From Scripps:
Vatican Science Panel Calls Attention to the Threat of Glacial Melt
Pontifical Academy of Sciences working group of leading scientists to present report to Pope Benedict XVI
Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego
A panel of some of the world’s leading climate and glacier scientists co-chaired by a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego researcher issued a report today commissioned by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences citing the moral imperative before society to properly address climate change.
The co-authors of “Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene” list numerous examples of glacial decline around the world and the evidence linking that decline to human-caused changes in climate and air pollution. The threat to the ways of life of people dependent upon glaciers and snow packs for water supplies compels immediate action to mitigate the effects of climate change and to adapt to what changes are happening now and are projected to happen in the future.
V. Ramanathan
“We are committed to ensuring that all inhabitants of this planet receive their daily bread, fresh air to breathe and clean water to drink as we are aware that, if we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us,” the authors write in a declaration prefacing the report. “The believers among us ask God to grant us this wish.”
Scripps Climate and Atmospheric Scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan co-chaired the working group with Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen, formerly affiliated with Scripps and Lennart Bengtsson, former head of the European weather forecasting center. The group also included Nobel Laureate Carlo Rubbia, former director general of the CERN Laboratory. Among the rest of the 24 authors are Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University, Wilfried Haeberli from Switzerland, Georg Kaser from Austria and Anil Kulkarni from India, considered among the world’s foremost experts on glacial change. Former Scripps Director Charles Kennel and Scripps Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry Lynn Russell are also members of the working group.
“The widespread loss of snow and ice in the mountain glaciers is one of the most visible changes attributable to global climate change. The disintegration of many small glaciers in the Himalayas is most disturbing to me since this region serves as the water tower of Asia and since both the greenhouse gases and air pollutants like soot and ozone contribute to the melting,” said Ramanathan, who has been a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 2004.
Report authors met at the Vatican from April 2 to April 4, 2011 under the invitation of Chancellor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo of the pontifical academy. The report was issued by the Vatican today and will be presented to Pope Benedict XVI.
Though scientists usually refrain from proposing action, Ramanathan said the circumstances warranted advancing suggestions from the working group. The authors recommend pursuit of three measures: immediate reduction of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, reduction of concentrations of warming air pollutants such as soot, ozone, methane and hydroflurocarbons by up to 50 percent, and preparation to adapt to climate changes that society will not be able to mitigate.
Main Rongbuk Glacier on Mount Everest in 1921 and 2007. It experienced average vertical glacier loss of 101 meters (331 feet) between 1921 and 2008. Photo credits: (1921) Courtesy of Royal Geographical Society, (2007) Courtesy of Glacier Works.
The report title refers to the term coined by Crutzen to describe what is considered a new geologic epoch that began when the impacts of mankind on the planet became a major factor in environmental and climate changes.
“The recent changes observed in glacial behavior are due to a complex mix of causal factors that include greenhouse gas forcing together with large scale emissions of dark soot particles and dust in ‘brown clouds’, and the associated changes in regional atmospheric energy and moisture content, all of which result in significant warming at higher altitudes, not least in the Himalayas,” the authors write.
“Changes of mountain glaciers all around the world are rapid and impacts are expected to be detrimental, particularly in the high mountains of South America and Asia,” said Kaser, of the Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics at the University of Innsbruck. “Yet, our understanding about glacier changes in these regions is still limited and ambitious and joint efforts are required to respond to these problems. With its report, the pontifical academy contributes considerably to raising awareness.”
“Glaciers are one of our most visible evidences of global climate change,” added Thompson. “They integrate many climate variables in the Earth system. Their loss is readily apparent and they have no political agenda. Glaciers remind us of the stunning beauty of nature and in turn the urgency of doing everything in our power to protect it.”
The authors conclude: “We appeal to all nations to develop and implement, without delay, effective and fair policies to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change on communi¬ties and ecosystems, including mountain glaciers and their watersheds, aware that we all live in the same home. By acting now, in the spirit of common but differentiated responsibility, we accept our duty to one another and to the stewardship of a planet blessed with the gift of life.”
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Scottish Sceptic says:
May 9, 2011 at 12:43 am As global warming is a competing religion to Christianity, with its own (global warming) hell, its own high priests, even its own indulgences, one has to ask why the Catholic church is getting in bed with the devil?
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Well Scottish Sceptic, they are both desperate and desperados often seek each other out for mutual support. Pathetic isn’t it!
Douglas
Why don’t we try and do something that can make a difference instead of trying to shave a trace amount from the trace gas co2?
NASA on the Himalayas also points to soot.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/himalayan-soot.html
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/himalayan-warming.html
I’ll believe it when the Holy See level rises.
An omniscient God, did not see CAGW coming and make allowances for it in the orginal design and feedback mechanisms?
An omnipotent God can’t fix CAGW?
Time the Vatican revised their theology.
By the time this is disseminated throughout the worldwide “flock”, it’ll be all over for scepticism. It’s just a pity that it won’t be accompanied by the message that people will assist in this by not chopping down and burning forests for profit and food, nor the obvious one mentioned by Rick Bradford above, definitely not by a Catholic messenger.
You never know, though. If their recent track record on contraception against AIDS in Africa is anything to go by, they may eventually see the light on other issues.
Here’s a man claiming floods and fires are of biblical proportions :-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383961/Former-Vice-President-Al-Gore-compares-climate-change-sceptics-birthers.html
The last time the Vatican got involved with “science” they put Galileo under house arrest for opposing the earth centric universe. It took the Vatican nearly a half a millennium to admit they were wrong.
Of course. The Anthropocene. Maybe the “Technozoic” Era is at hand. But wait! This is the ultimate culmination of the Inquisition. If you can’t win by cheating, lie. If lying dosn’t cut it, resort to glurge. When we are all sick of fuzzy bunnies and cute pandas, and children killing their immoral classmates, try a ziploc bag full of good old old-time religion. Fire and Brimstone. And some Prayer. That’ll do it. The dog and pony show is reaching the end of its useful life.
Of course wind turbines on the roofs of the Vatican and catholic cathedrals could be tastefully designed to look like rotating crosses, so blending the traditions of the catholic church into the modern context of eco-religion and standing out as new age beacons leading us to the promised land and our salvation.
They can do that ?! Merge religions ? Amazing …
Catholicism is the great Gobal Religion…it has become so by always modifying its approach in every region to tap in on indigenous or pre-existing belief systems. So Catholicism in S.America is different to that practised in Africa or Ireland.
It doesn’t surprise me that they’ve latched onto the AGW bandwagon, they’re hoping to gain the edge in the battle for our souls.
But ‘Never Never Never’ forget, (apologies to Ian Paisley) that it was the Vatican Scientists who toed the official line (even though they had the finest telescopes available at the time) and made Galileo recant.
Global Warming IS already a religion, this Catholic gloss on it is just shabby PR.
By the way I am an athiest, not a member of some other Christian sect getting a dig in at the Papists!
Climate change issue offers no threat to Catholic doctrine. The priestly class is happy to sail with the wind on this, calculating lot that they are.
Who knows, James Hansen’s mission from goddess Venus may well end up in a papal encyclical if the church concludes the size of the movement warrants it. CAGW is already an article of faith -a ‘scientific’ article of faith, that is- for many people, including pagans and atheists. The Catholic Church won’t let a herd go unshepherded.
“Lawrie Ayres says:
May 9, 2011 at 1:22 am
Now we have Papal Proof that CO2 causes warming. So who is doing the cooling?”
The Almighty’s clearly intervening to protect us from our sins. Praise the Gore!
This is one of the weirder “we’re all gonna die” themes that are routinely trotted out by otherwise intelligent individuals. Generally what is crucial to those who get their water from high mountains is not snowpack or glacier size. It is total precipitation. Moreover, there is this truly marvelous invention called a “dam” that, like snowpack, holds back water for later release and, unlike snowpack, generates hydro-electric power in the process. And dams — unless mismanaged or overwhelmed by unusually large amounts of precipitation — offer far better control of water release thereby controlling flooding and providing more water for agriculture. There are negative aspects to dams like their affect on some commercial fisheries (e.g. Salmon). But overall, they have proved to be a good thing.
It all sort of makes one wonder if there is such a thing as a stupid pill and why people take them.
As a Catholic, I am saddened to see this.
I see no conflict between religion and science and neither does the Church except for situations where scientists use their science for purposes which the Church believes to be morally wrong. (You can agree or not with the Church’s definition of what is morally wrong). There are scientists and others within the Church who are convinced by the warmist argument and those like me who are sceptical.
This is no place for a theology lecture, even were I qualified to give one(!), but if there is anything that is irrelevant to the Almighty’s great scheme for mankind it is an alleged couple of degrees fluctuation in temperature which has occurred within the lifespan of two generations.
If we are going to start introducing religion into the debate (please, no!) then the 90th psalm would be good starting point:
“For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night”.
To assume that mankind has the ability to upset the planet to the extent that warmists propose is arrogance indeed and I trust the Vatican — should it choose to pronounce on the subject, which I hope it won’t — will say so.
I also think this shows how desperate these people are becoming.
These socialist always run around looking for any authority that will take up their cause.
It’s important to note that most institutions from governments, and even the recent posts here about how corrupt and rotten organizations like General Electric has become really brings home this point.
GE is one of the largest lobbyist in Washington for anything green, and they stand to make billions in all kinds of new carbon capture equipment that can only be justified by some nasty carbon tax or regulations to raise the cost to justify buying huge amounts of expensive GE equipment for ridiculous things like carbon capture.
The United Nations, the IPCC, so many governments etc are essentially selling out the public in the name of their socialist causes. They LOOK FOR supposed authority to sell their agenda.
The socialist and communist revolutions of the world have always attempted to use some authority to push forward their agendas. If you look at the land reform in South Africa and especially in places like South America the socialist lefts have a tradition of attempting to use church authority to push forward their socialist agenda.
While the church has a long tradition of teaching against socialism, in fact much of the clergy and religious institutions in South America were actually being used to push forward a political agenda of land redistribution and socialism. They even had fancy sounding names such as DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE. Fact is this type of authority has a tremendous effect on weak minded individuals that thus accept this church authority.
Despite the church having had a long tradition and long teachings against the evils of socialism, these people were in fact pushing an agenda of redistributing land. Redistribution of land is not an act of charity, but forced theft by the state. Forced redistribution of people’s land and hard earned resources of their own labor goes against all traditions and teachings of the church.
The idea that the church and religious institutions which are being rocked by so many scandals today are to be somehow magically immune from this socialist movement when governments and existing institutions around the world are selling out people would thus become a laughable and preposterous position for anyone of reasoned mind to take.
In other words that Church institution is not immune to being hijacked and used to push the socialist agenda no more than those universities and governments and even corporations around the world are also doing.
In a fact just like Arnold Schwarzenegger sticking out his neck up to support the global warming movement really hurt him as having any chance as being respected by conservatives. The same will occur to these church leaders and the result will simply be a loss of HUGE amounts of credibility being destroyed in this process.
It would’ve been near impossible for me to tell everyone here a few years ago how that I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was selling us out (he was popular and supposedly a republican). Now’s rather easy to tell everyone about how rotten Arnold Schwarzenegger is!
This Vatican announcement NOW allows me to now make the same case that this institution’s authority is being hijacked and abused in the same way. In other words the current hierarchy and church leaders have ceased to be something that fights against socialism and communism around the world, but is now in fact promoting it. They are in effect have become anti-Christian.
Super Turtle
Let just wait a couple of centuries to admit they were wrong.
God save us from these people.
Olaf Koenders, Wizard of Oz? 12:35 am thanks, I like that sort of talk.
Perhaps this is a timely reminder of the actual meaning of the word ‘pontificate’ which climate alarmists do at the drop of a hat. Kinda ironic that the religion that once burnt heretics at the stake now wants a stake in modern heresies!
If Moses could hold back the Red Sea, I am sure that the Pontiff could hold back the snow & ice in all those Himalian Glaciers. Perhaps they have Moses’ staff tucked away somewhere in the vaults of the Vatican with which the Pope could perform this miracle.
Interesting choice – stewardship. It was introduced into mainstream politics by the church during the feudal system to tell the serfs (slaves) to take care of their lord’s (masters) property in order to maximize it’s production using some parables in the Gospels. It’s use today has morphed from “sustained use for the owner” to “don’t drill anywhere, any time, any way, no way even if you starve the world”.
Mostly, the folks that authored the paper have skewered the Vatican by reversing it’s theology to make their paganism part of the Church. The Church sometimes makes astounding statements with great insight. For example, their pre-DNA analysis of conception as the beginning of a unique human life. This, however, will be added to their other list of profound scientific mistakes.
It’s very clear that humans contribute some tiny fraction to climate mostly at the micro climate. Taking action to mitigate climate effects is, in fact, important. Growing tomatoes, for example, on Everest, should be everyone’s objective. However, burning food, starving people and spreading famine, insuring the third world has no electricity for clean water, etc., etc., is evil almost beyond redemption. A truly Biblical holocaust begat by the Greenies upon mankind.
It’s just a little Inquisition. It wasn’t expected though.
Tallbloke:
Sublime. Absolutely sublime! 😉
I have a pdf of this paper, and Professor Zichichi is the man who, a few years ago talked some sense into the Pontifical Academy of Sciences:
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
The Vatican, 26-27 April 2007
METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATE:
PROBLEMS AND EXPECTATIONS
Antonino Zichichi
World Federation of Scientists, Beijing, Geneva, Moscow, New York
Not a true believer! Zichichi has called global warming models “incoherent and invalid” (Wikipedia) I hope he hasn’t completely retired, but he is in his 80’s.
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Once upon a time, the Christian Church took over from the pagans throughout Europe. It is perhaps an indication of the pathetic state the church is in, that it rolls over and capitulates.
[Reply] Zichichi was the president of the WFS at the time. TB-mod