PC-FLAC’24 Issues – Creation in Crisis

Creation in Crisis

This page will be updated regularly. Please suggest additions by contacting one of the Coordinators. We welcome volunteers to join this Issue Committee.

CO-LEADERS ON THIS ISSUE:

Joe Iannone: iannonejoe@yahoo.com / 954-734-5529
Co-Coordinator: TBA

Researcher Volunteer: TBA

Policy Focus:

Rising sea levels and increasingly catastrophic weather events portend an existential threat to Florida. It is more urgent than ever to heed Pope Francis’ call to recognize the intrinsic value of the environment, independent of its utility to humanity. As the Holy Father reminds us, “The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor” (Laudato Si, 2). Meanwhile, the poor already experience mass displacement driven by environmental racism. Our state needs policies that reflect the reality of our ecological crisis and its negative impact on Florida’s most vulnerable populations and our unique Florida eco-systems. Together, we can safeguard our common home with the urgency and justice it demands.

Some Background on the Issue

• Climate Activists Kick Off Campaign to Stop Fossil Fuels   (The Guardian, 9/14/23)
• Florida’s Climate Change Law Ignores What is Causes Climate Change (March, 2022)
• Desantis Shrugs Off the Threat of Climate Change  (NY Times 9/8/23)
• Dems Seek Revival of Energy-Savings Grants that DeSantis Vetoed (Orl Sentinel 9/14/23)
• Tropical Storms Killing More Americans As Climate Crisis Deepens (The Guardian, 8/23)
• Working Across Party Lines to Solve the Climate Refugee Crisis
• State Clean Energy Policy Tracker
• Ten Steps in Active Hope for our Personal & Global Health (Mary Ann Holtz, updated 8/23)
• Laudatory Si’ – Pope Francis 2015 Encyclical on Care of Our Common Home
• Florida Tops In Solar Installations  (FPL’s ’23 proposed legislation to expand their efforts by reducing ‘buy-back’ rates was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Desantis)
• Growing a Green Church
• Billions of Federal Dollars Available to Help Churches & Non-Profits Go Green