Watch Dr. Sakimoto’s video message here. Help the Covenant reach its year-end fundraising goal by donating here, including if you wish to become a recurring monthly donor.
Wouldn’t you like to be here with my four-legged buddy? He’s enjoying the clean water and fresh air and, I’m pretty sure, not worrying at all about the immense harm that we humans are doing to this planet.
I’m Dr. Phil Sakimoto, an astrophysicist, a member of the Creation Care Team at St Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Indiana, an Advising Professor at the University of Notre Dame, and, previously, the Program Manager and Acting Director of NASA’s National Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program.
For some 45 years I’ve been watching this planet getting warmer, watching as that gradual warming has accelerated to the point that, as a physicist, I have the sense that our climate system is lurching towards catastrophic failure. The consequences of this global warming—the devastating storms, floods, fires, and droughts that we collectively call climate change–are becoming worse with each passing year.
We have at hand the technological tools necessary to stop climate change in its tracks, but we seem to lack the societal will to employ these tools. How do we build that societal will?
I think that the Catholic Church is our best shot. It is the only organization I know of that has the moral authority and the fingers and influence in every corner of the globe necessary to spawn widespread global action.
Here in the United States, the Catholic Climate Covenant is the visible source of that action. Their extensive networks, ranging from the U.S. Catholic Bishops to individual parishes and schools, are the catalysts for action at both national and local levels.
I know something about non-profit organizations. I’ve been on the Board of Directors of some, and, from that experience, I know that nothing is more important than a guarantee of ongoing funding. The one-time gifts are certainly helpful and appreciated, but it is the regular monthly contributions that allow long-term planning and budgeting. That’s why I’ve personally made a monthly commitment to supporting the Covenant, and I urge you to make a monthly commitment as well.
If we work together, it’s not too late to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. We can still preserve our world—God’s Creation—in a way that makes it a place that those who are yet to be born will actually want to live. So please join me in making a donation, or better yet, an ongoing, monthly commitment to supporting the work of the Catholic Climate Covenant. You and future generations will be glad you did.
