<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}james-stephen-mastaler-phd-candidate-1-adjusted-500pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 250px; float: right;" />Jim Mastaler is an Au Sable alum with an extensive Au Sable course list: Ecology of the Indian Tropics, Tropical Agriculture and Missions, Environmental Ethics, Field Botany, and Land Resources. What is striking is how this course list maps with his current studies and research as a PhD student in Christian Ethics at Loyola University Chicago. Jim studies the &quot;ethical implications of the contemporary ecological crisis,&quot; particularly how environmental degradation impacts the poor and vulnerable among us. His route to getting to this point marks his commitment to the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and the necessity of providing a clear, Christian voice in the public arena on these issues. Since his studies at North Park University, where he received a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and two certificates from Au Sable, he&#39;s received a Master&#39;s in Social Justice from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago and a Leadership in Sustainablility Management certificate from the University of Chicago. He has also worked as a Global Warming Solutions Advocate with the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club. We caught up with Jim to learn more about his story:</p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you do in your current position?</strong></p>
<p>
	My dissertation research is focused on the moral and ethical implications of the contemporary ecological crisis, specifically climate change. &nbsp;As an ethicist, I rely on the hard and social sciences in order to inform my research and confront the moral challenges emerging at the nexus of structural poverty, gender disparity, ecological degradation, and climate-induced displacement. &nbsp;This is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary project to which I bring a social justice lens and a deep concern for the systemic predicament of those carrying the heaviest burdens of the ecological crisis.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why is this work important to creation care? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	My work makes an appeal to all those open to critical and serious engagement with Christianity&rsquo;s moral and intellectual traditions while also calling for an attentive, grounded response to the needs of the planet&rsquo;s most vulnerable communities. &nbsp;The interconnectedness and dependency of all life upon a shared, &ldquo;shrinking planet&rdquo; expands the range of felt moral concern. &nbsp;Equitable human flourishing and sustainable ecological integrity must increasingly be seen as shared goals. &nbsp;Social justice is only possible in tandem with climate justice&mdash;sustainable development and ecological stewardship. &nbsp;A concern for the human person can no longer be fully separated from environmental concerns.</p>
