INTERNATIONAL EARTH DAY 2010

10 Things You Can do to Care for the Earth
1. Plan car trips ahead of time
If you are like most people who live in their car, take
stock of the number of unnecessary trips you make in a
given week. Plan your errands, meetings, pick-ups and
routes ahead of time in order to cut back on your
contribution to CO2 car emissions and gas use.
Catholic Social teaching calls us to take responsibility for our use and care of the earth. The
decisions we make can make a positive difference by heeding the call to be better stewards and
care about our impact on the earth. Global climate change hasbeen a major topic in the public
spotlight these days. While everyone from scientists to politicians are joining forces to address
this reality, there are numerous simple things each one of us can do to make a difference.
4. Look for the Energy Star
When making purchases of new appliances, check to
see that they are carrying the Energy Star symbol
indicating that they are designed to be more energy
efficient than other models. Appliances with this label
not only use less power but can also greatly reduce
your energy bill.
2. Use Earth-friendly cleaners
The products that you use to clean your home may
actually be harmful for the earth, containing damaging
chemicals and upsetting the ecological balance. Seek
“green” cleaning products that are biodegradable and
designed with the earth in mind.
3. Use your bike
More and more cities are jumping on the bandwagon of
cutting gas emissions by promoting bike paths for
commuters. Consider using your bike to get to or from
work, or if that is impractical, consider increasing bike
use on the weekends to make those shorter trips to the
store, The earth will benefit and so will your overall
health.
5. Plant extra veggies
As the gardening season gets underway, consider
adding an extra plot of vegetables to provide fresh
produce for a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
The garden will be bountiful and others will reap what
you sow.
6. Conserve Water
Water tends to be something we take for granted, but it
is quickly becoming one of the precious resources of
the earth that needs our care and conservation. Be
more mindful of unnecessary water use and don’t leave
the faucet running.
7. Change your light bulbs
One significant place to curb energy use is in the light
bulb socket. Compact florescent light bulbs (CPL) are
the newest way a small purchase can make a big
change. These spiral shaped bulbs may cost more, but
they use one-fourth the energy and can be found
anywhere light bulbs are sold.
8. Hang a Clothes line
This may sound like a return to the 1950’s but using a
clothes line instead of your heated dryer can cut back
drastically on energy use. Additional benefits include
that fresh clothesline scent and a smaller electric bill.
9. Consume less, Share more
Unbridled consumption is part of the dynamic putting an
increased demand on the need for energy and fuels.
Assess your own buying habits and consumerist
tendencies cut back where you can, sharing unused or
unneeded items with others. As the saying goes, “Have
less, be more.”
10. Support a local farmer
Most of the food we eat travels hundreds and sometimes
even thousands of miles to reach our grocery
stores and markets. Do your part to reduce our dependency
on oil and fossil fuels and buy locally from a
farmer in your region. Find a farmers market in your
area through the internet or yellow pages

Justice for a Roman Catholic nun who was raped

Do you remember the case reported by media two years ago of a nun who was forced to parade half naked and gang-raped by Hindu fundamentalist in Orissa India?

The High Court of Orissa decided to move an infamous case from a court in Phulbani, Kandhamal District, Orissa to the city of Cuttack. The transfer decision, given on March 30, 2010, has rekindled dwindling hope for justice for all victims of the unprecedented anti-Christian riots in 2008.

One of the lead lawyers in the case, Ms. Lansinglu Rongmei, said, "The best part is that the court instructed that all the witnesses who turned hostile should be recalled. This means the trial will essentially get a fresh start." Rongmei has a private practice based in Delhi but has also served as the National Legal Secretary for the All India Christian Council (aicc) since October 2008.

Let us hope and pray that those who committed the crime may be held accountable so that this can serve to the re-establishment of just relationship in that reagion.

Source: Fr. Amaladoss Mariasussai, CPPS
Sr. Kusumam, SAB
The Executive Secretary, KRCR
KRCR Secretariat
C/o. The Brother's of Holy Cross
# 47 St. Mark's Road
Bangalore - 560 001.

The International Year of Biodiversity

What are you doing in the year of Biodiversity?

The UN declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). Throughout the year countless initiatives will be organized to disseminate information, promote the protection of biodiversity and encourage organizations, institutions, companies and individuals to take direct action to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide.

Biodiversity is an all encompassing term to describe the variety of all life and natural processes on Earth. It is “the variability among living organisms from all sources [...] this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”. (Article 2, CBD).

Have you ever considered that the glass of clear, cold, clean water drawn from your faucet may have been purified for you by a wetland or perhaps the root system of an entire forest? Too often people take the availability of products and goods for granted. If we follow the chain of production for many products back to the source, more often than not we arrive back at biodiversity.
Continued loss of biodiversity will result in a rapid decline of the Earth’s natural wealth and a dramatic reduction of future ecosystem services. Agricultural production will dramatically decrease if bacteria and fungi, which make soil fertile and breakdown wastes disappear. The same will happen if insects, bats and birds – which ensure flower pollination – reduce in numbers. With 42% of anti-cancer drugs coming from natural sources, biodiversity loss will force us to face unprecedented challenges.
We are losing both the beauty and richness of our natural environment as well as destabilising the very ecological processes on which we depend. There can be no life on Earth without biodiversity.
To fight the continuous loss of biodiversity which is threatening the survival of the world as a whole, in 2002 world leaders committed to reduce this loss by 2010, following the pledge EU countries had already made in 2001. Find out more on the 2010 Biodiversity Target.

What you can do?
•Raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being and promote understanding of the economic value of biodiversity
•Enhance public knowledge of the threats to biodiversity and means to conserve it
•Encourage organizations (and through them individuals) to take direct or indirect biodiversity conservation activities
•Celebrate the achievements of Countdown 2010 partners and other stakeholders
•Reporting on the possible failures for not achieving the Target
•Prepare the ground for communicating the post-2010 target(s)
For further information contact: Email: info [at] countdown2010.net