opinion

Flat-earthers don't get the papal point

Lameduck presidents are historically not known for getting much done in their second terms.

Pope Francis seems to understand that--and so has offered Obama a helping hand when it comes to recognizing the reality of climate change.

The climate is certainly right for it.

Frustrated with anti-climate change obstructionists who break into hives every time the word "science" is mentioned, Obama brought matters into sharp focus in a Georgetown University speech on energy policy, where he said:

"We don't have time for a meeting with the Flat Earth Society. Sticking your head in the sand might make you feel safer, but it's not going to protect you from the coming storm."

Pope Francis feels the president's pain, having had his own encounters with ankle-biting anti-science yip-yappers.

Like Obama, the pope also sees the storm clouds of climate change rolling in and, in response, recently rolled out his own response. On June 18th, he released a sweeping, 184-page "encyclical" (meaning a circulated papal teaching document) to his 1.2 billion member flock, containing an attention-grabbing section on the realities of global warming and other looming environmental threats.

One particular line in the document—only 17 words long in a 38,000-word letter—was, according to Forbes magazine, re-tweeted 30,000 times by the pope's 6.4 million Twitter followers, who quickly took the encyclical viral:

"The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth."

The pope warned that a major contributing factor in the continued degradation of the planet has been the onset of climate change—a clear and present danger that he says requires an educated and immediate planet-wide response.

NPR summarized Francis' warning as follows:

"Pope Francis [described] climate change as a global problem with far-reaching environmental and social consequences-- especially for the poor. He blamed apathy and greed, and called on developing countries to limit the use of non-renewable energy and to assist poorer nations. . . .

"[He] said that developing countries--as the biggest producers of harmful greenhouse gasses--owe the poorer nations a debt: 'The developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programs of sustainable development. . . . [Sadly], [t]hose who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms.' . . .

"He called on humanity to collectively acknowledge a 'sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.'

"And he wrote that climate change 'represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.' . . .

"The letter . . . put the pope firmly on the side of the world's climate scientists--an overwhelming number of whom say that the Earth is warming and that mankind is responsible for a substantial portion of the temperature rise."

Environmental scientists thought they had died and gone to heaven.

Yet, as sure as the sea levels are rising, Francis' very mention of the words "climate change" prompted right-wing critics (including Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates) to respond with some "rope-a-dope-the-Pope":

"Several prominent conservatives . . . cast a dim eye on the pope's stance on climate change. Among them are former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania--a devout Catholic who is running for the Republican nomination for president . . . . 'The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science,' Santorum said. 'I think we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we're good at--which is theology and morality.'"

Earth to Santorum:

First, you're not that good at theology and morality.

Second, read the Washington Post, which reports that the pope "has a secondary-school technical degree in chemistry and worked early on as a chemist."

And then there's Jeb Bush, biting back at the pope as a snarky Catholic convert. As NPR noted:

"The day after Jeb Bush announced he was running for president, he was asked about the pope's stance. 'I hope I'm not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don't get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope," said Bush . . . .'"

(Let's hope you don't get it from your brother).

The Pope got a further earful, from those with severe allergies to what they see as the Black Plague of mainstream science:

". . . [T]he conservative Heartland Institute-- which has been a leading voice against the scientific consensus on climate change (i.e., that it is real, and man-made)—[was] equally vocal in its objection to the . . . papal encyclical: 'The Holy Father is being misled by "experts" at the United Nations who have proven unworthy of his trust,' [said] the institute's president, Joseph Bast . . . . 'Humans are not causing a climate crisis on God's Green Earth--in fact, they are fulfilling their biblical duty to protect and use it for the benefit of humanity. Though Pope Francis's heart is surely in the right place, he would do his flock and the world a disservice by putting his moral authority behind the United Nations' unscientific agenda on the climate.'"

Praise the Lord and pass the greenhouse gasses.

And then, of course, there's Rush Limbaugh, who has accused the pope of being a closet Democrat doing an imitation of Al Gore:

"Essentially, what this papal encyclical is saying is that every Catholic should vote for the Democrat Party. How else do you interpret it when the pope comes out and sounds like Al Gore on global warming and climate change?"

(This coming from a radio blowhard who thinks the GOP is the party of GOD).

But if the naysayers think Francis is about to roll over and play dead, they obviously don't know the guy. From the get-go, his motto has been (I can't quote it in Latin, so please forgive me): "Damn the deniers, full speed ahead."

The pope is not about to let planet polluters get in the way of what he is determined to say, as made clear by the Washington Post:

" . . . [C]limate-change doubters [tried] and failed to alter the landmark papal document that saw [the pope] fuse faith and reason and come to the conclusion that 'denial' is wrong. It marked the latest blow for those seeking to stop the reform-minded train that has become Francis's papacy."

Indeed, the pope will not be denied by the deniers:

"[Francis'] interest in [climate change] dates to his days as a bishop in Buenos Aires, where [he], officials say, was struck by the effects of floods and unsanitary conditions on Argentine shantytowns known as 'misery villages.'"

So, wanting to do something about it, Francis began putting together a plan:

" . . . [He] officially announced [that] his goal of drafting the encyclical [was] . . to make a 'contribution' to the debate ahead of a major [upcoming] U.N. summit on climate change in Paris . . . ."

Efforts by climate change deniers to derail Francis' planet plans ended up being too little and too tardy. The aforementioned Heartland Institute ended up grumping that the Pope's encyclical on climate change only proved he was "writing in an area that is not his own background" and that "he was poorly served by his adviser."

(Hmmm. What if his adviser was God?)

We do know, at least, that "[f]or advice, [Francis] turned to a number of scientific advisers who support the consensus that human activity is warming the Earth. They included Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany."

For the record, Schellnhuber happens to be an avowed atheist, for gawd's sake, who nonetheless decided to lend Francis a hand because he "saw a chance for a massive coup in the climate debate if a sitting pope issued an ode to Earth and the ills of carbon emissions."

As the Washington Post further reports, it only gets worse in the godless adviser department:

"The document was party drafted with the input of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences, a decades-old body that includes academics and scientists from various faiths, including atheists and agnostics such as Stephen Hawking."

Like the say, the devil is in the details.

In the end, the pope's biggest detractors proved to be climate-change deniers from the United States.

Figures.

Thankfully, the pope simply ignored them. "' . . . [I]it is clear that this pope is very courageous,' said [Bishop] Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo [chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences] . . . . He is not a politician. He is not a diplomat. He is someone who is willing to say what others are afraid to say."

And what's cool about it all is that he says it so scientifically.

Quoting from Francis' encyclical, the Washington Post notes:

--how it "warns of 'synthetic agrotoxins' harming birds and insects, and 'bioaccumulation' [of chemicals in the bodies of organisms] from industrial waste";

--how it "calls for renewable fuel subsidies and 'maximum energy efficiency'";

--how it speaks to "concerns about methane seeping into the atmosphere from the Arctic tundra':

--how "the pope and his advisers have dug deeply into the issue and discourse confidently about problems such as ocean acidification and polar melt . . . [that resembles] a combination of St. Augustine and a National Academy of Science Report."; and

--how, "although he offers prayers at the beginning and end of his heavily anticipated missive on the environment, Pope Francis unmasks himself not only as a very green pontiff, but also as a total policy wonk."

In this case, wonk is wonderful.

When it comes to thinking "planet," the pope can't help but want to plan for it:

"Francis urges taking public transit, carpooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, recycling--and boycotting certain products. He called for an 'ecological conversion' for the faithful. . . . [He lays] out a green view of faith that embrace[s] the moral imperatives of everything from animal rights to solar panels."

In short, Francis is the Greenpeace for the Prince of Peace.

And the crowds are lovin' it:

"Polls show that Francis, leader of the world's largest faith community, is one of the most trusted popular and re-tweeted people on the planet"--a rock star in his own right "whose voice . . . resonate[s] not only in major global conferences but also in prayer groups and church pews. . . . He back[s] up his science with Bible verse, largely rejecting the notion that man has 'dominion' over the Earth."

For his fans, it's the Pope's Earth Revival Tour:

"In Europe, at the United Nations and elsewhere, . . . kudos [have] streamed in from those thrilled by the pope's stand. 'This clarion call should guide the world towards a strong and durable climate agreement, said . . . Christian Figeres, head of the Boon, Germany-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat. . . . German environment minister Barbara Hendricks hailed the document: 'The clear language of this encyclical and its depth of thought are offering impulses, which will have an effect far beyond the Catholic world. The encyclical is an incentive for all to take dedicated action for the protection of the environment and climate.'"

For the right-wingers, it's a sign of the apocalypse-- an overreaching pope who's out of control:

"Francis link[s] global warming to the overarching theme of his papacy—fighting inequality and global poverty . . . [as he blames the world's increasing ecological plight on] a toxic cocktail of over-consumption, consumerism, dependence on fossil fuels and the errant indifference of the powerful and wealthy. He describe[s] a hell on Earth should nothing be done, One filled with more methane and carbon dioxide, acidification of oceans and the crippling of the global food supply."

In other words, the anti-conservative papal party pooper.

When all is said and done, Pope Francis is still not done. So far, he's delivered a plateful of science and a heartful of conscience.

Patricia T. Bradt, professor emeritus of environmental science at Muhlenberg College (near Bethlehem, Pa.) can't say enough good about him:

"Kudos to Pope Francis for speaking out on climate change. The pope's message is based on sound science and agrees with 95% of atmospheric scientists.

"Science is not about opinions or beliefs, it is about scientific evidence. The major scientific societies (U.S. National Academy of Sciences, American Association for Advancement of Science, American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Chemical Society, American Physical Society) and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013) agree on the interpretation of the scientific evidence and on humanity's role in increasing atmospheric heat trapping gases, the major contributors to climate change.

"The world's poor, especially in less-developed nations, are most at risk from increasing heat, flooding, forest fires and sea level rise.

"It behooves the U.S., as a world leader, to act rapidly to reduce our production of heat-trapping (greenhouse) gases, such as carbon dioxide, from fossil fuel combustion. Waiting should not be an option."

CNN sums it up nicely in describing Francis' formula for fixing our earthly home as "The Pope's 10 Commandments on Climate Change."

Here are #1 and #10:

"1, Think of Future Generations.

"'What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?'

"10. Believe You Can Make a Difference

"'We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.'"

Don't get me wrong. Francis is not Supeman.

But he is a super human.

And we're damn lucky to have him.

What do you think?

--Steve Benson