“Investment in accordance with faith” must take into account infrastructure needs – Catholic World Report | Daily News Byte

The Vatican recently published a 45-page document called “Mensuram Bonam”. [Good Measure]which calls on Catholic institutions and believers to engage in “faith investing” which, among other priorities, encourages investors to favor companies whose business models are in line with the emission reduction targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Addressing climate change today is laser-focused on reducing reliance on fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Such policy priorities stem, in part, from sound science, but they also stem from beliefs not necessarily related to science. Unfortunately, such popular beliefs may reduce humanity’s ability to prevent or mitigate extreme weather events or climate-related hardships.

Many of us favor better infrastructure as long as it has the least impact on the environment, although it is impossible to build anything of strategic importance without impacting the environment. And without infrastructure, we cannot effectively prevent or mitigate the impact of floods, droughts and low rainfall, forest fires, fragile energy infrastructure and the like. Yes, fossil fuels are needed to build and operate strategic infrastructure, but the suffering of untold millions can also be reduced. Or do we prefer to live with the suffering caused by extreme weather or climate events for the foreseeable future?

Instead of wasting, repairing or replacing low-impact infrastructure today, we could identify “national imperative” strategic infrastructure and make such infrastructure a top priority. Such measures to improve conservation and resources—water, agricultural produce—done well, as in the Netherlands and Israel, can alleviate human suffering and resource needs more quickly and tangibly than energy credit trading and nebulous climate programs that can last decades or longer, to produce significant impacts, especially since many countries with large economies run little on fossil fuels. Strategic infrastructure can be the third way between a no-impact environmental policy and a laissez-faire attitude towards the environment.

Thousands of years ago, the Romans built aqueducts, roads and other infrastructure that still exists today. The movement of people and moving water were essential to trade and the stability of the Roman Empire. Aqueducts for moving water consisted of open conduits, tunnels and pipelines. One such overhead and underground system of aqueducts that supplied Rome stretched sixty miles. Roman roads are estimated to total tens of thousands of miles.

The Dutch miracle involved (and still involves) the use of infrastructure to greatly mitigate flooding in a country where nearly half of the land is below sea level or less than five feet above sea level. An integral element of the Dutch approach is “making room for water”. A sophisticated and integrated system of levees, high-level sea-blocking barriers, pumps and canals, along with areas designated for planned flooding during catastrophic weather events, constitute one of the most elegant “national imperative” infrastructure approaches in world history.

Between the 1850s and 1950s, America built many large infrastructure projects to move resources, supplies, and people: the Transcontinental Railroad and the National Rail Network, the Hoover Dam and other water and canal management projects, the federal highway system. In California, major water infrastructure projects have brought water from the north, where most of California’s freshwater originates, to the southern two-thirds of the state with most of the demand.

Modern Israel has turned a land of which only 20% was arable into an agricultural wonder. Micro-irrigation (drip-by-drip), which delivers water as needed directly to the roots of plants, irrigates over 70% of crops. Israel moves water long distances, recycles most of its wastewater for agricultural use, and operates large-scale seawater treatment that requires significant energy to produce drinking water from salt water. In short, a land that was once mostly desert now produces an excess of water.

Certainly, many earlier infrastructure projects had heavy environmental and unequal social burdens. But today, measures such as compensatory habitats, drip irrigation, energy-efficient powering of pumps and other mechanical systems, “greener” strategies to “make room for water”, trenchless technologies for underground infrastructure, more versatile and durable construction materials , superior water filtration membranes, smart asset management systems to monitor and optimize performance while minimizing adverse effects, detection technology that provides real-time alerts, allow us to build large-scale infrastructure with manageable environmental impacts while simultaneously preventing or we mitigate the impact of extreme weather conditions or climate events on people.

Regardless of these measures, mistakes will inevitably occur in large and complex infrastructure projects that will affect the environment. But with properly timed What Could Go Wrong research before project planning, negative impacts can be greatly reduced.

In the foreseeable future, we will not be able to build and operate such a strong infrastructure with the help of renewable energy alone. But like never before, we can build infrastructure that alleviates suffering and promotes a better quality of life while protecting the environment. If today many believe that climate change denial is irresponsible, so is turning one’s back on protective infrastructure because it does not meet the zero environmental impact test. As my graduate advisor used to say, “zero is a pretty low number.”

“Faith investing” should also consider this third way.