"Witnesses to terrible injustices": Laudato Si', 27-36

Having previously discussed pollution and climate change, in the excerpts below Francis wraps up his survey of current ecological woes and also references topics he will subsequently cover in greater detail: the social consequences (both direct and indirect, via ecological damage) of contemporary economic models, and the theological dimension of ecological concern.


II. THE ISSUE OF WATER

27. Other indicators of the present situation have to do with the depletion of natural resources…. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty….

30. Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Yet access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights….

III. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

32. …The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely important resources in the future….

33. It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential “resources” to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.

34. …Human beings must intervene when a geosystem reaches a critical state. But nowadays, such intervention in nature has become more and more frequent. As a consequence, serious problems arise, leading to further interventions; human activity becomes ubiquitous, with all the risks which this entails. Often a vicious circle results, as human intervention to resolve a problem further aggravates the situation. For example, many birds and insects which disappear due to synthetic agrotoxins are helpful for agriculture: their disappearance will have to be compensated for by yet other techniques which may well prove harmful. We must be grateful for the praiseworthy efforts being made by scientists and engineers dedicated to finding solutions to man-made problems. But a sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful…. We seem to think that we can substitute an irreplaceable and irretrievable beauty with something which we have created ourselves….

36. Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness, since no one looking for quick and easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. But the cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained…. We can be silent witnesses to terrible injustices if we think that we can obtain significant benefits by making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay the extremely high costs of environmental deterioration….