At the end of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement on the environment, “Renewing the Earth,” the bishops invite persons with a variety of professional roles to participate in “a continuing effort to understand and act on the moral and ethical dimensions of the environmental crisis.” Their invitation includes:

• “We ask scientists, environmentalists, economists, and other experts to continue to help us understand the challenges we face and the steps we need to take. Faith is not a substitute for facts; the more we know about the problems we face, the better we can respond. . . .
• “We ask business leaders and representatives of workers to make the protection of our common environment a central concern in their activities and to collaborate for the common good and the protection of the earth. . . .
  

• “We ask environmental advocates to join us in building bridges between the quest for justice and the pursuit of peace and concern for the earth. We ask that the poor and vulnerable at home and abroad be accorded a special and urgent priority in all efforts to care for our environment.
• “We urge policy makers and public officials to focus more directly on the ethical dimensions of environmental policy and on its relation to development, to seek the common good, and to resist short-term pressures in order to meet our long-term responsibility to future generations.”