Alas, the lung bug hasn’t cleared up, and Pope Francis, “with great regret“, had to cancel his planned trip to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai this weekend. But in a speech read by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in Dubai yesterday, the head of the Catholic Church told the avaricious exploiters of the environment to stop offending God:
The Pope said that to save the planet from climate change, we must, among other things, stop using fossil fuels:
Brothers and sisters, it is essential that there be a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of making progress together. The fight against climate change began in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the 2015 Paris Agreement represented “a new beginning”. Now there is a need to set out anew. May this COP prove to be a turning point, demonstrating a clear and tangible political will that can lead to a decisive acceleration of ecological transition through means that meet three requirements: they must be “efficient, obligatory and readily monitored”. And achieved in four sectors: energy efficiency; renewable sources; the elimination of fossil fuels; and education in lifestyles that are less dependent on the latter [Pope Francis, Address of the Holy Father at the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), delivered by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in Dubai, 2023.12.02].
…and ditch selfish Trumpist nationalism in favor of “a new multilateralism”:
It is up to this generation to heed the cry of peoples, the young and children, and to lay the foundations of a new multilateralism. Why not begin precisely from our common home? Climate change signals the need for political change. Let us emerge from the narrowness of self-interest and nationalism; these are approaches belonging to the past. Let us join in embracing an alternative vision: this will help to bring about an ecological conversion, for “there are no lasting changes without cultural changes” (Laudate Deum, 70). In this regard, I would assure you of the commitment and support of the Catholic Church, which is deeply engaged in the work of education and of encouraging participation by all, as well as in promoting sound lifestyles, since all are responsible and the contribution of each is fundamental [Pope Francis, 2023.12.02].
Get right with the Pope, with Jesus, and with the only home their boss built for us: put up solar panels, ride your bike, and build an inclusive, democratic world!
Related Reading: Pope Francis was up and at ’em in Rome this morning to appear at the Sunday Angelus prayer. “I am getting better,” he said by video to the crowd outside at the Vatican, “but my voice is still not good.” The text his lieutenant, Monsignor Paolo Braida, read for him underscored his message to the poobahs in Dubai:
Albeit at a distance, I follow the work of COP 28 in Dubai with great attention. I am close. I reiterate my appeal for a response to climate change with concrete political changes; let us come out of the straits of particularism and nationalism, mindsets of the past, and embrace a common vision, all making every effort now, without delay, for a necessary global conversion [Pope Francis, words after the Angelus prayer, 2023.12.03].
Who would Jesus bomb?
He’s not missing out. Nobody really cares about climate change anyhow.
Evidence:
1) 70,000, many with private jets, attending conf. when they can just Slack.
2) record airline travel over Thanksgiving
3) the wars/bombings going on
4) …
4) solar panels are way too expensive. Nobody wants to wait 10yrs to break even. Get them cheaper!
5) EVs are way too expensive and have a reliance problem. Get them cheaper!
6)…
Remember when California was pushing solar power and koch bros lobbied for high taxes on residential solar units to keep koch oil competitive?
Contra sx123, polls show that Americans do care about climate change. I don’t know how much stock I put in polls, but the Pew Research Center Poll seems better than most polls. It shows most Americans are concerned about the issue, and are willing to put more money into developing wind and solar. However, solutions to climate change are not their highest priority.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/09/what-the-data-says-about-americans-views-of-climate-change/
In my neighborhood their have been several rooftop solar projects completed in the last two years, and the Wisconsin Public Service Commission remains set on policies that will spur greater rooftop solar development.
The real problem is the Biden Administration. They are pushing various nuclear power schemes with massive federal subsidies, while giving lip service wind and solar development. Wind and solar are now more economical than coal or nuclear plants, but the Biden Administration’s climate folks are stuck on these old technologies that are doomed to fail It’s time to bury coal and nuclear and get on with the future.
We run a 2kW peak DC array we built for about $2 a watt but I’ve done most work by myself. It runs two houses, one fridge, a freezer and all the lights. I wake up to about 65% battery supply this time of year. Yes, we burn propane for heat and hot water and have a good Honda backup generator for two cloudy days in a row.
We’re pricing mini splits for the two houses to reduce the amount of propane we burn in the winter and they will only be operational when the sun is up but work on even cloudy days. They’re about $1500 apiece.
Should add we cook with propane and the fridge in one house runs on LP.
We enjoy 80 more days of sun than Rapid does, too.
Need action, not concerns.
Being concerned is like praying, both are much easier than actually doing
I doubt you have tried either.
I always found that being concerned about an issue was necessary before action is taken. And the polls indicate people do support taking action. The problem is they seem to be in support of a scattershot approach, when it should be focused on solar and wind. Lol
Propane? LP? No, Pope Francis said eliminate fossil fuels. That and his call for empowering the masses with greater democracy enmeshed in multilateralism show that a truly thoughtful and committed Christian comes to the opposite conclusions of the party that follows Trump as its false savior. Catholic MAGAites need to have Pope Francis’s exhortation to action on climate change placed squarely before them, and they need to ask why they choose instead to join Trump and the oilers in offending God.
Funny, I frankly don’t see the Biden administration stuck on anything but renewable solar and wind. What I do see is republican foot dragging, as is always the case. Case in point is Walworth County and Yankton County to name a couple of knuckle headed foot draggers and that is just in South Dakota.
People who believe that Biden is killing fossil fuels have been listening to Republican whining, not the facts. The truth oil and gas drilling on public lands is currently above the Trump numbers.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/oil-production-is-surging-how-much-is-due-to-biden/