What will we change?

In 2015, following the publication of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis established September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation for the Catholic Church, calling Christians to prayer, reflection, ecological conversion and the adoption of more responsible ways of living.

The Season of Creation asks us to do more than appreciate the beauty of the natural world. It calls us to recognise creation as God’s gift, to repent of the harm caused by human choices and to accept our shared vocation as stewards of our common home.

Care for creation cannot remain a seasonal concern, raised for a few weeks and then forgotten. Nor can it be reduced to beach clean-ups, reusable shopping bags, and attractive photographs of nature. These actions have value, but the ecological crisis also demands courageous leadership, responsible national planning, and personal conversion.

Before we point to government, industry or our neighbours, the examination must begin with ourselves. What are our personal practices? Do we conserve water and electricity, avoid unnecessary plastics, and dispose of rubbish responsibly?

Do we throw waste from vehicles, allow it to accumulate around our homes, or ignore illegal dumping in our communities?

Care for creation is revealed not only in the causes we support, but in the small, repeated choices we make when no one is watching.

Leadership matters as well. Those entrusted with public office have a duty to ensure that environmental protection is not sacrificed for political expediency or short-term economic gain.

Development is necessary, especially as Trinidad and Tobago searches for new investment, employment, and sources of revenue. But genuine development must serve the human person and the common good. It cannot leave communities carrying environmental costs while the benefits flow elsewhere.

Data centres

The proposed artificial intelligence data centres present an important test. The proposals promise investment, technological advancement, and thousands of jobs. At the same time, large data centres can require enormous quantities of electricity and, depending on their cooling systems, significant water resources.

The responsible position is neither uncritical acceptance nor automatic rejection. It is to insist upon transparency.

What will be the projected demand on the national electricity grid?

How will the centres be cooled?

Where will the water come from in a country where many households already experience irregular supplies?

What environmental assessments will be required?

Who will pay for additional generation, transmission, and water infrastructure? How many of the promised jobs will be permanent, skilled positions available to citizens?

How will surrounding communities be affected?

And how will the public be consulted before binding commitments are made?

These are not anti-development questions. They are stewardship questions. Laudato Si’ warns against a technological and economic model that treats creation merely as material to be exploited.

Public consultation cannot be treated as an obstacle to progress. Neither should environmental assessment be reduced to a box-ticking exercise after significant decisions have already been made.

Responsible leadership anticipates consequences, invites scrutiny, and gives citizens enough information to participate meaningfully in decisions that may affect their water, electricity, communities, and national resources.

Stewardship requires all of us. It is easy to condemn major projects while wasting electricity and water, burning refuse or remaining silent when others despoil shared spaces. National neglect is often the accumulated result of individual habits. We cannot demand accountability from those in authority while refusing to practise it in our own homes and communities.