Pope Francis Weighs In On Climate Change

Pope Francis is taking a position on climate change, stating that “global warming is a fact and mankind has contributed it,” Washington Post reported. The 192-page encyclical, to be officially published on June 18, will be the Catholic Church’s strong message about the environment and climate change. The Church statement will reinforce science’s take on climate change: it is humans that are causing it.

Researchers and environmentalists have concluded that the effects of climate change can totally shift everything, especially food production and that the more people damage the environment, the less capacity to rebound from its negative effects.

The Pope’s statement will boost what the environmentalists have long been saying; humans are exacerbating climate change effects. Quoting Reuters, an excerpt from the to-be published encyclical, stated, “as the current trend continues, this century could see unheard-of climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with grave consequences for all of us.”

Human population is so reliant on food production with the world’s population already at a capacity; any disruption of food production will cause widespread famine. Multiple scientific research and studies pinpointed to human activities as the driver of climate change. The consensus among climate scientists is that rising temperature is real and men make a big cause of it.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global Climate Change website cited that 97 percent of climate scientists supports evidence of a human-induced climate change. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in its 2007 assessment report that climate change is really happening and that the environmental degradation is generated by men.

"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level," the report added. "Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations."

Despite the so called separation of Church and state, the Catholic Church has far reaching influence in government policies. It had weighed in on several issues such as contraception, same-sex marriage, divorce, and now, the climate’s future.

A new Pew Research Center survey that 71 percent of the American Catholics believe that the Earth is warming, but only 47 percent are convinced that it is caused by human activity. The survey was conducted from May 5 to June 7, 2015, via phone surveys of 5,122 adults, including 1,016 self-identified Catholics. It also showed that more people now view climate change as a serious problem.

The Pope’s message will surely run counter with climate change deniers who believes that global warming is a natural cycle and that humans did not cause it. Several policymakers deny human activities as a cause of climate change and that because it is a normal phenomenon, then there is no need for a lifestyle change.

The encyclical, as several media outlets reported, will have excerpts from the Pope’s message that will urge people to start taking action to stop the catastrophic impact of climate change. “Humanity is called to consciousness of the need for changes in styles of life, of production and consumption, to combat this warming, or, at least, the human causes that produce and exacerbate,” the message will state as quoted by Religion News.

The Pope’s message will add to the growing clamor for a transition to a safe, greener climate future such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with governments and energy sectors taking the lead.

Developed and developing nations are moving ahead with clean energy ventures. New discoveries such as the use of titanium dioxide in PV applications in solar panels are also emerging to help economies to alternative sources of energy.

White Mountain Titanium Corporation (OTCQB: WMTM), a new mineral explorer in Santiago, Chile is becoming a new player in the titanium dioxide mining venture. Their contribution to the switch to green economy will surely be a welcome addition in mitigating effects of climate change.

To contact the writer, email: vittoriohernandez@yahoo.com