Innovate~Educate~Collaborate

Tag: ecology

  • Green Junction by Julie Peller, Ph.D. ~ Thinking about school buses.

    According to the US EPA, “school buses travel about four billion miles yearly, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children daily.” One problem with diesel-powered school buses is the toxic fumes that are emitted. Thanks to government mandates requiring cleaner diesel fuel and updated engine technologies, there…

  • Green Junction: Have you ever thought about trees? by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The glorious colors of the trees in the fall are a reminder of nature’s beauty. Trees provide so much more than stunning foliage. Trees clean the air, filter water, control water drainage, sustain biodiversity, provide a home for animals, take in carbon dioxide, store carbon, and are a significant source of oxygen; and the list…

  • Green Junction: Thinking about Fashion. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    When goods and energy are subsidized, the price is not the real cost but a reduced and often harmfully artificial one. For example, synthetic fabrics known as nylon and polyester are made from subsidized fossil fuels. The artificially low price of these clothing and textile items leads to higher sales and shorter use times. The…

  • Green Junction: “monsoons on steroids” by Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    Over the past months, intensive and extensive flooding in Pakistan has been described as “monsoons on steroids” and “unprecedented.” The human toll at this point is near 1600 deaths, 11 million people driven further below poverty, and 33 million displaced. The country’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, described the connection to climate change. “Pakistan has never seen…

  • It is time for Catholics “belly up to the bar.” Think Social Teachings!

    The Catholic Church, which includes all the Rites East and West, must reinstll the heart of the gospel messages in Catholic Social Teachings. Have we become so comfortable with our wealth that we forget the Gospel message? Joseph Cardinal Cardijn’s thinking and message go back decades before Vatican II. Cardijn’s methods of See-Judge-Act are vital…

  • 11 October 1962

    On 11 Oct 2022, it will be 60 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council. It is time for the Church to resurrect the teachings in the documents to better bring about the kingdom of God here and now on a regional and global basis. The underlying methodology in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen…

  • Green Junction: Nanoplastics in the human body, by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    A few weeks ago, I summarized information from a study about the alarming amount of microplastics created when water is shaken in plastic baby bottles. Consumers have understood that plastics used for food and drink containers and many other items are resilient and unchanging. However, studies continue to show that some microplastics are released from…

  • Green Junction: The minimalist lifestyle by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The minimalist lifestyle is described as a simplistic way of living using materials that are necessary or serve a purpose. Those who choose a minimalist lifestyle, often called minimalists, are people who seek happiness and peace in living, not in materials. Minimalism is the conscious decision to live with fewer possessions with more time to…

  • Green Junction: “It is our collective and individual responsibility: By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Younger generations tend to express greater concern about the state of the earth. Their futures are challenged by the rising human population that generates greenhouse gases, pollution, and extorts natural resources, among other stressors. Societal messaging continues to promote materialism, which distresses nature. Unprecedented weather events are among the earth’s messages. Young people who recognize…

  • Merton: a ‘mystical experience.’

    In 1966, Merton wrote about a ‘mystical experience’ in a Louisville, Ky., shopping district, commonly known as the 4th & Walnut experience. Merton famously wrote: “I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even…