Canada will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday. The prime minister said the specific items to be banned will be determined by way of a science-based review, but the government is considering that items such as water bottles, plastic bags, and straws will be included. “As early as 2021, Canada will ban harmful single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said. Less than 10 percent of plastic used in Canada gets recycled. The Canadian government has said that 1 million birds and over 100,000 sea creatures worldwide are injured or die each year when they mistake plastic for food or become entangled, so banning single-use plastics would help Canada ensure it doesn’t contribute to this harm to the natural world and its creatures.
God, you’ve called us to steward the creation around us, and all too often our decision to choose what is convenient above what is just has led to destruction. We know that our decision to choose what is easy kills what you have a relationship with, and we ask for your forgiveness and guidance to love creation well.
An investigation has found nooses in cells of U.S. immigration detention centers and has discovered that staff served spoiled food and wrongly put people in isolation. Homeland security inspectors visited four Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centers and described “egregious violations” of standards at two facilities, including inadequate medical care. Between May and November 2018, investigators arrived unannounced at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Louisiana, Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado, and Essex County Correctional Facility in New Jersey, where they found the aforementioned conditions.
How long, O Lord? Our hearts are burdened by story after story of abuse, neglect, and horrific circumstances under which migrants find themselves. God, we pray for correction and justice in these facilities, and we fervently ask for your comfort for all who find themselves at the mercy of people who abuse power.
A fire -- the cause of which is still unknown -- near a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley has set off a chain of incidents that displaced 600 refugees while exposing deepening tensions with local residents. The fire broke out on Wednesday near the camp at Deir al-Ahmar, north of Baalbek, which then led to an altercation between refugees and a firefighter. While the injuries suffered by the firefighter were minor, the incident aggravated existing anti-refugee sentiment in the vicinity. Officials told Al Jazeera that hundreds of refugees fled the camp to escape abuse at the hands of locals, and moved to the nearby town of Iaat, just north of Baalbek.
God, there is often so much we don’t know -- the why, the who, the what -- and we are thankful to find comfort in knowing that you stand with the marginalized, the vulnerable, the oppressed. We pray for the safety and flourishing of all who have fled, in Jesus’ name.
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, was again embroiled in a mass strike called by opposition groups on Sunday. The move to shut down Khartoum -- a city of some two million people -- came as four more people were reported to have been killed, bringing the total death toll to 118 people in the wake of last Monday's bloody military crackdown, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. Hopes for a peaceful transition of power from President Omar al-Bashir in April took a violent turn on June 3, when soldiers and paramilitary groups opened fire on a pro-democracy sit-in in Khartoum. According to witnesses, the attack killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.
God, we pray for the political leaders, doctors, law enforcement, and community members who are working to ease what has become a violent and turbulent time in Khartoum’s history. God, we pray that in a transition to a representative democracy, the temptation to be harsh, violent, and dehumanizing may be curbed by religious and community leaders who promote peace.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act seeks to eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations. While carrying life in the womb, women can continue to provide for their family. Ask your legislator to support the sanctity of life through workplace protections!
“I believe that we are called to take action on climate change and to do so by using our best science and practical know-how because we are called to care for the poor and for future generations,” writes Professor Colin Conrad and member of the CRC's Committee for Contact with the Government. Read his full Do Justice post The Christian Economics of Climate Action.
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