Environmentalists, including the advisors responsible for the content of Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si', and even many of their critics, routinely refer to a "balance of nature," a concept that elicits visions of fragile nature knocked off balance by crossing "tipping points" that lead to catastrophes--concepts fundamental to global warming alarmism. Veteran ecologist Daniel Botkin finds that thinking common in Laudato Si' and niftily nullifies it from a scientific standpoint. Botkin … [Read more...]
What Planet Does Pope Francis Live On?
Steven W. Mosher expresses dismay at Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' not because it embraces fears of dangerous manmade global warming (though he points out those baseless fears in it, too) but because many of its ecological claims are just plain wrong. "Having read through Pope Francis’ new encyclical, I am dismayed at how many groundless assertions it makes. From a strictly scientific point of view, Laudato Si is an embarrassment." Examples: On the issue of water, for example, the … [Read more...]
Bishop’s “Call to Action” on Climate and Fossil Fuels May Be Less than Meets the Eye
Paul Etienne, Catholic Bishop of Cheyenne, with jurisdiction over the Diocese of Wyoming, was cited recently in Inside Energy as calling Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' "a call to action" for Wyoming, the nation's largest coal-producing state. But there might not be quite so much to what Bishop Etienne said as Inside Energy would wish. The sole quote from him is this: I know this document is going to disturb many people in this state," he said, "because it is very much an energy-driven … [Read more...]
Why do I Think Climate Alarmists Are Overreacting?
Religion Dispatches posted Jacob J. Erickson’s interesting article “Falling in Love with the Earth: Francis’ Faithful Ecology,” about a week ago, and one follower, “Whiskyjack,” chastened Catholic Republican Presidential candidates for hypocrisy on the grounds that they accept his authority on abortion and homosexuality but not on climate change. I replied: Catholic dogma holds that papal authority is only in matters of faith (doctrine) and morals. It doesn't extend to science, economics, or … [Read more...]
Bandow: Papal encyclical forgets the ecological benefits of market economies
Christian economist Doug Bandow, a long-time friend, has published three thoughtful responses to Laudato Si, Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment. One is "In Calling on Government, Laudato Si Underestimates Power of the the Market." It is, as usual, clear and concise. This excerpt is particularly important: ... the Pontiff’s own goals conflict. For instance, he speaks movingly of the dignity of work and its importance for all, including the poor. These jobs—especially better ones, of … [Read more...]
Is Pope Francis a Chemist?
In expectation of the release of an encyclical on environmental stewardship, some people have claimed that Pope Francis has a degree, even a master’s degree, in chemistry, qualifying him to understand the scientific issues of climate change. Not so, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Actually, Francis graduated, at age 19, “with a título in chemistry from the Escuela Técnica Industrial No. 12*, which is a state-run technical secondary school,” and “the título really represents … [Read more...]
Vatican’s secrecy over environmental encyclical may have diminished its value
The Associated Press reports that Vatican officials are very upset over the leak of a draft of the much-anticipated papal encyclical on the environment yesterday. I find the concluding paragraph of the AP report most interesting: In the aftermath of the "Vatileaks" scandal, the Vatican City State updated its criminal code to include severe penalties for anyone who leaks a Vatican document or publishes news from it: Up to two years in prison and a 5,000 euro ($5,600) fine. Well, I suppose if the … [Read more...]
Hayward Slam Dunks Sachs
Economist Jeffrey Sachs directs the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He's also led the way in the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals--a high-sounding program to end poverty that depends largely on redistributing wealth from the West to the Rest with an obligatory but ineffectual nod toward the need for governmental reform and economic development in impoverished countries handicapped by corrupt leadership, progress-stifling political structures, and social mores that undermine personal … [Read more...]
Vatican Postpones Release of Pope Francis’s Encyclical on Environment
Did Cornwall Alliance’s Open Letter to Pope Francis on Climate Change cause the Pope and his advisors to think twice? Maybe, maybe not. But “sources inside Santa Marta [where Pope Francis makes his home] are reporting that the Pope will not be publishing [the] already completed text [of the encyclical], and has—for the time being—tabled the entire project.” “The reason, according to [Vaticanist Sandro] Magister, is that the Pope realized that the document in its current state had no chance of … [Read more...]
Socialist Papal Advisor Caricatures Our Concerns about Forthcoming Encyclical
Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, thought by many to be Pope Francis’s closest advisor, went out of his way at a press conference in Rome before the start of an assembly of Caritas Internationalis, a federation of Catholic charities, to condemn efforts by the Cornwall Alliance, the Heartland Institute, and others who met in Rome in late April to present an alternative view to the global warming alarmists who have had Francis’s ear heretofore. “The ideology surrounding environmental issues is … [Read more...]
