The greening of the Vatican

This isn't terribly up-to-the-minute news, but we think it's worth talking about. On July 5, 2007, the Vatican announced that it had accepted an offer from Planktos-KlimaFa (ecorestoration groups) to create a "Vatican Climate Forest" in central Europe. You can read the whole article here.

So what does that mean?

The forest initially offset Vatican City's total CO2 emissions, making the Vatican the world's first carbon neutral sovereign state. Not only that, it's also a long-term way for the Vatican City State to continue neutralizing its carbon footprint. Huzzah!

It comes as a surprise to a lot of people that the Church is actually really into the whole "green culture" thing. Maybe we don't have the most tree-hugging, bunny-loving reputation, but in recent years we've been stepping up to the proverbial plate.

In his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (published in 1979), Pope John Paul II said:

"Man often seems to see no other meaning in his natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption. Yet it was the Creator's will that man should communicate with nature as an intelligent and noble 'master' and 'guardian,' and not as a heedless 'exploiter' and 'destroyer.'"

AMEN!!

Pope Benedict XVI has also encouraged green culture. Russ George, who is the Planktos CEO and the KlimaFa managing director, said that "the Holy See's increasingly creative environmental leadership is both insightful and profound." That's quite the compliment.

See? We like trees and bunnies just as much as the next guy.

Being environmental students at a school that's trying to become the country's premiere environmental University, we've noticed that our simultaneous love for both Jesus and nature makes us kind of a minority. Most of the purpose of this blog, besides it being a great outlet for our ridiculous musings, is to shed light on the fact that the terms "Christian" and "intense tree-hugging granola-eating forest-frolicking environmentalist" aren't mutually exclusive. Sorry about the stereotype, but it's more or less true....we do actually hug trees, eat granola, and frolick in the forest. Or maybe it's not so much "frolicking" as "doing research," but you get the idea.

Next time we're going to tell you about the Catholic Center at UVM and how awesome it is, and how Audrey wants to get it a wind turbine. SWEET.

Tree of the Day: Tulip Poplar (Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera)