Bending the Arc

In light of the growing impact of climate change on the global community, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, honoring our interdependence with all of God's creation and in a spirit of nonviolence, personally and communally renews and recommits to care for Earth, home of all living creatures.

We commit to actions that:

• Flow from a spirituality of integral ecology (Laudato Si’ – Chapter 4) that expresses interconnections among environmental, economic, scientific, social and cultural systems,
• Respect Earth and the interdependence of all life,
• Consume less of Earth’s nonrenewable resources through the six R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and restore,
• Educate ourselves and others about the equitable development of renewable, cleaner energy sources in order to
  • mitigate the impact of climate change and
  • enable the most vulnerable to adapt to climate change
• Promote a low-carbon economy especially in Nicaragua and the USA where we serve,
• Cooperate with governmental and non-governmental organizations that are committed to care for Earth.

Sometimes we are called to contact our legislators to ask for their support on our conservation priorities. Here in Wisconsin, Conservation Voters have identified five specific  priorities:

• Support a constitutional amendment that would give Wisconsinites the right to propose and approve laws and constitutional amendments through referendums.
• Support at least $1 billion in increased bonding authority and grant funding for capital investments that remediate PFAS, lead, and nitrate contamination statewide.
• Support reauthorizing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for 10 years at $100 million a year.
• Support bringing Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) to Wisconsin to ensure a transparent, accountable, and forward-thinking energy strategy.
• Support Wisconsin stepping in to replace any federal funding withheld by the federal government, so that our communities can continue to access critical substance use disorder treatment and health care services.

These priorities were presented to state representatives in Madison last week. If you were unable to attend, you can still make your voice heard. Simply click here, enter your name and address and your message will be sent directly to your state representatives.