its time. We had to be patient while waiting for the goodness of the food God had given us. Eating it also had its appropriate time. We shared with each other and the nearest neighbors or with those
who might come to visit our house, whether they had their own food at home or were begging for some. No one was turned away; everyone was welcome. Now it seems, according to this article that this may be one of the reasons why our culture lives longer. How about that? I think that the quality of life we lead must be very important and add to our years of longevity. The tribal customs of taking care of and respecting our elders, making them as comfortable as possible—not sending them off to nursing homes has been a part of our natural living pattern. The taking care of children by the whole family, not just the new mother reduces stress for the new mother. Sharing our food, eating slowly, savoring each morsel, laughing and being together sets a wonderful pattern for vibrant living. As I said before, I don’t know when I lost that way of life but I do know that for the rest of my life I will strive to gain it back.
Michael Pollan Quotes from In Defense of Food “Culture, when it comes to food, is of course a fancy word for your mom.” “Don’t eat anything incapable of rotting.” “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” “The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture.”
Page 4
LENN Spring 2016
Grocery Shopping By Magdalena McCloskey CoL
M
any people make their food choices based on immediate cost savings. Understandable as this is, we would do well to think about the larger picture before deciding what best serves our family finances and the common good. Promoted by large corporations since the end of WW II, the industrial food production system in the United States uses concentrated pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizer to produce high yields and picture perfect products. We, the public, are absorbing many costs. Among them are health and safety costs coupled with air quality and resultant climate deterioration. Family farms have become a social institution of the past, replaced by a system legally bound to industrial giants by agreements that remove all local decision–making from the farmer. Many farmers are in anguish because they know they are choosing their families’ financial survival on the farm over the longer-term health and environmental well-being of all. Calculating the cost of our grocery bills involves more factors than just those seen at the checkout counter. We must clean up our ground water and acknowledge the increased risks borne by agricultural workers and farmers. How many pregnant women in the United States have measurable levels of environmental chemicals in their bodies? The potential health consequences of prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants can include immediate effects: birth defects, pre–term birth, childhoodspecific effects, learning disabilities, childhood cancers, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Doctor David Katz from Yale University predicts that if this trend continues, there will be more premature deaths from poor eating, obesity and lack of activity among our youth than from smoking, drugs and alcohol combined. This is frightening news!
We have to wake up and act. Even though our culture benefits from large chemical and agricultural corporations, these same corporations created genetically modified seeds, factory farms, and inhumane treatment of animals. The biggest corporations controlling the food industry are Monsanto, ConAgra and Cargill. The most effective way to influence the agracorporations is to stop purchasing their products and to inform the distributors and supermarkets that you, the customer, will buy only real food. Blaming the corporations is not solving the problem. Changing the system is a daunting task. Writing your representatives in Congress too often lands a letter in the wastebasket. The current Farm Bill subsidizes current industrial agricultural policy with its costs to be borne by present and future generations. Taking responsibility is the first step in making a difference. I am encouraged by the growing number of people who are not only aware of the problem, but are also actively involved in educating themselves, supporting local farmers, growing their own food, and purchasing organic or locally produced foods. Really, “We ARE the ONES, we have been waiting for.” Recently a county in Oregon declared itself a GMO Free Zone.
The Community took responsibility for what was happening to their farmlands, and drove the Corporation Syngenta out of Oregon. There are mounting lawsuits from farmers over their inability to ship corn products using Syngenta’s GM corn seed internationally. Although this appears to be a victory, it is not at the source of the problem. Many communities across the U.S. have attempted the same and have failed. Here in Colorado, (my home state) a handful of citizens tried to protect their families’ health and safety. After going to court, they realized their right of local self-government was superseded by the rights of corporations. What was a handful of caring people has now become a vibrant organization. Their persistence in changing the Colorado State Constitution has reached the Colorado Supreme Court. My personal approach is to work with the community rights movement and to choose local and organic food as much as possible. It tastes good and my body thrives on it. I know I am supporting farmers who care for Earth. They care for their families and care for the people they serve. I am open to dialog with you. Bon Appetite! The following film, available on Netflix, is highly recommended. “GMO OMG” director and concerned father Jeremy Seifert is in search of answers. How do GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet, and our freedom of choice? And perhaps the ultimate question, which Siefert asks himself: Is it even possible to reject the food system currently in place or have we lost something we can’t gain back? These and other questions take Seifert on a journey from his family’s table to Haiti, Paris, Norway, and the lobby of agra-giant Monsanto, from which he is unceremoniously ejected. Along the way we gain insight into a question that is of growing concern to citizens the world over: What’s on your plate?
LENN Spring 2016 Page 5
Reversing Climate Change on the Motherhouse Farm By Kathy Wright SL
R
ecent articles on regenerative agriculture highlight the ways that good farming practices can actually sequester carbon and reverse climate change if adopted on a global scale. Several of these practices are already in place on the Loretto motherhouse farm. In a recent interview with Cody Rakes, the Director of Farm and Land Management at the motherhouse, we reviewed their current status. A process called no–till farming is one way to keep 95% or more of the soil surface area undisturbed. Using this method minimizes the oxygen available to microorganisms and thus prevents them from producing carbon dioxide. The downside is that this method allows weeds to survive and thrive. So this requires another solution! Planting cover crops after the fall harvest can certainly help. These crops do two things: They crowd out weeds and limit sunlight for growth. Kentucky is unique—it is too far north for southern crops to grow and too far south for northern crops. Our challenge is to find the right crop for this area. It is well known that cover crops have limited planting time frames and can sometimes force the early harvest of the growing season crops. Local field
agronomists are researching the best cover crops for Kentucky. In 2015, the farm planted about 40 acres of cereal rye while the weather and soil moisture were ideal. In the very integrated system the motherhouse farm is developing, residue mulching, composting with cattle manure, rotational grazing and crop rotation are part of the plan. Residue mulching uses leftover plants (corn stalks and soybean plants) to replenish the soil. Composting with cattle manure is more effective with rotational grazing of cattle. However it means moving the cattle from field to field in a planned pattern. Right now the motherhouse soil consists of 1.2 to 5% organic matter. The optimum levels are posted at 3 to 5%. We predict this will take 10 to 15 years. Rotational grazing of cattle and other species of animals is good for the soil and other animals. The cattle experience lower levels of parasites and require fewer medications. The farm will now need additional fencing and personnel to provide clean water stations and to move the cattle regularly. Good farming methods combined with reduced usage of fossil fuel products provide a two-pronged approach to
Cody Rakes, Farm Manager Loretto Motherhouse
addressing climate change. We can keep more carbon sequestered and create less additional carbon needing sequestration. It is exciting to envision the impact these agricultural practices can have both locally and globally. If you would like to learn more about regenerative agriculture and climate change, visit the Rodale Institute website. www.rodaleinstitute.org If these practices are instituted on a global scale, the Rodale Institute believes carbon sequestration could exceed our current carbon emissions and give the planet a good chance of limiting global warming.
Loretto Earth Network News
Coordinators
Loretto Earth Network Mary Ann Coyle Maureen Fiedler Magdalena McCloskey Maureen McCormack Jessie Rathburn Nancy Wittwer Sally Maresh (intern)
A publication of the Loretto Community
Editor: Mary Ann Coyle SL 3126 S Osceola Street Denver, CO 80236-2332
Email: macoyle303@comcast.net
www.lorettocommunity.org
Layout: Nancy Wittwer SL
Page 6
LENN Spring 2016
Water:
25th Anniversary Reprint
The Secret of Life By Elaine Marie Prevallet, SL
A
t the Motherhouse this Easter, Chey Jezreel was baptized. I watched as the newly-lit paschal candle was ceremoniously lowered three times into the womb of the baptismal water, symbolizing the uniting of masculine and feminine, making the water fecund with new life. I watched as Chey was immersed into the water, and her head three times gently submerged, dying and rising to new life in Christ. I became aware, once again, of how integral the element of water is to our symbolic life. I remembered Miriam Therese MacGillis pointedly asking, “How can we baptize our children in polluted water?” I think of those ancient great stories of Noah and Jonah, and the power of Isaiah’s urging, “All you who thirst, come to the water ...;” I think of Jesus’ baptism and our own. Jesus declares those blessed who thirst for justice, and to the Samaritan woman at the well, he promises “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” — the life of the Spirit within us. The Bible begins as “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” and ends, in the Book of Revelations, with “Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” Those deepest aspirations and desires of the human heart — our desire for God, for the Spirit, for a world at peace, for Abundant Life for all — all are symbolized by the thirst for water that quenches and satisfies. Water is nearly always readily accessible to us. We take it so for granted that it is almost impossible for us to really grasp how totally dependent we are on water. Seven tenths of the planet is water -so startling a fact that someone suggested that planet “earth” might more appropriately be named planet “water.” Life emerged from the oceans, and all living beings retain the connection: we humans, who feel and look
Loretto Earth Network News 1998 Vol.6, No.2
so solid, are also seven-tenths water. Physiologically, of course, we cannot live without it. Maybe we should repeat that, like a mantra: life cannot survive without water. That physical dependence is mirrored in our psyches. In our dreams, water is associated with the unconscious, source of new life that waits to be drawn into the light of consciousness and integrated for our continuing development. The ocean is, both factually and symbolically, the matrix of our origin. It also symbolizes the infinite horizons of our destiny. Recently I read that mining companies have gained the “title” or the “right” to explore the rich deposits of gold, silver and copper in the deep seabed in various parts of the oceans. These minerals are found “atop volcanic fissures that gird the global seabed like seams on a baseball . . .forming one of the planet’s dominant features.” They are sites that teem with ancient life forms that include microbes “whose genetic blueprints suggested that they were the most primitive on Earth.” Aside from questions raised by tampering with unknown primitive microbes, one has to wonder about the casual spirit of derring-do or the greed that would drive companies to plunder the ocean floor. Oceans regulate global climate, provide nearly half of earth’s oxygen and are crucial to purifying the air of carbon dioxide. Instead of disrupting this pristine, vulnerable site, resulting inevitably in more pollution, maybe we need to rethink how and why we make use of mineral products. For instance, the U.S. is the world’s highest customer of aluminum, the largest share of which is used to make beverage cans. That fact alone says volumes about the sea-change of
consciousness that is required of us. Last month I heard on NPR an account of an international meeting in Paris to deal with the rapidly approaching crisis of a shortage of potable water. If I heard correctly, 60% of people in 10 countries presently have no access to unpolluted water; 1.2 billion of earth’s people are affected. If a similar scenario of water shortage occurred in this country (as it eventually will) what measures would we be likely to take, or what would we be willing to do to save our own lives? There is an impending crisis over water “rights,” the availability of water and who has access to it. Will this crisis provoke reactions in us of force and violence to get what we want, or think we need? Or will it open our eyes to appreciate what we merely take for granted, use and waste and never notice, drink and never savor? Maybe we might resolve to take two small steps, one directed outward and one inward. First, we might choose some issue on which to act — to write a letter or make a phone call, joining with others who are working to protect the purity of the water supply, or to prevent its pollution. And second, we might begin to practice being GRATEFULLY AWARE of water in some particular context, such as bathing or washing hands, or drinking. I have often reflected on this sentence from an Arabian philosopher which I copied into my notebook some 25 years ago: “The secret of all life is in the act of flowing, peculiar to water.” Our current water dilemma is evidence that we have not attended to, we have not contemplated water. We do not know how to “flow.” We grab, we grasp, and we spoil. Can we change that pattern in ourselves, and work to bring a new awareness to our culture?
LENN Spring 2016 Page 7
SAVE THE DATE: AUGUST 19-21, 2016 Loretto Center, Denver CO
The Loretto Earth Network celebrates its 25th Anniversary by bringing together an Activist and a Contemplative to renew our commitment to Earth.
Fletcher Harper is an Episcopal priest and GreenFaith’s Executive Director. Under his leadership, GreenFaith has developed innovative programs linking religious belief to the environment. An award-winning spiritual writer and nationally-recognized preacher on the environment, he teaches and speaks at houses of worship nationwide about the moral and spiritual basis for environmental stewardship and justice. A graduate of Princeton University and Union Theological Seminary, he served as a parish priest and in leadership positions in the Episcopal Church before becoming GreenFaith’s Executive Director.
Elaine Prevallet, a Sister of Loretto, has a PhD from Marquette University in Religious Studies. After nine years of teaching college, she joined the teaching staff at Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for adult learning in community. She then served as director of Knobs Haven, a retreat center at Loretto Motherhouse in Kentucky. Her interests have centered on the confluence of religious traditions and the on thought of Teilhard de Chardin, and she has written numerous articles and several booklets with a view toward expanding human consciousness. Her writing has helped many readers to broaden their vision into a new global and cosmic frame.
Divestment from Fossil Fuels LEN Update By Jessie Rathburn
A
t Assembly 2015, the Loretto Community passed a proposal to divest LLBI funds from fossil fuels and “to re-direct the money from the sale of fossil fuel stocks to investments in renewable energy companies or other investments that are NOT fossil fuel extraction stocks, and/or provide funding to increase the use of renewable energy on LLBI-owned properties.” An additional element of the proposal was to “encourage co-members and friends of Loretto, who have not already done so, to assess their investment portfolios and consider divesting from fossil fuel stocks.” The Loretto Earth Network would like to provide a framework for co-members who are interested in joining the Community in divesting from fossil fuel stocks, and are currently in the process of determining the best way to do this. To aid in this effort, a survey was distributed to the entire Community in the Community announcements. (If you did not have a chance to fill out the surve fromy, please email Jessie Rathburn at Jessierathburn@gmail.com.) The survey will help us with three basic categories of information: how many folks have funds invested in fossil fuels, whether or not these individuals want to divest these funds along with the Sisters of Loretto and what kind of information / education will be necessary to help these individuals accomplish this action. We are hoping to finalize and publish the results of the survey, along with resources for those who wish to divest, in our next issue of LEN News. If you haven’t had a chance to fill out the survey, please do so soon!