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Greetings!
Please join Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for an online Catholics Confront Global Poverty discussion:
New Year, New Congress and New Opportunities to Confront Global Poverty
Thursday, January 31, 2013
10:00-11:00 A.M. PST
Register now
Background: As the 113th session of Congress begins, there is a great deal of work legislators must deal with right off the bat. The fiscal cliff still needs to be addressed, as well as finalizing fiscal year 2013 appropriations to keep the government running past the end of March. Negotiations for fiscal year 2014 appropriations follow quickly. We cannot forget that all of these issues will have enormous consequences on our brothers and sisters who are poor and marginalized. We must continue advocate on their behalf and urge our legislators to protect lifesaving poverty-focused international assistance.
Read on.
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Fr. Jerry Kennedy was very dedicated to being the chaplain for the Social Justice Committee while he was a priest at CCOP. The many committee members he inspired are saddened by his sudden death and feel the loss deeply.
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Foreign Policy Issues and Recommendations
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In "The New Rules of War," Peter W. Singer and Thomas Wright outline the president's opportunity to develop a new set of global rules to govern the use of the new battlefield and cyber technology. -
Suzanne Maloney argues for an aggressive menu of diplomatic actions to curb Iran's nuclear program and stabilize the region in "Turning Tehran." -
In "China in Revolution and War," Cheng Li takes a look at two possible and potentially dangerous political developments in China, and how the president can work quickly to avert both.
The memos are divided into two groups. Big Bets are claimed to be "places where the president should consider investing his power, time and prestige in major efforts that can have a transformational impact on America and the world." Black Swans are "those low probability but high-impact events that can trip the president up and divert him from his higher purposes."
An introductory page at Intro has the beginning of the first memo. The continuation of this memo has links to the others.
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Upcoming Events
Saturday, January 26, 12:30 P.M.
9th annual Walk for Life
Civic Center Plaza
Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 P.M.
Tri-Valley CAREs Community Forum about keeping plutonium cores off of highways
Community Room, Livermore Public Library, 188 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore
Saturday, February 2, 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
3rd annual Bay Area Social Justice Forum
Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd, Oakland,
Friday, February 8, 7:00 A.M.
Tri-Valley CAREs Vigil for Nuclear Abolition
Entrance Gate, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
East Avenue and Vasco Road, Livermore
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, February 22-24Los Angeles Religious Education CongressAnaheim Convention Center Click on http://recongress.org/
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Brief Links
Brookings Institution reports - global issues
Africa Priorities for 2013, link
India's Protests as a Social "Stress Test", link
IMF Concerned With the Pace of France's Economic Reform, link
New York Times article - immigration
Immigration Change to Ease Family Separations, link
World Watch Institute reports - agriculture
10 Things You Should Know About Food and Agriculture, link
New World Bank Report Warns "A 4°C Warmer World Must Be Avoided", link
Colorado Water Struggles Highlight Impact of Fracking on Farming, link
Refugee Farmers in the United States, link
New Book Discusses Causes, Effects, and Extent of Land Grabbing, link
California Catholic Conference
Public Policy Insights, link
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Action Alerts
Gun Violence
Please see NETWORK's statement and take action to let your members of Congress know how upset you are about gun violence in our country. You can start with our sample message, but please edit it to make it your own.
Debt Limit and Sequestration
NETWORK needs you to help convince your Representative and Senators that efforts to put our economic house in order must be balanced, protect the most vulnerable and require the greatest support from those with the greatest capacity to provide it.
Careless Cuts Cost Lives
Catholics Confront Global Poverty urges President Obama and Congress to balance the budget but not on the backs of poor.
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NETWORK's Statement on Fiscal Cliff Vote
Washington DC: NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, is grateful that the administration and the Senate have worked out an agreement to move forward to responsibly funding our nation while protecting those who work in low-wage jobs. We have advocated for a "Faithful Budget" that raises "reasonable revenue for responsible programs." Our reading of the current agreement is that, while not including everything we had advocated for, it does provide a significant step forward toward responsible, faithful policies. Most critical to us is the five-year extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These programs are two of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the United States. The extension of Unemployment Insurance for the long-term unemployed is an essential support for the many who are still looking for work in our fragile economy. Additionally, the extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (helping families pay for college for their children) also is critical for families in their attempt to pay for higher education.
The ending of the Bush-era tax cuts for the top 2% of families in our nation is a historic step in rebalancing our tax code so that those who have benefited the most from our economy pay their fair share to support it. Some of the details are also important as the tax on capital gains is also restored to prior levels. These provisions and others are proper steps forward to achieve a more balanced economy.
Finally, we are grateful that none of the adverse consequences of sequester will take effect, especially on vulnerable safety-net programs. However, we are concerned that there will continue to be the threat of sequester on key social programs, including food assistance and other supports for low income people. We affirm the agreement that any future cuts must be shared between the Pentagon and key domestic programs. However we must note that these very domestic programs have already taken the lion's share of the prior cuts. We urge the administration and Congress to continue to work to protect the most vulnerable working families in our society.
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Shrinking Our Agricultural Footprint
For agriculture to contribute to sustainable global development, it must reduce its dependence on non-renewable energy sources. Worldwide, agriculture contributes between 14 and 30 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the calculation. That's more than every car, train, and plane in the global transportation sector.
The good news? Agriculture can play a large role in reducing global fossil fuel emissions: the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the sector could mitigate its carbon dioxide emissions by 80 to 88 percent. As we outlined in our recent report, Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production, farmers can reduce their emissions by adopting efficient irrigation technologies, switching to low-carbon energy sources (e.g., wind- and photovoltaic-powered pumps, solar dryers, and small hydro), reducing chemical inputs, and minimizing post-harvest food loss.
In 2013, we will work with our colleagues in Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Program to encourage the adoption of energy-efficient farming practices and renewable energy technologies in India, the world's second largest agricultural producer. Today, Indian agriculture consumes a quarter of the country's electricity and directly emits 334 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. By raising awareness among farmers about energy-efficient agricultural techniques and working with Indian social entrepreneurs to increase farmers' market access to renewable technologies, we hope to help shrink India's agricultural carbon footprint.
If you know of any on-farm or small-scale renewable energy projects that have helped farmers reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, we would love to hear from you! Send us your comments to foodandag@worldwatch.org.
See links to related reports from the World Watch Institute under Brief Links.
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