Pope Francis make global warming a moral issue!!!

Pope Francis Gets it Right Robert R. Odle, Ph.D. an aspiring good citizen of the earth

… global warming, environmental destruction ....

I have read that we are in the sixth most destructive period in the history of the world in that more species are being destroyed..  For example, when meteorites fell and wiped out the dinosaurs.   Pretty amazing what us humans can do when we put our minds to it.  What makes me sick at my stomach is that my great grand children will probably never see lions, elephants, rhinos, tigers, etc.  Of course, they will probably never see me either.

Our gods as individuals has become having stuff, our moral compass as a country has become the GNP.  Consideration of not only what happens next quarter, but generations from now should guide our actions.  No matter how much we argue about how much fossil fuels exists in the ground, they are a finite resource that is being consumed much faster than it is being created.  And, whether it is 10 generations or 100 generations before it is gone, we are stewards of that resource and of all the species that live on this planet.  I also believe we are the stewards of humanity and the protectors of the weak on this planet.  But, that’s just my beliefs.  And, that doesn’t mean I think being a good steward is bombing the shit out of all those that we deem to be the bad guys. I’m more of the school of kindness and leading by example.  I know, I’m probably in the wrong country to be thinking that way. How we spend our money more or less clarifies how we think.  

If we are to err on the issue of global warming, let us do it in a way that our children and our children’s children get the benefit of the doubt.  If there is a little pain today and it turns out we didn’t need to be so careful, then ok compared to us being indifferent and our children of the future suffering.

But, Pope Francis just came out and said that human activity is the primary cause of global warming.  Now I tend to believe environmental scientists and not second guess them.  There is a lot of data to go through, calculations to be made, and theories to be formulated and tested.  I assume on average they are as honest as I am and as smart and much better educated on global environmental issues.  I am sure there are some politics involved and that not all they predict will happen.   I would put myself in the ranks of a good scientist, but it is out of my field.   

But, it is not completely on trust.  I see how we make decisions on this planet, how it is centered around making money and only superficially about helping the weak whether it is poor people or elephants dying because people want their ivory tusks.  Short term thinking dominates because we have too much confidence in capitalism magically optimizing all our values.  

So, Pope Francis comes along and makes environmental stewardship a moral issue.  Now, the number of things the Pope and I agree on is a very short list.  But, on this issue I think he got it right.