Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi - Part II

Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi – Part II

Last week in commemoration of the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, we noted that he is the patron saint of the poor and disenfranchised as well as of peace / prevention of conflict.  Saint Francis is also the patron saint of ecology and of our Earth’s biosphere, on which we all depend for the air which we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and all that is necessary for our existence on Earth. 

Out of respect for the sanctity of human life (from conception to natural death, as well as, our concern for the well-being of the poor, for the care of God’s creation) we are concerned with what might be the effect of the introduction into our biosphere of significant quantities of suspected chemical carcinogens.

Our respect for the sanctity of human life is derived from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and rooted in our Catholic Social Teaching.

(As Carl Safina of the Blue Ocean Institute wrote: “Nature, civilization, peace, and human dignity are all facets of the same gemstone, and abrasion of one tarnishes the whole.” )

If we poison our biosphere with contaminates such as mercury, arsenic, dioxins, benzene, and hundreds of others, we risk harming all human life, especially the vulnerable, the unborn child, the nursing infant, and, the long-term viability of our society.  Only now are we beginning to understand the effect of such contaminants with respect to premature birth, birth weight, immune systems, and cancer.

Here are a few examples of how contaminates have gotten into our bodies:

·         spreading of dioxin-contaminated oil on roads in Times Beach, Missouri;

·         contamination of cattle feed with fire retardant in Michigan in the 1970s;

·         building on top of a hazardous waste landfill as in the Love Canal;

·         inappropriate use of pesticides and herbicides in farming applications and golf courses;

·         consuming fish that contain elevated levels of mercury and PCB’s;

·         spills and contaminants from energy production (oil and gas refining, oil and natural gas drilling, oil pipelines [as in the spill in the Kalamazoo River], coal mining, coal-fired power plants). 

What might we do to address this issue and protect ourselves? 

·         Where feasible, avoid the use of household and garden chemicals that contain suspected carcinogens; adhere to the precautions on the container for handling and disposal.

·         Stay indoors with windows closed if spraying of pesticides / herbicides is being done in the area.

·         Educate yourself relative to the potential health / environmental hazards in your area.

·         Avoid eating seafood that has been shown to contain elevated levels of mercury and PCB’s;

·         Reflect on the need for appropriate regulations and enforcement of operations using potentially hazardous materials.

As with any such subject, there are many books available on the topic.  Here are a few examples for your consideration:

·         Sandra Steingraber (Raising Elijah, Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis and Living Downstream, An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment),

·         Marla Cone (Silent Snow, the Slow Poisoning of the Arctic), and

·         Bruce Johansen (The Dirty Dozen, Toxic Chemicals and the Earth’s Future)

Dick Brown, Peace and Justice Committee