CO2: We Can Make a Big Difference.

One pressing message that can be inferred from the video below is that change that will effectively decrease CO2 concentrations needs to happen, now - we believe it still can, to a significant degree, and that a careful approach to the Church's land holdings could result in a globally positive impact on reducing CO2 concentrations.

In the face of climate change, we believe that it is essential for the Church’s large land holdings to be planned and managed in ways that can help decrease, or at least not contribute to, the effects of climate change. We are building mapping models and will be using spatial analysis techniques to make sure that changes on Catholic Church lands are optimized to have the greatest potential positive impact on local environmental and social factors. Analyses can reveal where small changes can make a big difference for the ecological integrity of a site or pressing social justice issues within an area. The analysis results will be presented as a series of environmental and social justice metrics and reveal how communities can best benefit from selections from a set of optimized design templates, land-use suggestions, and outreach opportunities. This will allow us to engage with Catholic communities and connect them with the resources and organizations that they need to work with to make the changes happen on site. 

Work, such as that accomplished by Project Drawdown, has highlighted the incredible efficacy, and necessity, of engaging land-based solutions to help to decrease overall CO2 levels. An ecological approach can not only help address pressing environmental concerns, such as CO2 levels; it can also help communities. Approaching the land with an ecological design foundation, we integrally value aesthetics and the social factors that create a space. We know that some sites can serve both people and the environment, without greatly compromising either the ecological integrity or the human experience of that area.

goodlandproject.org