While it’s great to tweet about climate change and hold fancy summits, the earth needs more than just words. It needs unity for action. – Hellen Agaba
Imagine stepping outside one morning to find that the trees have filed a lawsuit against humanity for deforestation, the rivers are protesting pollution, and the birds are staging a silent strike -no chirping, no singing, just silence. Sounds ridiculous, right? But in many ways, creation has already been crying out for justice, and we have been hitting the snooze button on God’s divine wake-up call. This year, as we embrace the Laudato Youth Initiative theme “Pilgrims of Green Hope,” to reawaken lost hope and amplify voices for Laudato Si’ we must stop treating environmental issues like that persistent “low battery” notifications we ignore until our devices shut down.
The time for passive concern is over and we need urgent action, bold leadership, and a collective awakening to the reality that without a healthy planet, there is no future. Creation’s lawsuit against us creates the urgency of Green Hope. Pope Francis, in Laudato Si’, does not sugarcoat the truth: The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.
We are not just talking about a few wilting plants here and there, our forests are vanishing, our rivers are choking, and our climate is rebelling. East Africa is no exception to this crisis. The Congo Basin-the second largest rainforest in the world is shrinking due to deforestation. The once-mighty Lake Victoria is now a dumping ground for industrial waste. Desertification is creeping into once-fertile lands, leaving communities in hunger and despair. If we don’t act now, our grandchildren might read about elephants and rhinos the way we read about dinosaurs. Is that the legacy we want to leave?
A hilarious but honest reality check! Let’s be real, how many times have we heard people say, “But God will take care of everything”? Yes, He will. But guess what? God also expects us to do our part. If Noah had sat around waiting for divine intervention instead of building the ark, he and his family would have needed swim lessons real fast. God has already given us the tools: intelligence, science, faith, and the ability to act. He is not going to come down from heaven to sort our waste, replant our forests, or clean up oil spills. That’s our job! Biblical Roots of Environmental Stewardship. Our responsibility is deeply rooted in Scripture. In Genesis 2:15, we read: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Notice He didn’t say, “exploit it, abuse it, and then blame someone else when it falls apart.”
Psalm 24:1 reminds us: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If someone lent you their house for a few months, would you trash it and then expect a thank-you note? That’s exactly what we are doing to God’s creation. Even the prophet Isaiah had something to say:
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands,
Isaiah 55:12. But let’s be honest, at this rate, the trees are not clapping instead they’re waving frantically for help.
Leaders, Business Owners, and Stakeholders, Wake Up! Let’s talk about those in power -governments, corporations, religious leaders, and policymakers. You hold the keys to large-scale change. While it’s great to tweet about climate change and hold fancy summits, the earth needs more than just words. It needs unity for action.
To governments: Pass and enforce environmental protection laws. Ban single-use plastics. Invest in clean energy. Stop giving permits to industries that destroy ecosystems in the name of “development.”
To businesses: Sustainable practices are not just for PR campaigns. If your profit margins are built on environmental destruction, what exactly are you profiting from?
To religious leaders: The pulpit is powerful. We preach about charity and love, but what about love for the earth? Call your congregations to action! Let our churches and mosques lead the way in reforestation, conservation, and sustainability.
To individuals: Stop acting like someone else will fix it. Your small actions like planting trees, reducing waste, conserving water do matter. If millions of people take small actions, they add up to massive change.
A Call to Radical, Faith-Driven Action – Pope Francis insists that “a change in lifestyle could bring healthy pressure to bear on those who wield political, economic, and social power”. So, what are we waiting for? If your church has land, start a tree-planting initiative, if you run a school, make environmental education part of the curriculum, if you work in government, push for policies that protect rather than exploit nature, if you are a young person, don’t just talk, organize, volunteer and innovate. As Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel laureate, wisely said: “The generation that destroys the environment is not the generation that pays the price.” Let’s not be the villains in history books. Let’s be the heroes who turned the tide for our planet.
Hope in Every Step-As “Pilgrims of Green Hope,” we walk not in despair but in faith, believing that every small act of care contributes to the greater restoration of creation. East Africa has the potential to be a beacon of ecological renewal, but it starts with us. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “The book of nature is one and indivisible; care for the environment requires attention to human ecology.” Our journey is not just about saving the earth, it is about healing our relationship with God, creation, and one another. We can no longer afford to sit back and hope that things will get better on their own. It’s time to rise, take responsibility, and act. The earth is watching. Future generations are counting on us. And most importantly, God is calling.
As Pope Francis warns, “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth” and let’s be honest, if the planet had a nose, she’d probably be holding it by now. This isn’t just a poetic warning; it’s a flashing red light on the dashboard of creation and ignoring it won’t make the problem go away. Mother Nature has been remarkably patient, absorbing our pollution, deforestation, and reckless waste like a long-suffering parent cleaning up after messy children but even parents have their limits. If we don’t start treating the planet like the sacred gift it is, instead of a disposable convenience, we might wake up one day to find that nature has stopped negotiating and started retaliating. So, let’s drop the excuses, ditch the waste, plant more trees than tweets, and act like the responsible stewards God called us to be before the only “green” left on earth is in history books and old photographs.
What will your step toward Green Hope be today?
Hellen Agaba Baine
Mendoza College of Business
University of Notre Dame USA, Indiana
