Dr. Barry Stephenson in the Memorial University Gazette: Climate Change Demands Radical Transformation

Posted on December 1, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

Read Dr. Barry Stephenson’s recent op-ed for Memorial University’s Gazette:

“The crux of the matter is that climate change demands radical transformation on a collective scale at a moment in social-cultural history characterized by hyper-individualism, cynicism about social institutions and politics, and, outside of sporting events, the absence of occasions to experience broad-based group identity and solidarity.”

Town Hall Meeting on Climate Change and The Green Economy in NL

Posted on November 15, 2016February 27, 2018 by admin

Memorial University of Newfoundland, with the support of St. Bonaventure’s College, and facilitated by the SSHRC-funded research group, For A New Earth, will host a town hall meeting on the theme “What is a Green Economy?” on Tues., November 29 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The two-hour event will feature presentations by experts in ecology, economics, and rural development, as well as an open forum for members of the general public to speak to the challenges facing the province as it transitions from fossil fuels to green, renewable energy in an era of global climate change.

Sean McGrath on Muskrat Falls: Score one for democracy

Posted on November 10, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

Read Sean McGrath’s recent letter to The Telegram regarding a Globe and Mail article about the Muskrat Falls protests:

“In both the editorial and the press conference that preceded it from St. John’s, we were told that this is a victory for science, or even that science will henceforth decide how to proceed. It is not a victory for science at all. It is a victory for democracy. … Democracy, this time, in the form of political protest such as has never before been seen in the province.”

Sean McGrath in The Telegram: N.L. should be leading the way to a green economy

Posted on October 22, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

Read Sean McGrath’s recent letter to The Telegram:

“A Harvard study has reminded us that while hydroelectric plants do not emit significant greenhouse gasses, the construction of the dam on the Lower Churchill could poison and destroy Innu and Inuit hunting and fishing grounds. The protests this week in Labrador and St. John’s demonstrate that not everyone sees this as a reasonable price to pay for renewable energy.”

Celtic Life International: “A Festival of Ecological Ideas” by Sean McGrath

Posted on October 22, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

Read Sean McGrath’s recent op-ed in Celtic Life International:

“We need philosophers talking to scientists, sociologists taking to thelogians and artists. For too long, scientists have had to carry the ball on ecology but when we all come together in a trans-disciplinary gathering, we talk as humans, bringing whatever strengths and resources we have.”

Dr. Barry Stephenson: “Ecology and the Ritual Body”

Posted on May 22, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

Dr. Barry Stephenson, Department of Religious Studies, Memorial University.

We’ve forgotten that we are bodies, and this forgetfulness is a significant part of what ails us.

Last summer I heard rumors of a new group –‘For a New Earth,’ — and their plans for a rather quixotic event on Newfoundland’s West Coast. It was immediately clear that something more than a standard academic conference was in the works…

The Independent: Working Toward “Ecological Conversion” by Justin Brake

Posted on February 18, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

“MUN professor takes aim at consumer capitalism for its role in the ecological and climate crises, draws inspiration from Pope Francis in leading a local initiative to start “a new conversation” about ecology and sustainability.”

See the full article by Justin Brake at The Independent.

MUN Gazette: “The Future of Nature Begins Now” by Sean McGrath

Posted on January 19, 2016February 13, 2018 by admin

In spite of some promising—although non-binding—commitments from our elected representatives who met in Paris for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, we are miles away from the “ecological conversion” called for by Pope Francis in his extraordinary 2015 encyclical Laudato Si. The problem is no one knows how to get there from here. “Government alone is helpless,” Bruno Latour wrote shortly before the meeting, “it needs all its citizens in this effort.” How do you mobilize the entire human community to change its ways of living?