The Pope & Ecology
- 14 Dec 06, 01:11 PM
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2007
The pope can influence over one billion people all over the world. Not only in Europe, but Brazil and the Philippines together with parts of Africa and North America. All places that suffer from the consequences of climate change or are causal in its genesis and momentum. Here's an abstract which relates to the Papal view of our realtionship with the natural world and its consequences for peace.
As with many of your blogs - we still have the "human population" question.
The βecology of peaceβ
8. In his Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II wrote: βNot only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given to him, but man too is God's gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed(6).β By responding to this charge, entrusted to them by the Creator, men and women can join in bringing about a world of peace. Alongside the ecology of nature, there exists what can be called a βhumanβ ecology, which in turn demands a βsocialβ ecology. All this means that humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace with God. The poem-prayer of Saint Francis, known as βthe Canticle of Brother Sunβ, is a wonderful and ever timely example of this multifaceted ecology of peace.
9. The close connection between these two ecologies can be understood from the increasingly serious problem of energy supplies. In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will happen to those peoples? What kind of development or non-development will be imposed on them by the scarcity of energy supplies? What injustices and conflicts will be provoked by the race for energy sources? And what will be the reaction of those who are excluded from this race? These are questions that show how respect for nature is closely linked to the need to establish, between individuals and between nations, relationships that are attentive to the dignity of the person and capable of satisfying his or her authentic needs. The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development. Indeed, if development were limited to the technical-economic aspect, obscuring the moral-religious dimension, it would not be an integral human development, but a one-sided distortion which would end up by unleashing man's destructive capacities.
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Julian,
Thanks for putting that before my eyes. I find little to disagree with in His Holiness' sentiments as expressed. Of course, he doesn't directly address the population issue, but it is implicit, and he rightly indicts greed and unfair shares.
My only quibble would be considering Human Ecology as 'parallel' to Natural Ecology. The former is completely contained within the latter, but his strong linking is good to see, and I hope the multitudes who listen to him take heed.
ed
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I interviewed the Archbishop of Canterbury earlier in the week - And he appears in the final programme. Something he said to me was very meaningful - that is, the environmental challenge should unite religions and, he said, he has this sense it does when he talks to representatives of many faiths - he quoted muslims and jews. He also echoed many of the comments on this blog, that many i the developed world behave rather as "spoilt children" - thinking everything out there is for them to have. This is at the very heart of many of your comments on the blog and the need to expect less from the world. More to come.
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Julian,
Interestingly (or not) just as I was writing my response to His Holiness' thoughts above, I was visited by my friends from Kingdom Hall, who have been visiting me for decades. They agreed with His Holiness and also with , leaving with a copy to peruse further.
I said I reckoned Hardin would have called himself an atheist, but that the poem was deeply religious. They agreed, though perhaps we'd better not tell their leaders.
As to spoilt children, I blame the , who set a bad example.
xx
ed
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Our basic tribal instinct is to be united against the common enemy. The trouble is, is that if there ain't one - it has to be created. The spin lot know all about this and are currently using it to good effect e.g. Bird Flu (a disease that affects birds), MMR - those who decide against vaccination are responsible for causing measles outbreaks and of course, The War on Terror.
We now have genuine, self-inflicted common enemies on a global scale i.e. fertility rates and natural resource abuse. If there is general agreement on the nature of the beast, then it is possible to unite all tradional factions. Clearly this has already started - but the logical process is painfully slow, mostly as a result of economy-driven forces and other parties with vested interests continuing to obstruct the natural process.
Despite the ever-expanding shelf space dedicated to celebrity gosssip and anatomical inspection, the press are not solely to blame. They produce it because it sells. There is however, a nasty positive feedback process that seems to endorse and help procreate a whole new need for this sort of thing. Until publishers build an ecolate and socially responsible element into the editorial remit - nothing will change. Publishers will not do so unless public opinion (the market) demands it. This brings us back to the common enemy again.
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Is Climate Change about to become the new religion? it appears so!
Lets hope this new religion doesn't cause as much human misery, degradation and death as all the other religions have.
I contend that religion in one form or another has caused more human misery than the so-called evils of the capitalist economy.
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No John, climate change is but a symptom. The cause is lack of respect for the finite nature of resources. Respect for the Earth is a feature of virtually every belief system, as Julian and His Holiness and the Archbishop all note. This is not restricted to 'organised' or 'institutionalised' religions.
The roots of the word illuminate some meanings in ensuring we are 'tied' to the more-than-human world. When we lose that sense, we are in grave danger, as at present. In a word, Hubris.
[Middle English religioun, from Old French religion, from Latin religi, religin-, perhaps from religre, to tie fast; see rely.]
reΒ·ly Pronunciation (r-l)
intr.v. reΒ·lied, reΒ·lyΒ·ing, reΒ·lies
1. To be dependent for support, help, or supply: relies on her parents for tuition.
2. To place or have faith or confidence: relied on them to tell him the truth.
[Middle English relien, to rally, from Old French relier, from Latin religre, to bind fast : re-, re- + ligre, to bind; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]
reΒ·lier n.
Synonyms: rely, trust, depend, reckon
xx
ed
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John,
Capitalism has all the unfortunate characteristics of a religion.
Dollar hu Akhbar!
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Ed,
Yes, Democratic Capitalism is the absolute worse type of Social Organisation/Government system imaginable, apart from all the other systems that have been tried. Any better ideas ?
Julian,
I do not see quite where you are going with this one, you have involved religous leaders in this debate who by definition believe in the supernatural. Religion does not fit well with science, and as most religions have the blood of many on their hands from past and present deeds, I wonder why you think they are in a position to give us a moral judgement.
I can understand the desire of us all to save the planet and our interest in all things low carbon, but I would issue a note of caution before this belief gets out of hand, and drives our civilisation backwards.
We believe in human induced climate change because we want to, it fits so easily into our physchological make up. We believe if we live our lives a little better all will be well! Every human civilisation has worshipped the planet gods.
We all really want to believe,and I give some examples of what I mean.
The first reports on the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ of the Asian Tsunami actually said it was caused by Climate Change, why did the editor allow this to be said, it was because he wanted it to be true!
The sea temperature is actually falling at all depths and has done for the past 4 years, the amount of energy that has left the planet is immense far beyond anything the whole of human existence could affect, no climate scientist understands why, but why doesn't anyone point out the fact that if such huge amounts of energy can leave the Earth without any known explanation, then energy can arrive in the same manner.
The prediction made by NOAA in May 06 about the 2006 hurricane season, states that "there is no doubt that the season will be above average, its just how far above average that we are predicting". They predicted an 80% certainty of another record season, and repeated this prediction in August. The season actually turned out to be below average.
Now I have been told by bloggers that this was due to upper level wind shear making the prediction wrong, and that I don't understand!unfortunately if they had read the prediction you would find that NOAA actually discounted any affect from wind shear in both May and August predictions.
Now what makes a normally cautious weather forecaster make predictions like this ? A desire to conform to the current consensus, is part of the reason, but more strongly they actually want the prediction to be true ! and in the after season review they are trying to find a way of saying they were right but were actually totally wrong.
I believe that the whole climate change industry is a case of the "kings new clothes", we are all just dedicated followers of fashion. Climate Chaos is possible, it always has been, but it will remain highly unlikely.
In my opinion there is something in this, and it is that sustainability is something worth aiming for, but we should not change the way we live in the way some are suggesting, but we should advance, develop and improve our technology, so that we have something to leave our children.
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John,
First paragraph: How original! last paragraph: Would you like to try and make better sense:
"Sustainability is something worth aiming for" Uh, yeah.
"But we shouldn't change the way we live..." 'cause The Economy may not be able to afford it?
"Advance, develop and improve our technology" Uh, yeah, man.
"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a
finite world is either a madman or an economist."
--Kenneth Boulding
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It is easy to comment on 'what should be' and the desirability of an ethical administration - anyone can do this, whether in high office or not. The problem is that this is so far removed from reality that it is doomed to simply run in parallel, unless we can find ways of crossing over into the real world. The truth is, that the world revolves around business (ethical or otherwise) and greed. Even politics has become much more of a 'business' in recent times, including the rise of corruption in office within so-called civilised countries. We have to find a way to equate responsible management of the Earth and care for its citizens with good business. We may consider that this is happening to a degree when politicians and organisations jump on the 'climate change'bandwagon. Unfortunately, they seem to be doing it for the wrong reasons - clearly, many see it simply as an opportunity to raise taxes, without actually doing anything to improve the situation. We need some informed, objective and societally sympathetic thinking to be given both media space and a voice within the broader administration of countries. Currently, I don't see this happening to anything like the degree necessary to bring about change.
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For those who believe in creation as opposed to evolution the placing of species upon this planet by a supreme being, may I humbly suggest that that the experiment is becoming a disaster.
Unlike other creatures whose numbers are controlled by having a specific breeding season, environmental conditions, predation, disease or lack of food. The human population growth and our demands for land and resources and resultant pollution from our waste is now threatening the very survival of life on this planet.
Unless something is done to control and manage human population growth human activities are bound to have a detrimental effect on the ability of this planet to continue to sustain the complex variety of life which it currently supports.
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John Cooknell's point make perfect sense to me! The environment has become a religion and utterly ill-informed theologians are given immense sway in the debate. The media also use statistics in whichever way suits them. The use of the long ranging but dodgy CET recently to state that this was the hottest year on record - it may well be in an urbanised heat island affected part of Britain - but what about the rest of the globe? Apparently, globally this summer is set to be the sixth warmest in a trend which is even edging slightly downwards since 1998 ( according to the Hadley Centre's own data). Nobody doubts that there has been a change lately however to forecast Armageddon fits neatly with the theological and alarmist agenda.
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Trefor,
"The Environment" is a 'thing', if one worships it or sacrifices to it, etc., that may be a religion. In comparison to other possible dieties, the environment's existence is well-evidenced.
I, for one, am happy to admit that I believe in, respect and am in awe of The Environment, in fact rather moreso than I am of The Economy or Humanity. If that makes me an Environmentalist, fine.
ed
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Ed,
I think you will find that the worship of nature is hardly new. The druidic tradition is responsible for so many places having references to oaks ( especially in Welsh place names) and rivers as in the Celtic Danube ( Donaw). My point, and it is hardly original, is that the alarmist and apocalyptic view of Man's efect on Nature is reminiscent of the deistic views of Hegel and Feuerbach which were turned on their head by Karl Marx. To portray puny man as the destroyer of his own planet plays well with the Church's concept of an original sin. However, this is an environmental weblog and I will leave this particular point there.
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Hi Trefor,
At least you can make your point realtively briefly and with clarity. My point was perhaps too understated:
"the environment" may be a deity, but not a religion.
I agree we are unlikely to destroy the planet, but are highly likely to foul our nest beyond habitability for ourselves. (also not an original point)
Civilisation has done this repeatedly since the neolithic - rise, stratify, deplete foodbase, collapse, and start again somewhere else.
We are running out of places to start again. I commend "A Green History of the Earth" by Clive Ponting.
Vaya con Gaia
ed
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Trefor,
I almost forgot. !
Merry Christmas, one and all!
ed
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Ed,
A merry Xmas to you as well!
You really ought to lower your carbon footprint by not sending so many messages via the Internet.
The Internet is probably the largest user of Carbon based Technology I can perceive, its spectacular growth, constant upgrading of kit,disposing of all that redundant kit, laying of cables, using up of precious natural resources, constant unremitting power consumption of all those servers etc. transporting all these things around, manufacturing them in China and India who have not signed Kyoto or anything else!
How could you use such a thing ?its the work of the Devil! perhaps it was sent by him to help destroy the planet!
Welcome to the real world.
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And a happy season to you as well, John!
Perhaps you would like .
As to the "real world",
"We are often cautioned that we must live in the 'real world' by folk
who mean 'money', a concept more abstract than theoretical physics."
ed
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The greatest problem facing the planet is not global warming but the cause of global warming. That is the continueing expansion of the human population. There is no greater proof that we are animals just like all other animals in that we spread like bacteria on a petrii dish. This is compounded by our intellectual componant which has developed global communications so that the increasing population has increasing expectations.
We will not succeed in avoiding excessive global warming unless we can prevent the expansion of population. This can only happen if the nations are united in this goal.
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Ernie Hamer
What a sad and depressing picture of mankind you paint. You say we are a parasite, a pestillence, a virus?
Sadly this is all too typical of the environmentalist flagellants who plague our discourse at this point in history.
Lacking any basic scientific knowledge, or capability to challenge the shibboleths of the global warming industry, they resort to blaming the basic failings of our economic system for all of the problems of our world.
It is clear enough that when profit rules all, other human values, like family, social cohesion and the environment will suffer, but do we demonize an entire species on this basis?
Certainly, mankind has been through many such crises of identity in past ages, but history shows that we always burst back with beautiful ideas, music, culture and solutions to our problems.
At this point in time, a little optimism is required, or we truly will fail this test of political will, and our world will pass into a dark age of anti-scientific, pagan superstition.
p.s. Those who blame "religion" rather than "capitalism" for all our ills also do not understand history. It is the manipulation of religion by the oligarchy, throughout the history of our struggle for political freedom, that is the true cause of ignorance and war.
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