EPA Hearing Commentary

The Following is a commentary in which Mar Elizabeth Clark, SSJ, presented at an EPA Hearing on January 19, 2012.


Docket # EPS-HQ-OAR-2010-0799

My name is Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark. I am a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia, PA and an ambassador of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Climate Change Coalition. I minister at Chestnut Hill College as assistant to the president for sustainability and as director of the Earth Center. Working with many other people of faith, I am here to urge you to keep an ethical, moral perspective as a lens for your deliberations.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you.

As people of religious faith, we believe that the atmosphere that supports life on earth is a God-given gift, one we must respect and protect. It unites us as one human family. If we harm the atmosphere, we dishonor our Creator and the gift of creation. The values of our faith call us to humility, sacrifice, and a respect for life and the natural gifts God has provided.

As the U.S. Bishops said in 2001:

"At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God's creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both the human environment and the natural environment" (Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue Prudence and the Common Good, A Statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, June 15, 2001).

Since I am representing those who see this issue from a faith perspective, I want to be clear that I trust the Sierra Club and its scientific expertise. From their research I believe this regulation to be the single biggest step in our country to tackle global warming, and therefore, I urge you to accept the President’s proposal without loopholes.

For more than 14 billion years, our Planet Earth has sustained itself and life as we know it. In my own lifetime, I have experienced an appalling growth in our dependency on oil—and the consequences of so much use of it. From the millions of tons of plastics filling landfills to the polluting burning of fossil fuels beyond our imagining, we have built a relationship with oil similar to an addict’s with his abused substance. As a result, our precious Earth cannot continue to sustain life as we know it.

How irresponsible of us humans if we allow this to happen! Earth is a sacred trust given to us by the Creator. As people of faith, we see this as a moral tragedy. There are ways we can diminish the effects of our polluting the air by reducing gas emissions now. What can we say to the next generations if, knowing what we know, we refuse to do it?

As we take personal and communal actions in our places of worship to mitigate the effects of global climate change, it is not possible to make a significant difference without your taking the necessary systemic action in our federal government. We call on you as our federal protection to approve the proposal of President Obama.

The amount suggested by the President is not enough. It is a beginning—a necessary beginning. Please think carefully about the consequences of your decisions. By the year 2030, the proposed standards would cut annual oil consumption by nearly 23 billion gallons, roughly equivalent to the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2010. Although we need to do more, how can we not do the minimum?

Hearing on Marcellus Shale

This is a testimonial account from Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark on September 28, 2010 about the drilling for gas in Marcellus Shale.

My name is Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark, a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia. I am director of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Earth Center in Chestnut Hill. I am also Special Assistant to the President for Sustainability of Chestnut Hill College and a Board Member of Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ.


For the past eleven years, our Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph have had a com- mitment to the issue of Sustainability of our Planet Earth with special attention to the issue of water.


As a result, we have educated and advocated about the respectful treatment of water. The issue of drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale region of PA has serious moral consequences and thus for this reason is a concern of ours.


I urge you as our immediate representatives in City Council to insist that the ethical standards of purification of our drinking water be enforced on any possible contami- nants from the drilling. There ought to be a moratorium on drilling until it has been shown to be absolutely safe for the Delaware River the source of our drinking water. This is only one of the issues that threaten our Planet caused by the potential drilling. Another issue such as deforestation is also a major concern.


Legislation prior to the actual drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale region of PA ought to include investigation into the health-related effects of any toxic chemicals or radio active ingredients resulting from the drilling and then entering the Delaware River.


In addition, when researching the components of hydraulic fracturing fluids that may seep into the ground water investigations by the DEP ought not to be funded by any money coming from vested interests in the profit of the drilling. The ethical implica- tions of political gain or profit by individuals must be examined by those creating legis- lation to protect the health of PA watersheds. Every means available for honest investigation ought to be employed by the State legislature. As members of our City Council, you are in a prime position to call for this ethical behavior.