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My moral issue is the ways in which we pollute the environment and how we disrespect God's creation and humanity by doing so.

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Some problems that we currently face on earth are environmental pollution, overgrazing, over-planting, over-fishing, the destruction of rainforests, the destruction of plant and animal species, and global warming.

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Environmental pollution occurs when pollutants are given off by various sources and are disposed of in places like rivers, or are given off into the air.  For example, if a factory is producing cars, items having to do with vehicles such as petroleum, metals, etc. will be left lying around as waste.  Instead of hiring a professional clean-up team which requires a good amount of money or having a good waste disposal system, the owner of the factory may dump the waste into a river, thus polluting the environment.  This pollution leads to an environment that kills many animals, either indirectly by killing off food-sources, or directly by poisoning the animals themselves with the hazardous materials.

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Overgrazing occurs when land is "eaten up" by enclosed or immobile animal groups and is not allowed time to recover. This happens a lot with fenced in pastures. This is a problem as it causes the land to be unproductive while eroding the soil and making it generally less hospitable and usable after a period of time. Over-planting is when you plant more plants than the environment can handle, so the land becomes less fertile and productive.  Finally, over-fishing occurs when a school of fish is hunted to such an extreme that the school is unable to recover and become heavily populated again. This precludes other people from fishing in that area.

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Destruction of Rainforests and Destruction of Plant and Animal Species

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Destruction of Rainforests and Destruction of Plant and Animal Species

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The destruction of rainforests occurs when humans log and clear the rainforests for timber or to make room for housing.  This leads to a reduction in genetic diversity and an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which facilitates global warming. Also, the destruction of rainforests also leads to the destruction of plant and animal species. Another cause of the destruction of plant and animal species is climate change/global warming as it produces temperatures plants and animals are not acclimated to.

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Global warming is caused by a variety of factors.  It is caused by the destruction of rainforests as the carbon dioxide given off by the machines used to log goes into the atmosphere.  Also, the destruction of the rainforests means that the trees and plants in the rainforests cannot go through photosynthesis and convert that CO2 into oxygen.  Another cause of global warming is the burning of fossil fuels by vehicles. Global warming leads to a damaged environment.

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How Environmental Issues Violate the Commandments

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How Environmental Issues Violate the Commandments

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As a result of these issues, some people are precluded from enjoying God's gift of creation.  For example, by allowing overgrazing to occur, if someone else wanted to use that land, they could not now as it was barren. Another example is that by over-fishing, other people cannot fish in that same area. In essence, these problems are stealing from many people, thus violating the Seventh Commandment.

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There are many solutions to these environmental problems.  School systems can encourage teaching young children that protecting the environment is important to the welfare of all people. Scientists and researchers can continue learning about these problems while spreading awareness and developing technology to help combat them.  We can vote in our country for politicians that support preserving the environment for future generations.  A final thought is that we can take a more active role as Catholics in spreading awareness about climate change while examining our actions and making sure that we are not contributing to it.