Pope Benedict XVI and Global Warming

So, here we are on a ball of dirt, with a molten center, flying through space at great speed. There are some six billion of us, and this is the only craft we have upon which to make this journey. Some say that if we continue to deplete our little ball's resources, and insist on continuing to wrap it in a blanket of carbon, our little ball is going to turn on us and refuse to continue to support life as we know it. Others say, "Oh pshaw! Prove it you fanatical scare-mongers." Today, under the headline "The Pope Condemns the Climate Change Prophets of Doom," Simon Caldwell of the Daily Mail states that "Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology." I couldn't agree more, and I couldn't be more dismayed by the way Benedict's statement has been misconstrued on some of the blogs and websites.

Rick Moran of the American Thinker interprets Pope Benedict's statement as a validation of the position of the Oh Pshaw crowd who would have us blithely go about business as usual until there is absolute proof, I presume in the form of apocalyptic consequences, to support taking action against global warming. Watching the polar ice melt, rising ocean levels, and the desertification of once arable land in Africa is not enough for these people. They have to see people dying and catastrophic events-too late for corrective action-before they'll believe that action is called for.

Others as can be found at Wonkette under the title "The Pope Sucks" are just using Benedict's call for ration and judgement, rather than extremist rhetoric in addressing global warming, to attack Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church. I have to wonder how an appeal for reason can incite such vitriol. I suppose, for some, personal attacks are a substitute for the argument they lack the wit or discipline to present.

Here's how I see it. The relationship between atmospheric carbon and global temperatures is well-documented. Human activity contributes millions of metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year. There's nothing "hard to get" about that. The question really is-are we actually creating a disaster, or just speeding it up in the event that some warming is part of a natural cycle?

I agree with Pope Benedict, that reason and science should guide decisions about how to approach global warming, but I would add that the voices of those who profit from the status quo should be ignored right along with the fanatics on both sides of the issue. After all, it is the only little ball of dirt we have.

The Daily Mail, 12/12/07. Wonkette: The DC Gossip, 12/12/07. The American Thinker, 12/12/07.