EarthBeat

The United States — the largest source of historical emissions and top user and producer of oil and gas — will stand as the only country in the world not part of the agreement.

Across Vietnam's flood-battered central provinces, nuns observed Christmas quietly, scaling back celebrations to redirect resources to those whose homes, crops and livelihoods were swept away by storms and floods.

Desde los años 70, el endosulfán fumigado en plantaciones de Kerala, India, causó graves discapacidades en cientos de niños. Las Hermanas Clarisas Franciscanas gestionan Navajeevana ('nueva vida') —centro creado en 2017 por la Orden de San Norberto—, que atiende gratuitamente a 80 niños afectados por el pesticida, la mayoría no cristianos, con fisioterapia, educación y apoyo integral. "Ahora tengo esperanza gracias a la hermana Mareena", dice una de las madres de los afectados.  

How can I ignore Christ himself being born this Christmas as a tiny helpless babe when I turn a deaf ear to his whimper in the cry of the poor and the Earth's weakening plight?

At their farm in central Kenya, the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi sustainably curb environmental degradation through non-till practices, agroforestry, and other ways of improving tree cover and soil health.

En Nampula, Mozambique, dos hermanas agustinas peruanas dirigen desde 2022 un programa que capacita a 470 mujeres agricultoras en métodos sostenibles y regeneración de suelos, en medio de un entorno caracterizado por la violencia, los ciclones y el cambio climático. "Con fe y esperanza, luchamos día a día junto con las familias", dice una de ellas. Las religiosas también promueven la construcción de aulas con botellas de plástico recicladas. 

"We have learned that impact not only happens through resources but through relationships, solidarity, trust and partnerships that do not dictate but empower," writes Sr. Josephine Kwenga.

The viral illness comes on the heels of Cuba's slow recovery from Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall Oct. 29 in Santiago de Cuba in the eastern part of the island as a Category 3 storm.