Friday 14 December 2007

Pope calls for reason to overcome global warming hysteria

I often refer to the fact that we live in an upside-down world. There are few more perfect examples than the current hysteria over global warming.

Man made global warming believers have abandoned the scientific method, invented new statistical processes for 'proving' their case and pinned their faith on the output of never-been-correct-ever climate models.

That's why I call them the Climate Faithful.

Belief in man made global warming is clearly an article of faith and lines up more along political lines than reason and science.

Completing the upside down-ness of the climate change argument is the Pope's recent attack on those over-hyping the cause and predicted effect of any warming.

So, on one side we have (largely) secular Climate Faithful for whom reason has been thrown out the window.

On the other side we have people of genuine faith - the Pope and the Archbishop of Sydney among them - who are calling for any decisions to be based on reason and scientific proof.
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.

The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.

The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement.

His remarks will be made in his annual message for World Peace Day on January 1, but they were released as delegates from all over the world convened on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali for UN climate change talks.

The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind.

"Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow," he said in the message entitled "The Human Family, A Community of Peace".

"It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances.

"If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations.

"Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken."

Efforts to protect the environment should seek "agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances", the Pope said.

He added that to further the cause of world peace it was sensible for nations to "choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions" in how to cooperate responsibly on conserving the planet.

The Pope's message is traditionally sent to heads of government and international organisations.

His remarks reveal that while the Pope acknowledges that problems may be associated with unbridled development and climate change, he believes the case against global warming to be over-hyped.

A broad consensus is developing among the world's scientific community over the evils of climate change.

But there is also an intransigent body of scientific opinion which continues to insist that industrial emissions are not to blame for the phenomenon.

Such scientists point out that fluctuations in the earth's temperature are normal and can often be caused by waves of heat generated by the sun. Other critics of environmentalism have compared the movement to a burgeoning industry in its own right.

In the spring, the Vatican hosted a conference on climate change that was welcomed by environmentalists.

But senior cardinals close to the Vatican have since expressed doubts about a movement which has been likened by critics to be just as dogmatic in its assumptions as any religion.

In October, the Australian Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, caused an outcry when he noted that the atmospheric temperature of Mars had risen by 0.5 degrees celsius.

"The industrial-military complex up on Mars can't be blamed for that," he said in a criticism of Australian scientists who had claimed that carbon emissions would force temperatures on earth to rise by almost five degrees by 2070 unless drastic solutions were enforced.
This stuff gets funnier by the day.

(Nothing follows)


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

As always, you believe any old shit that appears to indicate support for climate change denial. You can read what the pope actually said here. Please point out the parts that mention "global warming hysteria".

Jack Lacton said...

And, as always, you can't understand what he was plainly saying.

I read not only the whole transcript before I posted but also a number of contrarian opinions who were trying to wriggle away from the truth. It may surprise you to find that I always look at the opposing side before using material. In the instances where there are legitimate arguments being made I don't use that material.

I love being called a denier, too. It's a badge of honour to be called such by the intellectual minnows that make up so much of the Climate Faithful.

Jack Lacton said...

BTW, Anon, I figure you need a name given your interest in commenting here so I hereby christen you Lenny.

Welcome, Lenny, to a place where truth and reason trump politics and symbolism.

Anonymous said...

Yessss!!! Finally - Lenny's scalp is nailed to my wall!

Thanks, Jack!

By the way, how about a new PollHost poll on how long Marcus Einfeld is going to get?

Anonymous said...

Then I shall, in return, christen you Valerie. Valerie, why exactly do you think that when the pope refers to experts and people of wisdom, he means people who don't believe in humanity's impact on the environment? We all know that if you look at actual science, instead of the blogs and mickey mouse journals that you're fond of, there is simply no dispute about the reality of climate change induced by human emissions. People like you, Valerie, are the intellectual minnows, and the comparison with minnows is a bit unkind to the poor fish.

Jack Lacton said...

Ha! An attempt at humour by Lenny. I give you 4/10.

And 2/10 for the other drivel.

Anonymous said...

Lenny, I always post as "Kaboom".

Just ask Ender (a.k.a. Stephen Gloor). Just ask CarbonSink. Just ask the Ominous Lefty Wally Sear.

Just ask any envirotard who has been unfortunate enough to try to outsmart me.

"Valerie" doesn't suit at all. Perhaps "Eleanor" like a well-known Shelby-Mustang......

Anonymous said...

Whoops - was Lenny attempting to Christen me or JacLac?

Inquiring minds want to know....

Anonymous said...

Oh dear kaboom - you betray your extreme lack of intelligence yet again. Note that I said in return. Did you do anything that I would be returning? Have a think about that.

Why are stupid people so over-represented among climate change deniers? Perhaps because to hold such a position you need to believe either that CO2 is not rising, or that the rise is not due to mankind, or that increasing CO2 will not increase the temperature, or that it will not increase it enough to worry about. All those positions have long since been proved untenable, but stupid people just don't listen to people who are proving them wrong.

Anonymous said...

Well, Lenny, I thought it may have been in return for my nailing your scalp on my wall.

My bad.

Anonymous said...

Well, you're rather prone to massively misinterpreting the available observational evidence, so that's perfectly understandable. Not forgiveable but understandable.

So I'll ask again because Valerie and Hilda are conveniently ignoring the question - where exactly did the pope mention 'global warming hysteria'?

Jack Lacton said...

Why are stupid people so over-represented among climate change deniers?

How would you know?

Last time I did an IQ test I had a massive cold and still racked up 146, a few short of what I normally score.

So who IS smart on the Faithful side?

Al Gore is smart? The man's as thick as four bricks.

Tim Flannery? No common sense.

Nicholas Stern? Economists in general aren't up with mathematicians and physics people in the old smarts stakes and Stern is not even up to average (besides being an activist leftist).

James Hansen? Smart guy but let political activism bugger up his reputation.

Not really a stellar group.

Anonymous said...

If your best scientific credential is that you can score 146 on an IQ test, you should be worried.

Louis Vuitton iPhone 6 Wallet Case said...

Whether you’re stuck at an airport or cooling your heels in a hotel room, watching a movie on Netflix over your iPhone’s speedy LTE connection can be a tempting diversion.