On September 25, two momentous things happened -- Pope Francis addressed the United Nations about caring for our natural world and the most vulnerable citizens of it, and the United Nations passed the 17 Sustainable Goals for their 2015+ strategic plans. Goal 14 is a Sustainable Ocean Goal. Now to many that may not seem surprising, but to me, it is a miracle of the most beautiful and subtle kind, a gradual opening of minds and hearts toward the good.
In February 2014, I went to the United Nations to advocate in the name of shared faith among many religions for a sustainable goal for the oceans. I was an observer, but at small committees and in between sessions, I talked to representatives from many nations, and they were skeptical that a sustainable ocean goal was needed. They believed that the current "Law of the Sea" could take care of things. But in the succeeding months, the declining state of the oceans had made clear that it was insufficient and much more was needed.
In February 2014, I went to the United Nations to advocate in the name of shared faith among many religions for a sustainable goal for the oceans. I was an observer, but at small committees and in between sessions, I talked to representatives from many nations, and they were skeptical that a sustainable ocean goal was needed. They believed that the current "Law of the Sea" could take care of things. But in the succeeding months, the declining state of the oceans had made clear that it was insufficient and much more was needed.