skip to main |
skip to sidebar
"A long-awaited compromise bill to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming will be unveiled by a group of senators on April 26, sources said on Thursday.
The legislative language to be sketched out in 11 days, according to government and environmental sources, is being drafted by Democratic Senator John Kerry, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Backers of the environmental bill hope the unveiling will pave the way for the full Senate to debate and pass a measure in June or July if the compromise attracts enough support from a group of moderate Republicans and Democrats."
Alert Net
All of the crying of late over global warming and man's impact on the environment and look at what one little volcano can do. We are insignificant in terms of our ability to manipulate or damage the environment. It's only our inflated sense of self that allows us to assume such visions of power.
"A volcano erupts in Iceland, and the effects ripple around the globe: A mom in Romania frets about making her son's wedding in Texas. A florist in New York worries shipments won't arrive. Patients awaiting treatment in Nigeria have to wait another week for the doctors.
The fallout from the ash cloud looming over Europe illustrates just how interconnected our world has become.
Thousands of planes fly millions of passengers and tons of cargo each day, providing the economic lifeblood of nations and businesses. The flights deliver products for sale or items as small as a specialized tool that lets a factory keep operating.
The planes also bring medicines to hospitals and food aid to earthquake or hurricane victims. And they bring war and peace. Soldiers are often transported to and from hot spots by air.
Tales of woe and inconvenience span every social level, from the Norweigian prime minister who got stuck in New York and had to govern using his iPad, to ordinary people who saved money for trips of a lifetime, then had to abandon those plans.
The eruption was a single act of nature, but it stopped the world in countless ways."
AP News
In terms of destruction, we ain't seen nothing yet. If the rest of this volcano goes our world will be changed for decades to come and in some ways forever.
Almost seems kind of Biblical, doesn't it?
"The last time Eyjafjallajökull blew its top the eruption lasted for two years, spreading smoke and ash over Iceland causing significant damage.
The last time Eyjafjallajökull erupted, it lasted 2 years stretching from 1821-1823. It also erupted in 920 and 1612.
The 1821 eruption spread fluoride across iceland, damaging livestock and human well-being. Glacial flooding also resulted from the eruption.
Eyjafjallajökull's eruption usually precedes an eruption for another Icelandic volcano called Katla, as it did in 1823. Katla's eruptions are usually more violent than Eyjafjallajökul's.
Katla is partially trapped under a glacier and its eruption would create even more flooding problems for Iceland.
The Laki volcano, which erupted in 1783, was the worst in Icelandic history. It killed a quarter of Iceland's residents, created a poisonous plume over Prague, made New Jersey's snowfall its highest ever, and had an impact on one of Egypt's worst droughts.
The Laki volcano is considered a central cause of the French Revolution, as it led to a poor harvest and public unrest in the country."
Business Insider
"California, long a trendsetter for eco-friendly living, is breaking ground again this week. It's set, as early as today, to adopt the nation's first statewide green building code, which environmentalists say is not tough enough, and is also considering paying residents to cut their energy use.
The story says this proposal is part of an effort to find the most efficient way to change consumer behavior."
USA Today
This is going to change behavior, all right. At a time when California is about to implode because they can't generate enough tax revenue to cover their Utopian dreams, they've decided to to make it more difficult and costly to build anything in their state. FREAKIN' BRILLIANT!!!
These guys, along with the rest of the political class just don't get it. I hope California doesn't create too much smoke when it explodes. We must consider the air!
"Pope Benedict XVI denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month, saying Monday that world peace depends on safeguarding God's creation.
He issued the admonition in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, an annual appointment during which the pontiff reflects on issues the Vatican wants to highlight to the diplomatic corps."
Yahoo
So, I just went to the Vatican website (
Vatican.va)
to read the Pope's statement in its entirety. In the words of Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!". There is so much more to this statement and the problems cited by the Pope than just the environment. Admittedly, his main focus is on the allocation of resources and the impact of environmental degradation, but the causes of this destruction and mis allocation are not as simple as "global warming" proponents would have us believe.
From the pope's address:
"How can we forget, for that matter, that the struggle for access to natural resources is one of the causes of a number of conflicts, not least in Africa, as well as a continuing threat elsewhere? For this reason too, I forcefully repeat that to cultivate peace, one must protect creation! Furthermore, there are still large areas, for example in Afghanistan or in some countries of Latin America, where agriculture is unfortunately still linked to the production of narcotics, and is a not insignificant source of employment and income. If we want peace, we need to preserve creation by rechanneling these activities; I once more urge the international community not to become resigned to the drug trade and the grave moral and social problems which it creates.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the protection of creation is indeed an important element of peace and justice! Among the many challenges which it presents, one of the most serious is increased military spending and the cost of maintaining and developing nuclear arsenals. Enormous resources are being consumed for these purposes, when they could be spent on the development of peoples, especially those who are poorest. For this reason I firmly hope that, during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to be held this May in New York, concrete decisions will be made towards progressive disarmament, with a view to freeing our planet from nuclear arms. More generally, I deplore the fact that arms production and export helps to perpetuate conflicts and violence, as in Darfur, in Somalia or in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Together with the inability of the parties directly involved to step back from the spiral of violence and pain spawned by these conflicts, there is the apparent powerlessness of other countries and the international organizations to restore peace, to say nothing of the indifference, amounting practically to resignation, of public opinion worldwide. There is no need to insist on the extent to which such conflicts damage and degrade the environment. Finally, how can I fail to mention terrorism, which endangers countless innocent lives and generates widespread anxiety. On this solemn occasion, I would like to renew the appeal which I made during the Angelus prayer of 1 January last to all those belonging to armed groups, of whatever kind, to abandon the path of violence and to open their hearts to the joy of peace."
It seems that the pope is not the environmentalist nut, tree hugging green boy the mainstream media would like us to believe. His concerns about the environment transcend the typical Greenpeace talking points and Al Gore financial solicitations to expose the true evil that arises when man mistreats God's creation.
RIGHT ON, BENEDICT!!
I wonder if perhaps he has something like this in mind:
"If you read any economic, financial, or political analysis for 2010 that doesn’t mention the food shortage looming next year, throw it in the trash, as it is worthless. There is overwhelming, undeniable evidence that the world will run out of food next year. When this happens, the resulting triple digit food inflation will lead panicking central banks around the world to dump their foreign reserves to appreciate their currencies and lower the cost of food imports, causing the collapse of the dollar, the treasury market, derivative markets, and the global financial system. The US will experience economic disintegration."
Market Skeptics
Just a thought.
The Pope issued his message for the World Day of Peace and it centers on the environment. Now, I'll come right out and say it; it seems as though there are other, more pressing matters that the Pope could talk about. Lately it's been all about environmentalism. The coverage that I've seen in the mainstream press seems to paint this one world government, kumbayah left wing enviro-nut case picture when they refer to his comments. The news stories always seem to be rather shallow, with just enough information to make it seem as though the Pope is on the side of Al Gore.
What we don't see is this, from his speech today:
"Nor must we forget the very significant fact that many people experience peace and tranquillity, renewal and reinvigoration, when they come into close contact with the beauty and harmony of nature. There exists a certain reciprocity: as we care for creation, we realize that God, through creation, cares for us. On the other hand, a correct understanding of the relationship between man and the environment will not end by absolutizing nature or by considering it more important than the human person. If the Church’s magisterium expresses grave misgivings about notions of the environment inspired by ecocentrism and biocentrism, it is because such notions eliminate the difference of identity and worth between the human person and other living things. In the name of a supposedly egalitarian vision of the “dignity” of all living creatures, such notions end up abolishing the distinctiveness and superior role of human beings. They also open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms. The Church, for her part, is concerned that the question be approached in a balanced way, with respect for the “grammar” which the Creator has inscribed in his handiwork by giving man the role of a steward and administrator with responsibility over creation, a role which man must certainly not abuse, but also one which he may not abdicate. In the same way, the opposite position, which would absolutize technology and human power, results in a grave assault not only on nature, but also on human dignity itself."
The Vatican
I think that this may be the key to the focus on environmentalism of late. The Pope sees in the environmental movement that its leaders have objectified man and reduced us in importance to less than the earth itself. He is trying to underscore the absolute necessity of environmental stewardship while recognizing the rightful place of man in relationship to it. We are commanded in Genesis 1:28: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” As a people we have taken this injunction to use the earth to our benefit and bastardized it into the idea that we have no responsibility for the damage we do, as long as we benefit from it.
The Pope is trying to walk the middle road and help man to see that we have a responsibility to ourselves and those that come after us to be good stewards, not just exploiters. But, this stewardship can never become a means unto itself, placing the good of creation above the good of man. Creation was built to serve us, not the other way around. He wants us to understand that while we do have the right to private property that responsibility to protect the resource comes with the right to control it. We will not live forever and someone else will own it after we are gone. We are responsible to that future owner for the health of the common inheritance we all share.
The stories in the MSM seem to miss out on this subtle, nuanced teaching. The Popes words are being spun to suit a particular political ideology. He has to be aware of this so I'm not sure why more isn't being done to get the real message out. Of course, maybe he figures that he has a really bully pulpit and the truth is there for those that wish to look. I don't know.
I guess that I'm just frustrated. I know that the Pope is doing what he believes is important so, honestly, it probably is. I'm just tired of seeing the truth twisted and turned. Both sides of the environmental debate would do well to really absorb what the Pope has said. If we would truly work for the common good as Christianity teaches and God intends life would be so much easier. Instead, we'll continue to squabble for personal, political and financial power until the whole thing comes tumbling down. We are fools; from the fall to today we've learned nothing and nothing has changed. We are driven by pride and lust and they will be our undoing.
It is just a matter of time.
“The Pope denounces the ecological crisis but does not belong to the church of Al Gore," wrote Giuliano Ferrara, director of Italian daily Il Foglio, in his editorial column after reading Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Peace. Ferrara described the papal message as being "of great culture" in its reminder that man must be valued above all other living things.
The Pontiff's message underscores the threats to the environment and the necessity of taking decisive action to find long-term, inter-generational solutions to the crises of today. It also provides parameters for the role of the Church and individual Christians in combating the environmental and economic crises, pointing to a renewal of values and morality without losing sight of the "distinctiveness and superior role" of human beings over nature.
"Benedict XVI," wrote Ferrara in his analysis, "in no way denies human abuse of nature,” but in affirming the ecological crisis, neither does he share "the environmentalist religion or environmentalism as a religion."
Catholic News Agency
The Pope doesn't subscribe to the religion of environmentalist earth worship. I never thought he did. And, his statements have been rather clear about his position on the current global environmental crisis. Great.
WHAT FREAKIN' CRISIS??!!!!!
This is the part that I can't get my hands around. He keeps referring to this so called "crisis". Last time I looked around the air seemed pretty clean, the water from my well tastes pretty good and there isn't a whole bunch of trash laying on the ground. There are more critters running around here in Missouri than we know what to do with. I mean, things look pretty peachy here.
The Pope writes about the inequality of wealth in relation to this "crisis", as if cleaning up the air will make the kids with the bloated bellies in Africa full. Sorry to break it to him but the environment isn't the problem. Leftist political ideology that destroys any incentive people may have to better themselves is the problem. Oppressive government controlling all aspects of life in the name of "social justice" is the problem. Focusing on a redistribution of wealth at the expense of creation of real, productive wealth is the problem.
America consumes an awful lot of resources to maintain our standard of living. We create some pollution but considering how much energy we consume we keep it pretty clean. It's a whole lot better than it used to be.
The reason for this is that the energy we consume creates wealth and the wealth allows us to innovate. We aren't consumed by the need to keep from starving so we have time to worry about other, less immediate problems; like the environment. If it wasn't for our wealth created with the use of energy we would have a bunch of kids with bloated bellies, too.
It seems like the people that promote the redistribution of wealth would be happier if we had a few more bloated kids around here. It seems like here in America, where admittedly some do much better than others, in some cases obscenely better, that this system of ours has raised almost all the ships. Even the leaky, poorly maintained ones do OK. It may not provide equality of outcome for all, but it has provided an acceptable quality of life for most.
Posts
