Govenor Gavin Newsom of California. / Karl_Sonnenberg/Shutterstock
Rome Newsroom, May 11, 2024 / 12:38 pm (CNA).
The Vatican’s latest bid to tackle climate change will bring together politicians and researchers from around the world for a three-day conference next week, featuring a series of roundtable discussions and culminating in the signing of a new international protocol that will be submitted to the United Nations.
The joint summit, “From Climate Crisis To Climate Resilience,” will be held at the Vatican from May 15-17 at the Casina Pio IV, the seat of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, which sits in the Vatican Gardens.
The conference—organized by the two pontifical academies—brings together policymakers, civic leaders, researchers and lawmakers from the United States and other countries, including Italy, Kenya and Sweden.
This year’s U.S. invitees include Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
“Massachusetts deeply values our close relationship with Italy and the Vatican City State, and we see this trip as an excellent opportunity to strengthen ties and strategize on future opportunities for collaboration,” Healey said in an official press release from the Massachusetts governor’s office.
Healey will deliver a keynote address titled “Governing in the Age of Climate Change” on the first day of the summit, while Newsom and Hochul will both deliver addresses on the second day.
“This year holds unprecedented significance for democracy and the climate, two intertwined issues which will define our future,” Newsom said last month.
“With half the world’s population poised to elect their leaders amidst a backdrop of escalating political extremism, and global temperatures hurtling towards alarming new heights, the stakes could not be higher,” the California governor said.
“There is no greater authority than moral authority — and the Pope’s leadership on the climate crisis inspires us all to push further and faster. “
Pope Francis has made environmental protection and social stewardship one of the defining themes of his pontificate, dedicating two encyclicals to the moral imperative of combatting anthropogenic climate change.
The conference will also include mayors from some of Europe’s largest cities, including the mayors of Rome, Paris, and London, as well lawmakers from Asia and Africa, researchers and academics from the world’s leading universities, and representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
The summit participants will be received in an audience with Pope Francis on Thursday, May 16.
Each day of the summit is centered around a different conceptual framework and is organized by a series of different panels and roundtable discussions.
The summit’s program explains that participants will discuss and deliberate policy recommendations geared towards “climate resilience,” by utilizing a three-pronged strategy, which includes “mitigation efforts,” “adaptation strategies,” and “societal transformation.”
“Climate Resilience requires cross-disciplinary partnerships among researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs and trans-disciplinary partnerships between science and community leaders, including faith leaders, NGOs, and the public. Mayors and Governors form the core of such transdisciplinary partnerships,” the official program of the summit states.
The program notes that one of the main outcomes of the summit will be the drafting of a “Planetary Climate Resilience” protocol in which all participants will be “cosignatories.”
The protocol will be “fashioned along the lines of the Montreal Protocol” and will “provide the guidelines for making everyone climate resilient,” the program states.
Afterwards the document will be “submitted to the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] to take it forward to all nations.”
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A defining theme of Pope Francis’ papacy has been his urging of humanity to better care for the natural environment, which he has done most prominently in his landmark 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ and numerous subsequent writings and speeches.
The pope’s emphasis on this topic — especially his foray into climate science via his recent encyclical Laudate Deum — has variously drawn both praise and consternation from Catholics in the United States, about half of whom do not share Pope Francis’ views on climate change, according to surveys.
In Laudate Deum, which was released in October as a continuation to Laudato Si’, Francis wrote that the effects of climate change “are here and increasingly evident,” warning of “immensely grave consequences for everyone” if drastic efforts are not made to reduce emissions. In the face of this, the Holy Father criticized those who “have chosen to deride [the] facts” about climate science, stating bluntly that it is “no longer possible to doubt the human — ‘anthropic’ — origin of climate change.”
The pope in the encyclical laid out his belief that there must be a “necessary transition towards clean energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels.” This follows a call from Pope Francis in 2021 to the global community calling for the world to “achieve net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible.”
He further lamented what he called “certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions [on climate change] that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church.”
In light of the new encyclical — which extensively cites the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — Pope Francis was invited to speak at this week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28. Though the 86-year-old pope was forced to cancel his trip due to health issues, the Vatican has indicated that he aims to participate in COP28 this weekend in some fashion. It announced today that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will represent the pope at the conference.
While various Catholic groups have welcomed the pope’s latest encyclical, some Catholics have reacted with persistent doubts, questioning whether the pope’s policy prescriptions would actually produce the desired effects.
How do Americans feel about climate change?
According to a major survey conducted by Yale University, 72% of Americans believed in 2021 — the latest available data year — that “global warming is happening,” and 57% believe that global warming is caused by human activity.
More recent polling from the Pew Research Center, conducted in June, similarly suggests that two-thirds of U.S. adults overall say the country should prioritize developing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, over the expansion of the production of oil, coal, and natural gas. That same survey found that just 3 in 10 adults (31%) say the U.S. should completely phase out oil, coal, and natural gas. The Yale study found that 77% of U.S. adults support at least the funding of research into renewable energy sources.
Broken down by party affiliation, Pew found that a large majority of Democratic and Democratic-leaning independents — 90% — favor alternative energy sources, while just under half, 42%, of Republicans and Republican-leaning adults think the same. Within the Republican cohort, however, 67% of Republicans under age 30 prioritize the development of alternative energy sources, compared with the 75% of Republicans ages 65 and older who prioritize the expansion of oil, coal, and natural gas.
In terms of the expansion of alternative energy sources, two-thirds of Americans think the federal government should encourage domestic production of wind and solar power, Pew reported. Just 7% say the government should discourage this, while 26% think it should neither encourage nor discourage it.
How do America’s Catholics feel about climate change?
Surveys suggest that Catholics in the United States are slightly more likely than the U.S. population as a whole to be skeptical of climate change, despite the pope’s emphatic words in 2015 and since.
A separate Pew study suggests that 44% of U.S. Catholics say the Earth is warming mostly due to human activity, a view in line with Pope Francis’ stance. About 3 in 10 (29%) said the Earth is warming mostly due to natural patterns, while 13% said they believe there is no solid evidence the planet is getting warmer.
According to the same study, 71% of Hispanic Catholics see climate change as an extremely or very serious problem, compared with 49% of white, non-Hispanic Catholics. (There were not enough Black or Asian Catholics in the 2022 survey to analyze separately, Pew said.)
One 2015 study from Yale did suggest that soon after Laudato Si’ was released, U.S. Catholics were overall more likely to believe in climate change than before. That same study found no change, however, in the number of Americans overall who believe human activity is causing global warming.
Pope Francis’ climate priorities
Beyond his groundbreaking writings, Pope Francis has taken many actions during his pontificate to make his own — admittedly small — country, Vatican City, more sustainable, including the recent announcement of a large order of electric vehicles, construction of its own network of charging stations, a reforestation program, and the continued importation of energy coming exclusively from renewable sources.
Francis has often lamented what he sees as a tepid response from developed countries in implementing measures to curb climate change. In Laudate Deum, he urged that new multinational agreements on climate change — speaking in this case specifically about the COP28 conference — be “drastic, intense, and count on the commitment of all,” stating that “a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact.”
The pope lamented what he sees as the fact that when new projects related to green energy are proposed, the potential for economic growth, employment, and human promotion are thought of first rather than moral considerations such as the effects on the world’s poorest.
“It is often heard also that efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels and developing cleaner energy sources will lead to a reduction in the number of jobs,” the pope noted.
“What is happening is that millions of people are losing their jobs due to different effects of climate change: rising sea levels, droughts, and other phenomena affecting the planet have left many people adrift. Conversely, the transition to renewable forms of energy, properly managed, as well as efforts to adapt to the damage caused by climate change, are capable of generating countless jobs in different sectors.”
‘Leave God’s creation better than we found it’
Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation think tank, told CNA that he has noticed a theme of frustration and confusion among many Catholics regarding the Holy Father’s emphasis on climate change.
A self-described outdoorsman and former president of Wyoming Catholic College, Roberts spoke highly to CNA of certain aspects of Laudato Si’, particularly the pope’s insights into what he called “human ecology,” which refers to the acceptance of each person’s human body as a vital part of “accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home.”
Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation. Courtesy of Heritage Foundation.
“I like to think [Pope Francis] personally wrote that, because I could see him saying that,” Roberts said of the passage, which appears in paragraph 155 of the encyclical. Roberts said he even makes a point to meditate on that “beautiful and moving” passage during a retreat that he does annually.
That portion of Laudato Si’ notwithstanding, Roberts said he strongly believes that it detracts from other important issues, such as direct ministry to the poor, when Pope Francis elevates care for God’s natural creation as “seemingly more important than other issues to us as Catholics.” He also said he disagrees with Pope Francis’ policy prescriptions, such as a complete phasing out of fossil fuels, contained in Laudate Deum.
“We of course want to pray for him. We’re open to the teaching that he is providing. But we also have to remember as Catholics that sometimes popes are wrong. And on this issue, it is a prudential matter. It is not a matter of morality, particularly when he’s getting into the scientific policy recommendations,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the Heritage Foundation’s research and advocacy has focused not on high-level, multinational agreements and conferences to tackle the issues posed by climate change but rather on smaller-scale, more community-based efforts. He said this policy position is, in part, due to the historical deference such multinational conglomerates of nations have given to China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases overall.
He said agreements within the U.S. itself, with businesses and all levels of government working together, have produced the best results so far when it comes to improving the environment. He also pointed to examples of constructive action that don’t involve billions of dollars, such as families making the choice to spend more time outdoors or engaging in local activities that contribute to environmental conservation and community life, such as anti-litter campaigns and community gardening. The overarching goal, he said, should be to “leave God’s creation better than we found it.”
Roberts — who said he personally believes humans likely have “very little effect” on the climate — said he was discouraged to read other portions of Laudato Si’, as well as Laudate Deum, that to him read as though they had come “straight out of the U.N.” Despite his criticisms, Roberts urged his fellow Catholics to continue to pray for the Holy Father and to listen to the pope’s moral insights.
“I just think that the proposed solutions are actually more anti-human and worse than the purported effects of climate change,” he added.
‘A far more complex issue’
Greg Sindelar, a Catholic who serves as CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a conservative think tank that studies the energy industry, similarly expressed concerns to CNA about the potential impact of certain climate change mitigation policies on human flourishing.
Like Roberts, Sindelar spoke highly of certain aspects of the pope’s message while expressing reservations about some of the U.N.-esque solutions proposed in Laudate Deum.
“I think the pope is right about our duty as Catholics to be stewards and to care for the environment. But I think what we have to understand — what we have to balance this with — is that it cannot come at the expense of depriving people of affordable and reliable energy,” Sindelar said in an interview with CNA.
“There’s ways to be environmentally friendly without sacrificing the access that we all need to reliable and affordable energy.”
Greg Sindelar is CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think tank in America’s leading energy-producing state. Courtesy of Texas Public Policy Foundation
Sindelar said TPPF primarily promotes cheap, reliable access to energy as a means of promoting human flourishing. The free-market-focused group is skeptical of top-down governmental intervention, both in the form of regulation and incentives or disincentives in certain areas of the energy sector.
When asked what he thinks his fellow Catholics largely think about the issue, Sindelar said many of the Catholics he hears from express the view that government policies and interventions rarely produce effective solutions and could potentially hinder access to energy for those in need.
“I think it’s a far more complex issue than just saying we need to cut emissions, and we need to transfer away from fossil fuels, and all these other things. What we need to do is figure out and ensure ways that we are providing affordable and reliable electricity to all citizens of the world,” he reiterated.
“When the pope speaks, when the Vatican speaks, it carries a lot of weight with Catholics around the world, [and] not just with Catholics … and I totally agree with him that we need to be thinking about the most marginalized and the poorest amongst us,” Sindelar continued.
“[But] by going down these policy prescription paths that he’s recommending, we’re actually going to reduce their ability to have access to that,” he asserted.
Sindelar, while disagreeing with Pope Francis’ call for an “abandonment of fossil fuels,” said he appreciates the fact that Pope Francis has spoken out about the issue of care for creation and has initiated so much public discussion.
“I think there is room for differing views and opinions on the right ways to do that,” he said.
Effective mitigation efforts
Susan Varlamoff, a retired biologist and parishioner at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in the Atlanta area, is among those Catholics who are committed to Pope Francis’ call to care for creation and to mitigate the effects of climate change. To that end, Varlamoff in 2016 created a peer-reviewed action plan for the Archdiocese of Atlanta to help Catholics put the principles contained in Laudato Si’ into action, mainly through smaller, more personal actions that people can take to reduce their energy usage.
Retired biologist Susan Varlamoff. Photo courtesy of Susan Varlamoff
The Atlanta Archdiocese’s efforts have since garnered recognition and praise, Varlamoff said, with at least 35 archdioceses now involved in an inter-diocesan network formed to exchange sustainability ideas based on the latest version of the plan from Atlanta.
“It’s fascinating to see what everybody is doing, and it’s basically based on their talents and imaginations,” Varlamoff said, noting that a large number of young people have gotten involved with their efforts.
As a scientist, Varlamoff told CNA it is clear to her that Pope Francis knows what he’s talking about when he lays out the dangers posed by inaction in the face of climate change.
“He understands the science, and he’s deeply concerned … he’s got remarkable influence as a moral leader,” she said.
“Part of what our religion asks us to do is to care for one another. We have to care for creation if we’re going to care for one another, because the earth is our natural resource system, our life support, and we cannot care for one another if we don’t have that life support.”
Responding to criticisms about the financial costs associated with certain green initiatives, Varlamoff noted that small-scale sustainable actions can actually save money. She offered the example of parishes in the Atlanta area that have drastically reduced their electric bills by installing solar panels.
“[But,] it’s not just about saving money. It’s also about reducing fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting the natural resources for future generations,” she said.
Moreover, Varlamoff said, the moral imperative to improve the natural environment for future generations is worth the investment. “When [Catholics] give money, for example, for a social justice issue like Walking with Moms in Need or special needs, the payback is improving lives. We’re improving the environment here,” she emphasized.
CNA Staff, Mar 30, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne has opened the archdiocesan seminary to feed and shelter the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic. The seminary had been partly emptied due to renovation works … […]
48 Comments
What an unbelievable joke.
Politicians going half way around the world to talk about a supposed global climate crisis?
Right. Like they’re experts at anything.
Anything at all.
I know a guy who parks cars at an upscale restaurant. He should go because he drives all those cars.
And I know an elderly lady who’s always cold because she weighs about 85 pounds. She should go.
It’s ridiculous.
These clowns think human sexuality isn’t binary but the earth’s endlessly variable climate is.
The only people stupider than the governors of California and New York are the gentlemen with big red noses and whoopee cushions at the Dark Vatican who invited them.
Do I sound annoyed? Resentful? Angry even?
So be it.
Jesus deserves so much, much better.
The Dark Vatican has more business addressing proper ballet technique, or the real story behind Fatty Arbuckle, or the history of trepanning.
God does have a sense of humor. He created ears didn’t He. I’m sure he’ll give us some relief with this spectacle. Maybe Francis will call all the politicians “good Catholics” even if they’re not even Catholics by baptism. Always good for a laugh.
Perhaps the most apt image for the Franconian Papacy – a circus – replete with clowns, sideshows, bearded women, sword swallowing, sleight of hand, chimeras, dumbbell-lifting, house of horrors, and all orchestrated by the ringmaster himself- Bergoglio 1st.
So, they fly in all these imbeciles to talk about depletion of the ozone using vast amounts of fossil fuels to do so. As with Covid, the people are easily fooled by these clowns who hold the reins of power. Not to fear, though, the center is not holding and Deep State is falling apart as we speak.
The only way that many of the proposed climate change measures will become reality is if everyone becomes wealthy, and I don’t think that will ever happen. And considering how few children are being born in the U.S. and considering how many American high school graduates are entering college (assuming that they actually set down their phones and come out of their bedrooms) to major in “human studies” or “equality issues”–well, there won’t be enough scientists and engineers to do any research that might change the entire outlook on climate change!
I think many (especially young people) in the U.S. are under the influence of the “celebrities,” especially actors and musicians, along with gamers and online “personalities” with unknown qualifications. My daughter (a practicing Catholic!) has worked in “show biz” all her life and earns a good living. She is very intelligent and earned a Masters’ degree–but her knowledge of science is quite limited, and she freely admits that! I think it’s sad when someone who pretends to be other people (or robots, animals, ghosts, fairy tale characters, etc.) or who tells us how to win at online games has so much influence over real-life people as they dispense “fantasy science” and somehow manage to convince us that it’s “real science.”
How is drilling ignorance? I don’t know about you but my vehicle runs on gas & so do most people’s. Even if every single vehicle went electric it still requires a source to provide that energy.
CA has experienced power brown-outs. Can you imagine that many people all drawing current to charge their cars & trucks- which is what the CA powers that be are promoting for the future?
Having varied sources of energy including oil seems prudent. And we have good sources of that in the US.
Yes Mrs. We do have the most oil in the world. I was surprised. Saudi Arabia?
In 2023 the executives of Exxon Mobile earned $30 billion while raising gas prices beyond the reach of middle and lower income classes. Their greed has set the cost of gas near $4 a gallon. Their new norm?
Nuclear fusion: The spent fuel rods are causing concern what to do with the millions of barrels of lethal waste that is currently being stored deep under Yucca Mountain. It decays for many decades. Today there are 91 nuclear plants in the US. One day fission may be replace by nuclear fusion. Hope that day comes soon.
Compressed Natural Gas, is a widely used as motor fuel in the world. It is the cleanest burning fuel, at the moment, in terms of NOx and soot (PM) emissions. Currently, there are 75 countries propelling their vehicles with CNG. The US is not high on that list.
You may recall in 8/23/21 in Beijing China the fuel smog caused by a spike in the use of coal and was so toxic that babies had to wear masks when outside, schools and parks were closed. Another deadly fossil fuel.
You are also right that electric vehicles have many issues. I think the largest is battery technology. They don’t go far and the need to recharge frequently. The supply of minerals used in batteries is in question as car and truck companies increase their EV manufacturing.
You are off in your prognostications . Do “executives” raise prices capriciously? Whenever dishonest journalism mentions a corporation with “record profits,” they never mention record taxation, and many armchair socialists, quick to invoke presumptions of greed, don’t even trouble themselves to know that profits are pre-tax and need to be planned large enough to stay in business, pay bills, maintain payroll, and sustain research and development. Every barrel of oil from the ground to the pump goes through seventeen taxation processes.
The energy/power efficiencies of EVs are way less than hydrocarbon vehicles. And the ignorance of liberal politicians have made it worse by sabotaging nuclear power, despite newer technology producing a tiny fraction of the waste of older plants, resulting in reliance on hydrocarbon plants (fossil fuel is a term for idiots). After the refining, electrical conversion process and multi-stage transmission process, the per gallon equivalent of gasoline fuel milage produced by hydrocarbons consumed for equivalent electrical production is about ten by ten by ten consumption of coal, a thousand cubic feet of coal.
And liberal politicians, in their infinite capacity to be intelligence challenged, are at war with natural gas.
The vatican continues inviting morally corrupt people to Rome. “Nothing to see here”?
I proudly displayed the American flag in front of my house for more than twenty years. After the 2020 election, I took it down, and I haven’t raised it since. I had to face the facts and acknowledge that we are America in name only. I think it’s time Catholics did the same. The Vatican is no longer remotely Christian and you might as well admit it. The bands still play and the marchers still march, but the poiēma is nowhere to be found. Life means nothing without it.
I did not agree with climate lethality, but as a Catholic I will opt on the side of caution.
NASA: The vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. Most of the leading science organizations around the world have issued public statements expressing this, including international and U.S. science academies, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a whole host of reputable scientific bodies around the world.
There seems to be a major world-wide scientific effort to bring forward the message. I am no scientist, but I am a Catholic father, grandfather and a RHINO.
God gave us this marvelous finite home. We cannot ignore that our pollution is not a source of climate issues.
It’s disturbing to me that Bergoglio is weighing in on “climate change” when he clearly knows absolutely nothing about climate science.
Here are a few brief points about climate change that people should know.
• The earth’s climate is changing. Indeed, the climate has always changed. Look at a graph of the earth’s average temperature that goes back a few million years. It looks like a yo-yo. Yet life on earth has always adjusted. It’s what life does. Devastating the economies of entire nations in an impossible quest for an unchanging climate is needlessly imposing misery on humanity. Yet climate alarmists like Bergoglio — or Varmaloff — never even say how they came up with the idea that the earth’s climate is generally stable.
• A 1.5-degree warming of the climate in a century is hardly the “existential threat” that the warmists claim. Think of the people now living 60 miles south of your home. That’s what your hometown will be like after a century of warming. What is their lifestyle like with a climate that’s 1.5 degrees warmer than yours? Is their town an uninhabitable hell-on-earth? Are they bursting into flames atop thousand-foot-high sand dunes? No? You might want to think about that.
• Carbon dioxide is not a poison. It’s not a pollutant. It’s a necessity for life on earth. Indeed, carbon is the molecule of life. In eons past, the earth did experience significantly higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than we have now. The difference then? Plants thrived, food was plentiful and large mammals literally covered the earth, from pole to pole. In sum, more carbon dioxide equals more plants equals more animals equals a better, less stressful life for all. It’s hardly the “existential threat” that Bergoglio and the rest of the climate stooges claim.
• The “scientists” we keep hearing about who are sounding the climate alarm are meteorologists — weathermen. Their climate hysteria is based on computer programs that are not validated. They are closed loops with no way to account for all of the parameters that determine climate now, let alone decades from now. (Such as solar activity, the earth’s magnetic field, etc.) These are the same types of computer programs that predicted that the deaths from COVID-19 would be exponentially higher than what actually came to pass. Lowering all of humanity’s living standards based on such flimsy computer modeling is diabolical.
• Much is made about the “consensus” of scientists who warn about global warming in their publications. All this proves is that the left controls the print media as effectively as they control the broadcast media. Have you seen ‘Scientific American’ lately? No? You should take a look.
• There are indications that the sun may be entering a period of relative dormancy, as it did for a few hundred years, starting in the fourteenth century. The inactive sun meant less energy released, which led to the Little Ice Age in America and Europe. Rivers and canals in northern Europe froze, vineyards were destroyed, cereal production in Ireland was devastated, and famine hit France. (Interestingly, the cold also caused hardwood trees to grow denser and harder, leading to the remarkable tone of Stradivarius’ string instruments.)
I could go on and on. And on.
For example, about the indications that the earth’s magnetic field may now be in the process of flipping. This will affect how much of the sun’s energy strikes the earth. The problem is, the last time such a thing took place — an event known as the Laschamp excursion — was more than 40,000 years ago. So information on how earth’s climate was affected is hard to come by.
Anyway, it is quite clear that Bergoglio knows next to nothing about the climate. What’s surprising is that he has the audacity to offer such a definitive statement about a field that is totally unknown to him.
My dear fellow, how do you know that the Pope knows nothing about climate change? He is a very smart man with Jesuit training and discipline and has access to well versed academics; and as a head of state (his other hat) he has an obligation to speak out on secular matters. Apart from that, even if global warming IS a natural phenomena we do have an obligation to keep our planet clean and non toxic. All kinds of pollution cause serious health problems and we have a moral obligation to address them. “Drill, baby drill “ is not the answer. Big business should not dictate morality.
Nor should fanatics who will not tolerate other opinions and/or facts that dare to question.
Abortion is the most important environmental challenge we face. Women’s wombs are the most endangered sites on planet earth. There, humans are dying by the tens of thousands every day because of an assault on the wombs of women. There is no true environmentalism as long as abortion continues. Let’s do something about an environmental problem that’s immediate and easily remedied.
Thank you Deacon Edward Peitler for stating the obvious about abortion killing more humans than any other natural catastrophe. That is what is so sad and infuriating about this Papacy. Bergoglio destroyed JPII’s Institute for Marriage and Family and the JPII Pontifical Academy for Life by firing all of its qualified members who were all pro-life and replacing them with pro-abortion people.
The head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Sciences, Archbishop Sorondo invited population controllers to attend meetings at the Vatican, and Sorondo has called Communist China the best example of social justice! Maybe he should ask all of the Chinese women who were forcibly aborted by the Chinese government what they think of that diabolical statement.
Anyway, it is quite clear that brineyman knows next to nothing about the climate.
“Let’s think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horse manure? Horse pollution was bad in 1900; think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses?
“But of course, within a few years, nobody rode horses except for sport. And in 2000, France was getting 80% its power from an energy source that was unknown in 1900. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Japan were getting more than 30% from this source, unknown in 1900.
“Remember, people in 1900 didn’t know what an atom was. They didn’t know its structure. They also didn’t know what a radio was, or an airport, or a movie, or a television, or a computer, or a cell phone, or a jet, an antibiotic, a rocket, a satellite, an MRI, ICU, IUD, IBM, IRA, ERA, EEG, EPA, IRS, DOD, PCP, HTML, the Internet, interferon….
“Now. You tell me you can predict the world of 2100. Tell me it’s even worth thinking about. Our models just carry the present into the future. They’re bound to be wrong. Everybody who gives a moment’s thought knows it.”
Your comments are getting increasingly naive. You’re right about not being a scientist I have multiple degrees in physics and worked in the field for years. Dishonesty in science rivals academics, politics, and the practice of law. Do you think some identifiable group of human beings are immune from the sin of pride?
Could you at least refrain from using that silly unscientific word “model,” which is now being tossed around to impress the gullible to make them think scientists are generally deep thinkers when they’re not? Truth never changes because all truth is the reflection of the mind of God. Discovery exists, but we can only discover what God already knows and has always known. Atoms existed before Rutherford began his pioneering work in describing them.
And the propagandists of NASA are credible by what criteria exactly? And by what criteria do they judge other “propagandists/scientists” as reputable? There is no substantial evidence that manmade climate change exists by the analysis of scientists not looking for public adulation.
I stand with morganD. There is an elephant (no politics intended) in the room and we must look at it. It’s too big to go away and we must face the fact that we have not always been good stewards of our planet. Politics, business and greed (products of our common fallen nature) have brought problems that we must face and determine if we can and should do something about them. All sides must grow up and be willing to soberly consider ALL research and determine where we really stand and take necessary measures to address any REAL problems. All this mud slinging and name calling is very immature and counterproductive. Let’s at least have enough common decency to allow those who we disagree with as being sincere. After all it is possible to be sincerely wrong. It’s even possible that we may be wrong. Since we humans tend to exaggerate and misinterpret things, we must learn to put things in perspective and be more objective. In all things we are obligated, as Christians to show love and respect.
I’ll own up to being naive, but I don’t think I am stupid or yet senile (although I’m going on 85😢) . I do however think that we must be seriously concerned about the footprints we are making on the environment. This is quite apart from the question of whether or not we are causing global warming. We know that we ARE causing serious pollution problems. Our oceans are full of junk which will not break down easily. Dangerous atomic waste is all over. Toxic gases are in the air etc. etc. Many on the political right have lumped all issues together and brand all environmentalists as leftist radicals. To be environmentally Globalist is not the same as being a politically globalist. Pollution does not stop at boarders. We can not be isolationists, we must work together as nations. Man Is the problem. The animals live and leave the planet as they found it with seemingly less brain power. We were given brains but don’t seem to use them very well. Yes, I own up to being naive and perhaps even stupid! God bless, my friend. 😇
Pollution & waste are one thing. Climate change narratives are another. You can do something constructive about pollution & waste that doesn’t involve a political agenda.
Conservatives should conserve nature & be stewards of God’s Creation. Cardinal Sarah said that Creation itself is a silent word of God. That’s good enough for me.
🙂
James, please. The oceans are NOT full of junk. Atomic waste is not everywhere. It is just such overstatement and hyperventilating that causes skepticism about the alarmist claims. Yes, there are problems. But remember, from the dawn of humanity human beings arrogantly thought they were the cause of every natural event, especially disasters … like not offering sacrifices to the right god, spraying deodorant into their armpits, shooting rockets into the sky (remember that, James? How often did we hear that in the 60’s?). As for our pope, he does have authority over bishops concealing sex abuse, the creep Rupnik, a church going off the rails in Germany … he should do his job first, and then he can “witness” to how everyone else isn’t doing theirs. And he doesn’t need to fly in celebrities and heads of state to get it done. Stop it with the photo ops and virtue signaling … by the way, I thought he famously said “Who am I to judge?”
And besides consenting-scientists “picking our pockets,” we have “Vadigun-Clericalists-in-the-McCarrick-Cult,” led by the Pontiff Francis, doing the bidding of the Chinese Communist State and its Marxist-American-politicos like boy-wonder-Gavin-Newsome.
And isn’t it true that our galllant-un-Eminence-McCarrick, while he was doing his decades-long gig as a “false shepherd,” was traveling back-and-forth to the homicidal Chinese state (the world’s biggest polluter and yet somehow also the world’s biggest solar panel monetizer), somehow managed by his “independent financial means” to afford his frequent flying back-and-forth to Peking for some 20 years, first discharging the many duties that we know all NJ Bishops are bound to do, and somehow “getting stuck” with the same Chinese Communist State junkets, despite lying his way into the Archbishop of Washington job, with the help of the utterly corrupt, Chinese Communist toadies of the “Vadigun-Secretariat-of-State.”
McCarrick, Newsome, the Pontiff Francis, three peas in the same phony pod, and all three capable of switching jobs, without it making any difference.
I trust that you will not be driving a car in the future nor taking any form of transportation that relies on fossil fuel. Because if you do, you would be ignoring your own admonition to the rest of us which would be hypocritical.
Yes, there is some change in climate; human activities definitely play a part in it. Yet I do not believe it is the Pope’s business. His business is the change of the spiritual climate.
But Anna, it IS the Pope’s business. He is both the head of State (the Vatican) and head of Church. This is confusing to many people. It’s not an ideal situation and perhaps won’t last much longer, but it is the way things are now and he may as well use the bully pulpit as long as he can. We should be happy that he has some say and credibility in secular matters. Very few secular leaders have ANY moral credibility these days. Think about how much St. John Paul did!
When years past on one round trip from NY to the SW I was startled that the top of majestic stratovolcano Mt Taylor NM, was shaved off by uranium excavation, water in many places throughout the SW both federal property and reservation areas was contaminated by excessive mining [even oil conglomerates Philips, Exxon with their vast wealth turned to include mining], that former pristine trout fishing brooks and lakes [including upstate NY] were affected I knew then it was a moral issue that had to be addressed. And it’s our Catholic Church that addresses moral issues.
Insofar as global warming the evidence is clear, whether it’s naturally cyclic or not. Industrial air pollutants, besides cows breaking wind [if it’s an issue are we going to neglect humans] causes a dramatic increase in UV rays and its effect on humans.
“The link between air pollution, UV irradiation and skin carcinogenesis has been demonstrated within a large number of epidemiological studies. Many have shown the detrimental effect that UV irradiation can have on human health as well as the long-term damage which can result from air pollution, the European ESCAPE project being a notable example. In total, at present around 2800 different chemical substances are systematically released into the air. This paper looks at the hazardous impact of air pollution and UV” (National Library of Medicine). What impressed me were the incredibly long lines of retired veterans and their families who moved to the SW showing up at the SW VA that I served for carcinoma treatment.
Many will say climate is a distraction that belongs attention elsewhere because personal morality is more important. Agreed that the latter holds priority. Although it’s also said that many of us can also chew gum and walk at the same time.
Bergoglio is pushing all the right butyons of the transhumanist globalists elite. He recently endorsed the blessing of homosexual couples. Now he is fully aboard the global warming wagon. Of course he does not condemn China, whose abuse of the environment is far worse than anything done in the West; just as he kept silent about what China has done with the Catholic Church there, or with Falon Gong or with the Uyghurs. It is less risky to attack the U.S.
NO Climate Crisis Says Coalition of 1600 Actual Scientists
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is ‘one of the worst sources of dangerous misinformation’
By Katy Grimes, May 13, 2024 2:55 am
The earth was warmer which is why Greenland got it’s name. It is now an icy expanse. The warming climate may once again bring it back to a green tree filled country:
“During 1981, researchers removed a huge tube of ice from the middle of a glacier in the Southern region of Greenland. The glacier was taken from a site called Dye 3, and it was more than a mile long — offering an incredible insight into Greenland’s history.
According to the scientists who examined the ice, the pattern of dirt, rock, and soil within was difficult to analyze at first. Lower layers of ice had been disrupted by the formation of new glacier.
Fortunately, later, DNA was distracted from the previously ignored bottom of the glacier, revealing some interesting information on the history of the country.
According to the data, Greenland was green. Not only was the country rich with grass and fields, but forests too. Biologists say Greenland may have been home to similar forests we see throughout Scandinavia today.
Scandinavia’s stunning scenery is one of the things which contributes to the happiness and health of the people within.
The team of analysts responsible for examining the ice say DNA was retrieved from yew, pine, spruce, and alder trees. The scientists also discovered species of insects ranging from spiders to butterflies.
According to the group, the icy discovery marked the first example of evidence that southern Greenland was once a highly forested place. Indeed, experts believe based on the trees found, Greenland must have reached at least 10 degrees Celsius in Summer. ”
From Scandification: Why Is Greenland Called Greenland?
What an unbelievable joke.
Politicians going half way around the world to talk about a supposed global climate crisis?
Right. Like they’re experts at anything.
Anything at all.
I know a guy who parks cars at an upscale restaurant. He should go because he drives all those cars.
And I know an elderly lady who’s always cold because she weighs about 85 pounds. She should go.
It’s ridiculous.
These clowns think human sexuality isn’t binary but the earth’s endlessly variable climate is.
The only people stupider than the governors of California and New York are the gentlemen with big red noses and whoopee cushions at the Dark Vatican who invited them.
Do I sound annoyed? Resentful? Angry even?
So be it.
Jesus deserves so much, much better.
The Dark Vatican has more business addressing proper ballet technique, or the real story behind Fatty Arbuckle, or the history of trepanning.
Clowns addressing clowns addressing clowns.
I feel your hate.
I do not feel his hate but I sure feel his pain.
God does have a sense of humor. He created ears didn’t He. I’m sure he’ll give us some relief with this spectacle. Maybe Francis will call all the politicians “good Catholics” even if they’re not even Catholics by baptism. Always good for a laugh.
Perhaps the most apt image for the Franconian Papacy – a circus – replete with clowns, sideshows, bearded women, sword swallowing, sleight of hand, chimeras, dumbbell-lifting, house of horrors, and all orchestrated by the ringmaster himself- Bergoglio 1st.
So, they fly in all these imbeciles to talk about depletion of the ozone using vast amounts of fossil fuels to do so. As with Covid, the people are easily fooled by these clowns who hold the reins of power. Not to fear, though, the center is not holding and Deep State is falling apart as we speak.
Well said!
The only way that many of the proposed climate change measures will become reality is if everyone becomes wealthy, and I don’t think that will ever happen. And considering how few children are being born in the U.S. and considering how many American high school graduates are entering college (assuming that they actually set down their phones and come out of their bedrooms) to major in “human studies” or “equality issues”–well, there won’t be enough scientists and engineers to do any research that might change the entire outlook on climate change!
I think many (especially young people) in the U.S. are under the influence of the “celebrities,” especially actors and musicians, along with gamers and online “personalities” with unknown qualifications. My daughter (a practicing Catholic!) has worked in “show biz” all her life and earns a good living. She is very intelligent and earned a Masters’ degree–but her knowledge of science is quite limited, and she freely admits that! I think it’s sad when someone who pretends to be other people (or robots, animals, ghosts, fairy tale characters, etc.) or who tells us how to win at online games has so much influence over real-life people as they dispense “fantasy science” and somehow manage to convince us that it’s “real science.”
Brilliantly said, Sharon.
Powerful ignorance. Drill baby, drill!
How is drilling ignorance? I don’t know about you but my vehicle runs on gas & so do most people’s. Even if every single vehicle went electric it still requires a source to provide that energy.
CA has experienced power brown-outs. Can you imagine that many people all drawing current to charge their cars & trucks- which is what the CA powers that be are promoting for the future?
Having varied sources of energy including oil seems prudent. And we have good sources of that in the US.
Yes Mrs. We do have the most oil in the world. I was surprised. Saudi Arabia?
In 2023 the executives of Exxon Mobile earned $30 billion while raising gas prices beyond the reach of middle and lower income classes. Their greed has set the cost of gas near $4 a gallon. Their new norm?
Nuclear fusion: The spent fuel rods are causing concern what to do with the millions of barrels of lethal waste that is currently being stored deep under Yucca Mountain. It decays for many decades. Today there are 91 nuclear plants in the US. One day fission may be replace by nuclear fusion. Hope that day comes soon.
Compressed Natural Gas, is a widely used as motor fuel in the world. It is the cleanest burning fuel, at the moment, in terms of NOx and soot (PM) emissions. Currently, there are 75 countries propelling their vehicles with CNG. The US is not high on that list.
You may recall in 8/23/21 in Beijing China the fuel smog caused by a spike in the use of coal and was so toxic that babies had to wear masks when outside, schools and parks were closed. Another deadly fossil fuel.
You are also right that electric vehicles have many issues. I think the largest is battery technology. They don’t go far and the need to recharge frequently. The supply of minerals used in batteries is in question as car and truck companies increase their EV manufacturing.
Thanks for your thoughts.
You are off in your prognostications . Do “executives” raise prices capriciously? Whenever dishonest journalism mentions a corporation with “record profits,” they never mention record taxation, and many armchair socialists, quick to invoke presumptions of greed, don’t even trouble themselves to know that profits are pre-tax and need to be planned large enough to stay in business, pay bills, maintain payroll, and sustain research and development. Every barrel of oil from the ground to the pump goes through seventeen taxation processes.
The energy/power efficiencies of EVs are way less than hydrocarbon vehicles. And the ignorance of liberal politicians have made it worse by sabotaging nuclear power, despite newer technology producing a tiny fraction of the waste of older plants, resulting in reliance on hydrocarbon plants (fossil fuel is a term for idiots). After the refining, electrical conversion process and multi-stage transmission process, the per gallon equivalent of gasoline fuel milage produced by hydrocarbons consumed for equivalent electrical production is about ten by ten by ten consumption of coal, a thousand cubic feet of coal.
And liberal politicians, in their infinite capacity to be intelligence challenged, are at war with natural gas.
The vatican continues inviting morally corrupt people to Rome. “Nothing to see here”?
Birds of a feather…
Brilliantly said, Sharon.
Nauseating.
Pathetic
I proudly displayed the American flag in front of my house for more than twenty years. After the 2020 election, I took it down, and I haven’t raised it since. I had to face the facts and acknowledge that we are America in name only. I think it’s time Catholics did the same. The Vatican is no longer remotely Christian and you might as well admit it. The bands still play and the marchers still march, but the poiēma is nowhere to be found. Life means nothing without it.
Punctuating the silliness of this is the notion that the Vatican will now cooperate with the pro-abortion UN to promote this stuff!
Donations to the Vatican fund these boondoggles, providing a megaphone for morally bankrupt bigwigs. How is it charity to pay for such activities?
I did not agree with climate lethality, but as a Catholic I will opt on the side of caution.
NASA: The vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. Most of the leading science organizations around the world have issued public statements expressing this, including international and U.S. science academies, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a whole host of reputable scientific bodies around the world.
There seems to be a major world-wide scientific effort to bring forward the message. I am no scientist, but I am a Catholic father, grandfather and a RHINO.
God gave us this marvelous finite home. We cannot ignore that our pollution is not a source of climate issues.
https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/do-scientists-agree-on-climate-change/
Don’t be deceived, Morgan.
Opt on the side of rationality. Do a little research.
Start with this website:
https://globalwarmingdeception.com/
Then proceed to my text that follows.
It’s disturbing to me that Bergoglio is weighing in on “climate change” when he clearly knows absolutely nothing about climate science.
Here are a few brief points about climate change that people should know.
• The earth’s climate is changing. Indeed, the climate has always changed. Look at a graph of the earth’s average temperature that goes back a few million years. It looks like a yo-yo. Yet life on earth has always adjusted. It’s what life does. Devastating the economies of entire nations in an impossible quest for an unchanging climate is needlessly imposing misery on humanity. Yet climate alarmists like Bergoglio — or Varmaloff — never even say how they came up with the idea that the earth’s climate is generally stable.
• A 1.5-degree warming of the climate in a century is hardly the “existential threat” that the warmists claim. Think of the people now living 60 miles south of your home. That’s what your hometown will be like after a century of warming. What is their lifestyle like with a climate that’s 1.5 degrees warmer than yours? Is their town an uninhabitable hell-on-earth? Are they bursting into flames atop thousand-foot-high sand dunes? No? You might want to think about that.
• Carbon dioxide is not a poison. It’s not a pollutant. It’s a necessity for life on earth. Indeed, carbon is the molecule of life. In eons past, the earth did experience significantly higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than we have now. The difference then? Plants thrived, food was plentiful and large mammals literally covered the earth, from pole to pole. In sum, more carbon dioxide equals more plants equals more animals equals a better, less stressful life for all. It’s hardly the “existential threat” that Bergoglio and the rest of the climate stooges claim.
• The “scientists” we keep hearing about who are sounding the climate alarm are meteorologists — weathermen. Their climate hysteria is based on computer programs that are not validated. They are closed loops with no way to account for all of the parameters that determine climate now, let alone decades from now. (Such as solar activity, the earth’s magnetic field, etc.) These are the same types of computer programs that predicted that the deaths from COVID-19 would be exponentially higher than what actually came to pass. Lowering all of humanity’s living standards based on such flimsy computer modeling is diabolical.
• Much is made about the “consensus” of scientists who warn about global warming in their publications. All this proves is that the left controls the print media as effectively as they control the broadcast media. Have you seen ‘Scientific American’ lately? No? You should take a look.
• There are indications that the sun may be entering a period of relative dormancy, as it did for a few hundred years, starting in the fourteenth century. The inactive sun meant less energy released, which led to the Little Ice Age in America and Europe. Rivers and canals in northern Europe froze, vineyards were destroyed, cereal production in Ireland was devastated, and famine hit France. (Interestingly, the cold also caused hardwood trees to grow denser and harder, leading to the remarkable tone of Stradivarius’ string instruments.)
I could go on and on. And on.
For example, about the indications that the earth’s magnetic field may now be in the process of flipping. This will affect how much of the sun’s energy strikes the earth. The problem is, the last time such a thing took place — an event known as the Laschamp excursion — was more than 40,000 years ago. So information on how earth’s climate was affected is hard to come by.
Anyway, it is quite clear that Bergoglio knows next to nothing about the climate. What’s surprising is that he has the audacity to offer such a definitive statement about a field that is totally unknown to him.
On second thought, maybe it was inevitable.
My dear fellow, how do you know that the Pope knows nothing about climate change? He is a very smart man with Jesuit training and discipline and has access to well versed academics; and as a head of state (his other hat) he has an obligation to speak out on secular matters. Apart from that, even if global warming IS a natural phenomena we do have an obligation to keep our planet clean and non toxic. All kinds of pollution cause serious health problems and we have a moral obligation to address them. “Drill, baby drill “ is not the answer. Big business should not dictate morality.
Nor should fanatics who will not tolerate other opinions and/or facts that dare to question.
Abortion is the most important environmental challenge we face. Women’s wombs are the most endangered sites on planet earth. There, humans are dying by the tens of thousands every day because of an assault on the wombs of women. There is no true environmentalism as long as abortion continues. Let’s do something about an environmental problem that’s immediate and easily remedied.
Thank you Deacon Edward Peitler for stating the obvious about abortion killing more humans than any other natural catastrophe. That is what is so sad and infuriating about this Papacy. Bergoglio destroyed JPII’s Institute for Marriage and Family and the JPII Pontifical Academy for Life by firing all of its qualified members who were all pro-life and replacing them with pro-abortion people.
The head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Sciences, Archbishop Sorondo invited population controllers to attend meetings at the Vatican, and Sorondo has called Communist China the best example of social justice! Maybe he should ask all of the Chinese women who were forcibly aborted by the Chinese government what they think of that diabolical statement.
Anyway, it is quite clear that brineyman knows next to nothing about the climate.
MICHAEL CRICHTON on climate change:
“Let’s think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horse manure? Horse pollution was bad in 1900; think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses?
“But of course, within a few years, nobody rode horses except for sport. And in 2000, France was getting 80% its power from an energy source that was unknown in 1900. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Japan were getting more than 30% from this source, unknown in 1900.
“Remember, people in 1900 didn’t know what an atom was. They didn’t know its structure. They also didn’t know what a radio was, or an airport, or a movie, or a television, or a computer, or a cell phone, or a jet, an antibiotic, a rocket, a satellite, an MRI, ICU, IUD, IBM, IRA, ERA, EEG, EPA, IRS, DOD, PCP, HTML, the Internet, interferon….
“Now. You tell me you can predict the world of 2100. Tell me it’s even worth thinking about. Our models just carry the present into the future. They’re bound to be wrong. Everybody who gives a moment’s thought knows it.”
Your comments are getting increasingly naive. You’re right about not being a scientist I have multiple degrees in physics and worked in the field for years. Dishonesty in science rivals academics, politics, and the practice of law. Do you think some identifiable group of human beings are immune from the sin of pride?
Could you at least refrain from using that silly unscientific word “model,” which is now being tossed around to impress the gullible to make them think scientists are generally deep thinkers when they’re not? Truth never changes because all truth is the reflection of the mind of God. Discovery exists, but we can only discover what God already knows and has always known. Atoms existed before Rutherford began his pioneering work in describing them.
And the propagandists of NASA are credible by what criteria exactly? And by what criteria do they judge other “propagandists/scientists” as reputable? There is no substantial evidence that manmade climate change exists by the analysis of scientists not looking for public adulation.
I stand with morganD. There is an elephant (no politics intended) in the room and we must look at it. It’s too big to go away and we must face the fact that we have not always been good stewards of our planet. Politics, business and greed (products of our common fallen nature) have brought problems that we must face and determine if we can and should do something about them. All sides must grow up and be willing to soberly consider ALL research and determine where we really stand and take necessary measures to address any REAL problems. All this mud slinging and name calling is very immature and counterproductive. Let’s at least have enough common decency to allow those who we disagree with as being sincere. After all it is possible to be sincerely wrong. It’s even possible that we may be wrong. Since we humans tend to exaggerate and misinterpret things, we must learn to put things in perspective and be more objective. In all things we are obligated, as Christians to show love and respect.
James, you sound like a sweet guy, but I fear you may be slightly naive.
Let me just ask you this.
Wherever did you get the idea that the “normal” state of the climate is stable?
Have you ever seen a graph depicting the temperatures on earth throughout its history? It looks like a yoy-yo.
Climate stability is a delusion.
And so the climate crisis is a delusion.
The Green New Poverty is a threat to humanity — and there’s absolutely no reason for it.
I make several points about the climate discussion in a post above. Here’s one more.
The scientific “consensus” includes only meteorologists — never the scientists who study the sun, heliologists.
And yet the sun is the source of the great majority of the earth’s heat.
The fact is, heliologists cannot reliably predict the sun’s solar output beyond about a decade into the future.
In fact, until the recent massive solar storm, the sun’s output has been somewhat reduced in recent years.
Until you see heliologists sounding the alarm about global warming, you can pretty much write it off as an issue.
I’ll own up to being naive, but I don’t think I am stupid or yet senile (although I’m going on 85😢) . I do however think that we must be seriously concerned about the footprints we are making on the environment. This is quite apart from the question of whether or not we are causing global warming. We know that we ARE causing serious pollution problems. Our oceans are full of junk which will not break down easily. Dangerous atomic waste is all over. Toxic gases are in the air etc. etc. Many on the political right have lumped all issues together and brand all environmentalists as leftist radicals. To be environmentally Globalist is not the same as being a politically globalist. Pollution does not stop at boarders. We can not be isolationists, we must work together as nations. Man Is the problem. The animals live and leave the planet as they found it with seemingly less brain power. We were given brains but don’t seem to use them very well. Yes, I own up to being naive and perhaps even stupid! God bless, my friend. 😇
Pollution & waste are one thing. Climate change narratives are another. You can do something constructive about pollution & waste that doesn’t involve a political agenda.
Conservatives should conserve nature & be stewards of God’s Creation. Cardinal Sarah said that Creation itself is a silent word of God. That’s good enough for me.
🙂
James, please. The oceans are NOT full of junk. Atomic waste is not everywhere. It is just such overstatement and hyperventilating that causes skepticism about the alarmist claims. Yes, there are problems. But remember, from the dawn of humanity human beings arrogantly thought they were the cause of every natural event, especially disasters … like not offering sacrifices to the right god, spraying deodorant into their armpits, shooting rockets into the sky (remember that, James? How often did we hear that in the 60’s?). As for our pope, he does have authority over bishops concealing sex abuse, the creep Rupnik, a church going off the rails in Germany … he should do his job first, and then he can “witness” to how everyone else isn’t doing theirs. And he doesn’t need to fly in celebrities and heads of state to get it done. Stop it with the photo ops and virtue signaling … by the way, I thought he famously said “Who am I to judge?”
As everyone knows, “Aliens Cause Global Warming,” just as Michael Chrichton said at Stanford 21 years ago:
https://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/Crichton2003.pdf
And besides consenting-scientists “picking our pockets,” we have “Vadigun-Clericalists-in-the-McCarrick-Cult,” led by the Pontiff Francis, doing the bidding of the Chinese Communist State and its Marxist-American-politicos like boy-wonder-Gavin-Newsome.
And isn’t it true that our galllant-un-Eminence-McCarrick, while he was doing his decades-long gig as a “false shepherd,” was traveling back-and-forth to the homicidal Chinese state (the world’s biggest polluter and yet somehow also the world’s biggest solar panel monetizer), somehow managed by his “independent financial means” to afford his frequent flying back-and-forth to Peking for some 20 years, first discharging the many duties that we know all NJ Bishops are bound to do, and somehow “getting stuck” with the same Chinese Communist State junkets, despite lying his way into the Archbishop of Washington job, with the help of the utterly corrupt, Chinese Communist toadies of the “Vadigun-Secretariat-of-State.”
McCarrick, Newsome, the Pontiff Francis, three peas in the same phony pod, and all three capable of switching jobs, without it making any difference.
“There’s no such thing as “consensus science.” (Michael Chrichton)
https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/michael-crichton-explains-why-there-is-no-such-thing-as-consensus-science/
Planet Earth is thirsting for tender care, love, and respect. It’s time for fellow-mortals to do their bit.
I trust that you will not be driving a car in the future nor taking any form of transportation that relies on fossil fuel. Because if you do, you would be ignoring your own admonition to the rest of us which would be hypocritical.
I think that line was written by Secretary Xi, and farmed out for political consumption.
Yes, there is some change in climate; human activities definitely play a part in it. Yet I do not believe it is the Pope’s business. His business is the change of the spiritual climate.
Alas, what is going on now is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Vladimir Soloviev’s ‘A short story of the Antichrist’. I urge all Roman Catholics to read it. It is a wonderful piece of work and very instructive. Here is the test: http://www.wittenberg2017.us/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/a_short_tale_of_the_anti-christ_-_by_vladimir_soloviev.pdf
(Vladimir Soloviev was an Eastern Orthodox religious philosopher, visionary, and philocatholic – some argue he became a Roman Catholic.)
But Anna, it IS the Pope’s business. He is both the head of State (the Vatican) and head of Church. This is confusing to many people. It’s not an ideal situation and perhaps won’t last much longer, but it is the way things are now and he may as well use the bully pulpit as long as he can. We should be happy that he has some say and credibility in secular matters. Very few secular leaders have ANY moral credibility these days. Think about how much St. John Paul did!
James, the sooner the Vatican is denied recognition as a temporal entity, the better for the Church’s mission.
Isn’t any Bishop’s main job to save souls in all he does?
When years past on one round trip from NY to the SW I was startled that the top of majestic stratovolcano Mt Taylor NM, was shaved off by uranium excavation, water in many places throughout the SW both federal property and reservation areas was contaminated by excessive mining [even oil conglomerates Philips, Exxon with their vast wealth turned to include mining], that former pristine trout fishing brooks and lakes [including upstate NY] were affected I knew then it was a moral issue that had to be addressed. And it’s our Catholic Church that addresses moral issues.
Insofar as global warming the evidence is clear, whether it’s naturally cyclic or not. Industrial air pollutants, besides cows breaking wind [if it’s an issue are we going to neglect humans] causes a dramatic increase in UV rays and its effect on humans.
“The link between air pollution, UV irradiation and skin carcinogenesis has been demonstrated within a large number of epidemiological studies. Many have shown the detrimental effect that UV irradiation can have on human health as well as the long-term damage which can result from air pollution, the European ESCAPE project being a notable example. In total, at present around 2800 different chemical substances are systematically released into the air. This paper looks at the hazardous impact of air pollution and UV” (National Library of Medicine). What impressed me were the incredibly long lines of retired veterans and their families who moved to the SW showing up at the SW VA that I served for carcinoma treatment.
Many will say climate is a distraction that belongs attention elsewhere because personal morality is more important. Agreed that the latter holds priority. Although it’s also said that many of us can also chew gum and walk at the same time.
Bergoglio is pushing all the right butyons of the transhumanist globalists elite. He recently endorsed the blessing of homosexual couples. Now he is fully aboard the global warming wagon. Of course he does not condemn China, whose abuse of the environment is far worse than anything done in the West; just as he kept silent about what China has done with the Catholic Church there, or with Falon Gong or with the Uyghurs. It is less risky to attack the U.S.
Please read this letter to the California government by 1600 actual scientists supported by 16 pages of data
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/no-climate-crisis-says-coalition-of-1600-actual-scientists/
NO Climate Crisis Says Coalition of 1600 Actual Scientists
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is ‘one of the worst sources of dangerous misinformation’
By Katy Grimes, May 13, 2024 2:55 am
Excellent link, Oscar!
Those “1,600 scientists” certainly sound like a “consensus”
to me!
LOLOL!
Like I said. Global warming is a delusion.
Carbon is beneficial to life.
Bergoglio knows nothing about climate science.
The earth was warmer which is why Greenland got it’s name. It is now an icy expanse. The warming climate may once again bring it back to a green tree filled country:
“During 1981, researchers removed a huge tube of ice from the middle of a glacier in the Southern region of Greenland. The glacier was taken from a site called Dye 3, and it was more than a mile long — offering an incredible insight into Greenland’s history.
According to the scientists who examined the ice, the pattern of dirt, rock, and soil within was difficult to analyze at first. Lower layers of ice had been disrupted by the formation of new glacier.
Fortunately, later, DNA was distracted from the previously ignored bottom of the glacier, revealing some interesting information on the history of the country.
According to the data, Greenland was green. Not only was the country rich with grass and fields, but forests too. Biologists say Greenland may have been home to similar forests we see throughout Scandinavia today.
Scandinavia’s stunning scenery is one of the things which contributes to the happiness and health of the people within.
The team of analysts responsible for examining the ice say DNA was retrieved from yew, pine, spruce, and alder trees. The scientists also discovered species of insects ranging from spiders to butterflies.
According to the group, the icy discovery marked the first example of evidence that southern Greenland was once a highly forested place. Indeed, experts believe based on the trees found, Greenland must have reached at least 10 degrees Celsius in Summer. ”
From Scandification: Why Is Greenland Called Greenland?