The mainstream media news departments, really political ideologues, are once again pushing hysteria about natural aspects of life and death. Like the Covid-19 epidemic, often opinion mixed with hysteria guided their reporting. The same with climate change.
There is no historical context. They don’t tell us that most of us experience climate change with the four seasons and differing weather patterns. Even an ocean fog can bring climate change to specific ocean communities. They don’t give us the facts that there have been many, many major climate changes since the earth was created. Think of the ice age. Think about Georgia. The Atlantic Ocean once gave Augusta, Macon and Columbus (middle Georgia) beaches with the Atlantic lapping at our doorsteps. The house I lived in as a teenager had sand as the soil from a one time beach. The ocean now from about 130 miles to almost 200 miles away. Did human activity do this?
Some in the Church are so enamored with political ideologies and submitting to these, that they fail to preach the need for repentance in order to save their souls not only from climate change and the final judgement but from the fires of hell that never has climate change!
But back the the main stream media’s opinions about climate change, their reporting lacks common sense in order to promote a political ideology and an all electric world with clean energy. That makes them feel in control of reversing what God is wroughting, if you will. If they have investments in an all electric world--it will make them rich too.
Let’s take Death Valley as another example. Was it human and animal reasons that the ocean receded and mountains appeared and the weather changed? I report; you answer:
Death Valley Geology Overview
Ancient Seas
Death Valley's rocks, structure and landforms offer a wealth of information about what the area may have looked like in the past. It is apparent that there has not always been a valley here. Death Valley's oldest rocks, formed about 1.8 billion years ago have been so severely altered and suffered so many changes the their history is nearly unreadable. A clearer picture is presented by rocks dating about 500 million years ago. These rocks, found in the Panamint and Funeral Mountains are made of sandstone and limestone indicating it was the site of a warm, shallow sea throughout most of the Paleozoic Era (570-250 million years ago)GLOSSARY > limestone, strata
39 comments:
Popes Francis, Benedict XVI, as well as Saint John Paul II, insisted that climate change is real. I would quote Pope Francis, but his critics would dismiss him as a tree-hugging communist.
Therefore, I will quote Pope Benedict XVI, the supposed traditional right-wing extremist (he, of course, was not that).
As noted via the following news article, Pope Benedict XVI was a staunch "tree-hugging" environmentalist, who had condemned mankind's contribution (according to his declarations) to climate change:
-- Pope Benedict XVI: The Green Pope
VATICAN CITY – There once was a Pope called “The Green Pope.”
"He earned the title from both the religious and the secular alike, because he wrote frequently about the environment and asked all Catholics to be better stewards of God’s creation.
"No, “The Green Pope” is not Pope Francis. It’s his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, which may come as a surprise to those who believe Benedict’s legacy was his staunch conservatism."
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From Pope Benedict XVI's 2010 A.D. World Day of Peace address:
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace.html
"IF YOU WANT TO CULTIVATE PEACE, PROTECT CREATION"
"In 1990 John Paul II had spoken of an “ecological crisis” and, in highlighting its primarily ethical character, pointed to the “urgent moral need for a new solidarity”.
"His appeal is all the more pressing today, in the face of signs of a growing crisis which it would be irresponsible not to take seriously."
"Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change..."
"Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights."
"Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us."
======================================================
Pope Benedict XVI insisted that our need to care for earth's environment is a right-to-life issue.
He linked world peace to the manner in which mankind has trashed earth's environment. He insisted that to inflict violence upon our environment, has marked us as having been indifferent to the care of each other.
We have been poor stewards of God's creation, according to Pope Benedict XVI.
Therefore, Pope Benedict XVI insisted that world peace is impossible as long as we contribute to climate change.
Finally, from Pope Benedict XVI:
"The ecological problem must be dealt with not only because of the chilling prospects of environmental degradation on the horizon; the real motivation must be the quest for authentic world-wide solidarity inspired by the values of charity, justice and the common good."
"It is becoming more and more evident that the issue of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our life-style and the prevailing models of consumption and production, which are often unsustainable from a social, environmental and even economic point of view."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
You say, "They don’t they us that most of us experience climate change with the four seasons and differing weather patterns."
I say, "They can't us them, Death Valley seasons notwithstanding, experience Exodus, Three Kings!"
By the way, changing seasons aren't climate change.
Change of seasons isn’t climate change. Well, well, well.
MT: I didn’t say there isn’t climate change, I said it is God made not man made. We can’t reverse it—it’s heading the world toward the final consummation and the last judgement. The Church has always taught that the end will be a fiery one!
With Father McDonald's permission: To add to my prior comment:
Even if we do not accept Pope Benedict XVI's insistence that climate change is real, and that mankind has contributed to climate, the remainder of his 2010 A.D. World Day of Peace reflects Church teaching.
-- IF YOU WANT TO CULTIVATE PEACE, PROTECT CREATION
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace.html
In his address in question, Pope Benedict XVI promoted Church teaching in regard to how we act as good stewards of God's Creation.
Pope Benedict XVI noted that our treatment of God's Creation — our treatment of each other, as well as earth's environment — is a right-to-life issue.
Example: Pope Benedict XVI declared:
"Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of “environmental refugees”, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well – in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement?"
"Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources?
"All these are issues with a profound impact on the exercise of human rights, such as the right to life, food, health and development."
==========================================================
Certain folks may not believe that climate change is real, or that mankind is responsible, at least to a degree, for climate change. But we would do well to embrace Church teaching, as reiterated by Pope Benedict XVI, in regard to our care for all of God's Creation.
God, as taught by Holy Mother Church, has commanded us to act as good stewards of His Creation.
At the very least, acting as good environmentalists can't hurt.
:-)
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Once again MT, climate change is real and has happened since God created the earth. It is God made, mandated and in the nature of his creation disordered by Original Sin.
You will die one day. Nothing you can do will stop it. You might extend it through means that might cause you other problems, but like the earth, you are terminal. Only God can save your soul from the coming final consummation of the world.
Father McDonald said..."MT: I didn’t say there isn’t climate change, I said it is God made not man made. We can’t reverse it—it’s heading the world toward the final consummation and the last judgement. The Church has always taught that the end will be a fiery one!"
Father McDonald, your reply is most appreciated...as is your original post.
Father, I understand that you do not reject the reality of climate change. I understand that you do not believe that climate change is manmade. I noted that Popes Francis, Benedict XVI, as well as Saint John Paul II, have/had insisted that mankind has contributed to climate change.
My overall point is that even should one dismiss that notion, at the very least we are called to embrace Church teaching, as Pope Benedict XVI reiterated, in regard to acting as good stewards of God's Creation.
Pope Benedict XVI noted:
"Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of “environmental refugees”, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well..."
"Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as...desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity..."
Regardless as to one's opinion in regard to climate change...whether climate change is man-made:
I believe that we can all agree that should we act as good stewards of God's Creation, we can help those who have been impacted by air pollution...polluted water, deforestation, desertification...
...those who, according to Pope Benedict XVI, have been transformed into “environmental refugees”, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well..."
Father McDonald, thank you, as always, for your blog...and allowing me to post my opinions here.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald said..."...MT...You will die one day. Nothing you can do will stop it. You might extend it through means that might cause you other problems, but like the earth, you are terminal. Only God can save your soul from the coming final consummation of the world."
Yes.
In the meantime, I will do my best to act as a good steward of God's Creation.
I will do my part to refrain from the infliction of violence upon our air, water, and environment to assist those impacted by environmental issues...as well as to help earth's environment remain in good condition for as long as possible.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Yes, climate change in a fallen and disordered world causes suffering and death. You ain’t seen anything yet! Just wait for the fiery final consummation of the earth and the last judgement. If you are dying from cancer you will suffer and die. You may be forced to leave home and go to a hospital or hospice to die. That’s life.
Most of the change in the modern era has been from the "corrections" made to historical temperature records and/or different methods of measuring temperature. Sea level is not rising appreciably anywhere (let alone everywhere); sea ice and glaciers are increasing; fires burn far less acreage than they did 100 years ago. Every prediction the climate doomsayers make has been wrong. It is a scam that always requires more government money and control - because that is the whole point.
Father McDonald said.."Yes, climate change in a fallen and disordered world causes suffering and death. You ain’t seen anything yet! Just wait for the fiery final consummation of the earth and the last judgement. If you are dying from cancer you will suffer and die. You may be forced to leave home and go to a hospital or hospice to die. That’s life."
However, that did not stop Pope Benedict XVI (or Popes Saint John Paul II, as well as Francis) from having insisted that man has contributed to climate change...that we must halt the ways in which we have contributed to climate change.
Anyway, Father McDonald, I appreciate your above comment.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
With Father McDonald's permission:
Here is an additional outstanding (in my opinion) contribution from Pope Benedict XVI in regard to the issue of climate change:
VIDEOSTATEMENT OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE UN 2009 SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Excerpts:
"I wish to reflect today upon the relationship between the Creator and ourselves as guardians of his creation.
"In so doing I also wish to offer my support to leaders of governments and international agencies who soon will meet at the United Nations to discuss the urgent issue of climate change.
"The Earth is indeed a precious gift of the Creator who, in designing its intrinsic order, has given us guidelines that assist us as stewards of his creation. Precisely from within this framework, the Church considers that matters concerning the environment and its protection are intimately linked with integral human development.
"In my recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, I referred to such questions recalling the “pressing moral need for renewed solidarity” not only between countries but also between individuals, since the natural environment is given by God to everyone, and so our use of it entails a personal responsibility towards humanity as a whole, particularly towards the poor and towards future generations.
"How important it is then, that the international community and individual governments send the right signals to their citizens and succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the environment!
"The protection of the environment, and the safeguarding of resources and of the climate, oblige all leaders to act jointly, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the world.
"Together we can build an integral human development beneficial for all peoples, present and future, a development inspired by the values of charity in truth...this is demanded not only by environmental factors, but also by the scandal of hunger and human misery.
"Indeed, we are all called to exercise responsible stewardship of creation, to use resources in such a way that every individual and community can live with dignity, and to develop “that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God!"
Pax.
Mark Thomas
No, changing seasons is not Climate change. "Climate change and seasons are not the same. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather and atmospheric conditions, and a wide array of measurements and observations show a long-term warming trend caused by humans. Seasons are part of a yearly cycle based on the position of the Earth in relation to the sun."
Sorry, no dice, I experience climate change each time I experience fall, winter, spring and summer. I also experience it when I come from the outside to the inside at any time of the year when my climate control thermostat changes the climate inside from that which is outside.
Yes, my inside climate changes are manmade by me but not the outside.
Climate Change is a Religion, very rigid, and if you dispute any of its assumptions its Cult Members will attack you. Strange the solutions always involve more taxes, government control, and loss of freedoms. None of Pope Al Gore's predictions have ever come true. Europe was warmer in the Middle Ages than it is today. Naff off.
Sorry, you simply don't know what you are talking about.
"Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year. A region's weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate."
A region's weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate.
Yes, you finally get it and Climate is tracked according to summer, fall, winter and spring.
Like too many, you live in your own self-referential world.
Weather is weather. Seasons are seasons. Climate is Climate. And they are not interchangeable. But, do go on making things up...
Yes, different climates for different season of the year, also based on geography. And did you know that in the southern hemisphere it is winter now and because of that they have a different climate then we in the northern hemisphere who are in the climate of summer.
Father, here is a nice collection of utterly wrong climate disaster predictions in our lifetimes, same hype and hand-wringing for 50yrs+....
Enjoy the flashbacks...I urge any such hand-wringers posting here to scroll through these and see just how wrong "experts" and media are, if covid did not shake your faith in what is passing for "science".
https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/
Thanks Bob for the link. In the late 70’s in Baltimore I remember well the apocalyptic predictions of the coming ice age because of climate change and the very severe record breaking cold, snowy winters in the mid Atlantic states and the north east.
And what about the hole in the ozone caused by hair spray that was letting all the heat out!
What about that ozone hole...?
First, it wasn't letting heat out. It was letting UV rays from the sun in. Without the ozone to block the UV rays life as we know it would not be possible. "The serious threat posed by ozone depletion – rises in skin cancer and cataracts in humans, harm to plant growth, agricultural crops and animals and reproductive problems in fish, crabs, frogs and phytoplankton, the basis of the marine food chain – spurred international action and collaboration.
Second, when we discovered the problem, we poured resources into developing a fix.
Third, we fixed it. "During the 1990s and early-2000s, the production and consumption of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) was brought to a halt. By 2009, 98% of the chemicals agreed to in the treaty had been phased out. Six amendments — which the treaty allows when scientific evidence shows further action is needed — have led to ever-tightening restrictions on substances introduced to replace CFCs, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)."
Yes, the world will come to a fiery end. But this is in God’s good time, not Man’s. Who on earth are we to presume and eschew our responsibilities as good stewards like that?
This said, we should be wise and not foolish in tackling the issue of climate change. The science is extremely complex, some measures actually make the problem worse, and of course, as Father McDonald rightly suggests, many seek to make money off of it.
Data compiled by an international team led by Monash University (Australia) show that cold temperatures are responsible for significantly more deaths than hot temperatures. As far as recent trends, “cold-related death decreased 0.51 per cent from 2000 to 2019, while heat-related death increased 0.21 per cent, leading to a reduction in net mortality due to cold and hot temperatures.”
https://www.monash.edu/medicine/news/latest/2021-articles/worlds-largest-study-of-global-climate-related-mortality-links-5-million-deaths-a-year-to-abnormal-temperatures
Dave:
Thank you for the information and the link. It underscores the point that climate change/global warming disrupts weather patterns in sometimes surprising ways. Thus, it can cause more severely cold conditions in some regions. I do not pretend to understand the science of climate change myself, but I hope I have enough humility to defer to those who do understand it.
Another aspect of all this is why so many engage in climate change denialism. An article in this weekend’s Guardian suggests a plausible answer, or at least part of an answer:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/22/climate-crisis-fear-psychology
Of course, Father McDonald is perfectly correct that there have been dramatic changes in the climate over vast periods of geologic time. It is fascinating to think, for example, that during the last Ice Age the sea level was 120 feet lower than it is now so that, for example, Britain and the Continent were not separated as they are today. But none of that alters the fact that we are also facing climate changes today that will have a very significant impact on humanity and the rest of the “web of life” in the Earth’s fragile biosphere.
Logically, then, two things seem necessary: (a) reasonable efforts to mitigate climate change where we can, and (b) reasonable efforts to adapt to those changes we cannot reasonably mitigate.
The insurance industry’s response would seem to be strong evidence that climate change is real and not a hoax, irrespective of the extent to which humans are, or are not, contributing to it (another example of the principle “follow the money” perhaps?).
Bob,
The Cultists will never look at "inconvenient" facts. Al Gore made millions scamming suckers with this hoax. Why is Obama living in a seaside mansion? Why is John "Don't You Know Who I Am" Kerry flying around in private jets? Maybe if the "elites" set an example, cut back on their humongous carbon footprints, people might begin take them a bit more seriously. Do as I say, not as I do!
And in today’s Guardian we read:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/frightens-climate-crisis-do-not-know-how-bad-wildfires-greece
TJM: Do you really believe all this is a hoax? If so, what is your evidence? Pointing to errors or uncertainties in prediction with something so extremely complex (the article addresses this point directly) or to hypocrisy of public figures is not per se very strong evidence of a hoax.
Well, all of these comments certainly prove one thing: There are some religions that enjoy such protected status that ANY questioning or dissent is not only intolerable, but will be met with swift retribution. The religions I am thinking of are Islam, Political Correctness, Presumed Moral Superiority of the Left, Feminism and the Climate Cult.
I probably left some out.
Jerome:
Are you including Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI as belonging to the Climate Cult? Pope Francis builds upon their legacy in this respect:
https://laudatosimovement.org/news/statements-on-climate-change-from-the-popes/
Some might say that the climate change conspiracy cult is the one that brooks no dissent, with their Catholic members even rejecting papal pronouncements on the issue.
Mark – I think that we agree that the climate processes are so complex that it makes models over-simplistic and leads to predictions that have a high degree of uncertainty. I have been loosely following this issue since 1977 when I wrote a research paper for an undergraduate political science class and came to that conclusion. From my limited reading over the years, there seems to be a significant number of scientists that have differing opinions that are at odds with the dire narrative pushed by the media and the Democratic Party. Maybe the dire predictions in the 7/25/23 Guardian article that you linked are different than alarmist predictions of the past 50+ years in that they will come true this time. Here is another perspective that gives me hope that deaths from climate disasters will continue to fall given mankind’s ingenuity to develop solutions to protect us.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/30/deaths-in-climate-disasters-declined-99-from-a-century-ago/
Mark,
The Guardian is leftwing central and not a credible source.
Just revisit the last 50 years of predictions and find one that came true. We know the Middle Ages in Europe were warmer than today, long before the combustion engine came along.
Ask yourself why the head Cultists like Kerry, Obama and Gore have not modified their behavior to Climate Change? Sounds like warmed over Communism where the Commissars live well while the peasants suffer. Why are they not demanding China and Russia modify their behavior? Because they are scam artists.
Lastly, ask yourself why the solutions always involve more taxes, regulation and bureaucracy. I think the sentient know the answer.
A significant omission in government action is meaningful help for people afflicted by Global warming, etc. If it took a hundred years for carbon emissions to bring Earth to the brink of extinction it seems inadequate to talk only of reducing them in hopes that in a hundred years the planet will be cooler. This is an extension of the same fallacious approach to poverty, famine, political injustice, et alia that our betters want to fix by virtually unrestricted emigration. TJM noted that it is an interesting coincidence that the answer to all of these problems is the centralization of power and populations in a way that increases the power of the Western governments. Even if I am not a skeptic concerning global warming, I am in complete disagreement with the current solutions.
Dave,
Thank you for the link. I don’t think this New York Post article and the Guardian article are necessarily inconsistent, given the “hedging” in the latter. But I agree completely with the author in the former piece. In fact, that article has helped remind me of the title of his previous book (“Cool It”), which I did have in my library but then lent to someone several years ago. I remember being impressed with him then too.
What impresses me about him especially is that he does not deny the reality of climate change or that humans are causing it but emphasizes the need for a calm, rational approach to the issue. I plan to get his latest book, mentioned at the end of the article:
https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/dp/1541647467
TJM,
See my response to Dave.
When you examine past predictions, you must also consider whether or not they represent an individual's thinking or the consensus of scientists. Those cited stood alone with little to no support from the scientific community.
It is also useful to consider the Libertarian outlook of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. (Libertarianism is Pelagianism in the drag of economics.)
Responding to the CEI's "report," : This is a specious, smug rant–titled “Apocalypse Not! Proof That Climate Predictions Are Always Wrong–“quoting a handful of questionable individuals with, at least, science degrees of one kind or another, and then using the remaining space to unleash the same tired old political attacks. A piece like this has less to do with a rejection of climate reality or the urgent need for humanity to protect itself (these are evangelicals, after all, and they are looking forward to an end-of-the-world scenario, because then they get to go to heaven and watch and laugh while all the sinners burn forever. I seems far less about faith in salvation than a desperate need to prove themselves right.) And yet, we can let all of this go, knowing that it is merely an editorial written by a person who does not seem to understand the science and merely takes the word of their selected experts to prove their point for them.
In the interests of full disclosure and intellectual honesty, I should mention that many have questioned the credibility of Bjørn Lomborg, who wrote the New York post article Dave linked and the book that I linked. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Lomborg
However, it is difficult to fault Lomborg's basic approach to the problem of climate change. Thus, on page 6 of the book he states:
“We need to dial back on the panic, look at the science, face the economics, and address the issue rationally. How do we fix climate change, and how do we prioritize it amid the many other problems afflicting the world?”
If he is true to his own principles, this must mean that, just as others’ claims, so too his own empirical and prescriptive claims must be subject to rational scrutiny, with the emphasis on “rational” (as opposed to irrational, and as far as possible untainted by politicization or driven by ideology or greed).
Mark,
Although not a fan of Fox News (or any media outlet for that matter) here is a thoughtful piece that throws water on the hysterics in the media and the alarmists scamsters:
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/not-climate-change-causing-heat-waves-this-summer-explain
As they say, "follow the money."
Mark you have not commented on the opulent lifestyles of the folks I mentioned and how they violate the Global Warming Religion's tenets. Or should only the canailles comply with their rules? Should they not set a good example? It does cause one to be skeptical of their opinions.
Of course you have seen stories about Climate Cultists having abortions or eschewing beef to "save the planet." There have always been wackos with us but the Climate Cultists take it to a new level.
Some crazy uncles wear Roman collars
TJM,
I dd comment on that point. See my post of 3:44 p.m. on July 25.
TJM,
Regarding the Fox News Report. I quite agree that intellectual honesty and wisdom requires that we must base our policy responses on a foundation of “cold, hard facts” as the article puts it. These facts are established by objective and impartial scientific analysis. The worst thing to do is to allow the science itself to become politicized—by either side of the debate I should add!
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