Supplement Company Praises the Pope For Bold Green Statement on Saving the Environment

NutriPlex Formulas, Inc., a whole food supplement company, went out on a limb to praise the pontif, Pope Benedict XVI, for his bold new Green statement made to 500,000 cheering people. "We don't usually get involved in politics or religion," said NutriPlex president Janice Shayne, "but this is a win-win situation that we can all benefit from."

How did the leading maker of whole food supplements and the pope cross fates? "We've long been putting our 'ThinkGreen' logo on all our bottles to make a statement about the environment. Then all these calls started coming in from Catholics and others who appreciate the pope's commitment to the environment. They like the fact that our ThinkGreen insignia is on our products and said they want to support us by buying our supplements. Our logo has been our bottles for more than a decade, but we have to say we appreciate the newfound support," added Shayne who's a proponent of all things green. Shayne drives a Hybrid car, has an all electric scooter, eats only organic food, supports local, organic farmers at home and in her company, and has long range plans to launch an environmental advocacy group.

Read the Associated Press article...

Pope Urges Young to Care for Planet
By NICOLE WINFIELD

LORETO, Italy (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged hundreds of thousands of young Catholics on Sunday to take better care of the planet, saying the world's water supply needs to be preserved and shared to avoid conflicts.

Benedict offered a very eco-friendly message during an open-air Mass on the final day of a weekend religious youth rally in the pilgrimage town of Loreto that was organized by the Italian bishops' conference.

The Italian Church has designated Sept. 1 as "Save Creation Day," and as a result the Loreto meeting carried a strong environmental message, with each of the participants given biodegradable plates, recycling bags for their trash and a hand-cranked cell-phone recharger.

Benedict told the crowd that it was up to them to urgently save the planet from development that had often ignored "nature's delicate equilibrium."

"Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth," Benedict said in his homily. "We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible."

He said water, in particular, was a "precious" resource that needed to be preserved since "it unfortunately becomes a source of strong tensions and conflicts if it isn't shared in an equitable and peaceful manner."

Benedict has been on something of a green campaign of late, lamenting just this past week the environmental impact of recent forest fires in Italy and Greece. During his recent summer vacation in the mountains, he spoke frequently about the importance of nature in rekindling spirituality.

An estimated 500,000 people turned out for Benedict's Mass, the ANSA news agency said, citing police. Most of them spent the night camped out on tarps and tents on the field down the hill from Loreto, Italy's most important shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The meeting was an Italian warm-up for next year's World Youth Day, in Sydney, Australia, which the 80-year-old pope plans to attend.