EarthBeat

The U.S. Agency for International Development was a key player in renewable energy and disaster protection around the world — until Elon Musk showed up.

Pope Francis offers guidance on evaluating and responding to disaster through his encyclicals Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti. Care for our common home, in conjunction with care for our neighbor, is the necessary response to the Los Angeles fires. 

For decades, Altadena has been a diverse hamlet that boasted higher than average Black home ownership, thriving Black small businesses, and churches with ministries that specifically serve Black Catholics. But now, in the wake of such devastation, local leaders recognize Altadena faces a daunting challenge: retaining its identity in the face of a very real chasm between residents' desire to stay, and the financial ability to stay.

In response to the effects of climate change, Sr. Juunza Mwangani, who is the project manager of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit, recognized opportunity among the people of southern Zambia, who are farmers by nature.

Fray Bartolomé, as the Maká call it, was offered to them through a decree issued in 1944 by strongman Higinio Morínigo, then Paraguay's president. It was meant as a present, the Maká have said, to acknowledge their courage and the role they played during the Chaco War against Bolivia in the 1930s.

Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who has led the observatory since 2015, shares his journey of becoming a Jesuit astronomer, explains the compatibility of science and faith and guides readers on how to look at the heavens in a new book released Feb. 4 by Loyola Press.

For more than two decades, Interfaith Power and Light has galvanized faith voices around climate change and environmental justice. Its leaders said their work as a top moral voice will continue through its 40 state and regional affiliates.

"I believe that given the crises we face today we have a responsibility to play our part and lead where we can. … I feel this is my time to lead," Gold said.