From:    news at religionandecology.org
Subject: August 2008 UNEP News Clippings
Date: September 9, 2008

THE FORUM ON RELIGION AND ECOLOGY (backed by UNEP).

August 2008 UNEP News Clippings.
August 6, 2008

Polluted Ganges must be cleaned, gurus demand

Rhys Blakely
Bombay
The Times Online

A coalition of gurus has issued an ultimatum to India’s fragile Government: purify the chronically polluted Ganges, the river revered by Hindus, or face protests and political ruin.

Ganga Raksha Manch, a newly formed alliance of celebrity holy men, is demanding urgent action to cleanse the holy waterway, which has become a noxious cocktail of human and industrial waste, before a general election that must be held before May.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo…

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August 7, 2008

Pope says Catholic Church has undervalued environment

ROME: Pope Benedict XVI has told a meeting of priests that protection of the environment had been undervalued by the Catholic Church in the past, but said materialism was the biggest threat to the planet.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.terradaily.com/2007/080806185…

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August 8, 2008

Jewish groups add voices to green concerns

Ed Stoddard
Reuters

DALLAS - Following a path blazed by other U.S. religious groups, a diverse coalition of Jewish organizations has outlined its concerns regarding the environment and called for action from Congress and the Administration.

Spearheaded by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, it calls among other things for an aggressive 80 percent cut in carbon reductions by 2050.

For full story, visit:

 http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/200…
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August 13, 2008

Biofuels soon to be measured by international standards

By Jerome Grosse
Lausanne

300 experts and representatives of the public and private sector have come together in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, housed at the EPFL Energy Center, to develop global norms for the economic, social, and environmental impacts of biofuels.

For full story, visit:

 http://actualites.epfl.ch/presseinfo-com…

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August 18, 2008

“Toxic” Indian festivals poison waterways

By Nishika Patel

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Toxic chemicals from thousands of idols of Hindu gods immersed in rivers and lakes across India are causing pollution which is killing fish and contaminating food crops, experts and environmentalists said on Monday.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.reuters.com/article/environme…

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August 25, 2008

Christians see climate change as moral issue

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

ACCRA (Reuters) - Morality should be a spur for stronger action to fight climate change, which threatens food and water supplies for the poorest in Africa, a group of Christian activists said on Saturday during U.N. climate talks.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.reuters.com/article/environme…

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August 26, 2008

Church’s light relief to save the world

Martin Wainwright
The Guardian (UK)

The Church of England has gently modified God’s first injunction in a new green guide for members, which suggests: let there be a little less light.

Clergy and congregations are being encouraged to cut the increasingly popular floodlighting of ancient churches to reduce parish carbon emissions.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20…
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August 28, 2008

CATHOLIC ONLINE

Dominican’s Siena Center Presents Year-long Series on Sustainability

River Forest, IL — Dominican University’s Siena Center will explore the topics of sustainability and stewardship of the earth from a number of perspectives during a series of lectures throughout the fall. The series, titled “Sustainability and the Christian Tradition,” will consider what our stewardship of the earth and care of creation demands of thoughtful Christians, and how this relates to the larger struggle for social justice in the world.

For full story, visit:

 http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline….

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