Atrocities committed against people and the Earth for the sake of profit are not only immoral but self-destructive. Stripping away natural resources and thoughtless production and development will inevitably lead to planetary depletion and global economic collapse. To redirect our course, we need to recalibrate our thinking and attitudes to accomplish the change we need. This is an immense and critical enterprise, as its aim is nothing less than the flourishing of the entire world community.

This work starts with an awareness of the part each of us play with every dollar we spend and invest and the businesses that we support. With our purchasing power, we can endorse either mindful business practices with fair and just policies or gluttonous and destructive commercial structures.

“We are all too slow in developing economic institutions and social initiatives which can give the poor regular access to basic resources.”

—Laudato Si' 109

Ecological economics is a system of commerce, production and consumption shaped by the regenerative ideal of elevating quality of life for all people and the planet. Built on the human-environment relationship, it promotes and supports sustainability, ensuring adequate resources for today but also for future generations.

Think of it as the long view for true global economic prosperity—the opposite of many of today’s major economies motivated by short-term gain and characterized by exploitive practices and greed.

Action items for achieving an ecological economy include:

• phasing out fossil fuels and developing renewable energies,
• reusing and repurposing materials and structures,
• modifying purchasing and distribution practices,
• reducing pollution in production,
• implementing a just wage,
• increasing energy efficiency,
• and adopting socially responsible investment practices.

“Therefore, we support and… will initiate efforts that: secure the rights of the poor and disenfranchised; ensure affordable housing, especially for the poor; provide fair economic exchange between work and the fruits of the land; make persons aware of unjust use of the land to the detriment of the poor; challenge the structures that hold the poor captive to the greed of institutions, conglomerates and individuals of wealth; and preserve and restore the land.”

—Sisters of the Holy Cross Corporate Stand on Land Use and Reform

Learn.   Pray.   Discern.