Pope Francis's Crusade Against Fossil Fuels Hurts The Poor Most Of All

Forbes ^ | 09/24/2015 | Alex Epstein

[SeekAndFind]

“The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” This was Pope Francis’s summary of his Encyclical earlier this year on the alleged destruction of our planet. The leading culprit, in his view, is humanity’s use of fossil FOSL -1.57% fuels, which he believes are immoral and should largely be illegal.

This week, the Pope will be meeting with the President, addressing a joint session of Congress, and speaking to a crowd of over a million in Philadelphia, sharing his views in the name of concern for humanity, particularly the poor.

“Like no pope before him,” according to the New York Times, “Francis is using the grand stage of his trip to the United States to demonstrate that the church exists to serve the poor and marginalized.”

But if he wants to help humanity, especially the poorest human beings, Pope Francis needs to recognize that fossil fuels make Earth not a “pile of filth,” but a far better, healthier, cleaner, and more bountiful place to live.

Imagine a commoner from 300 years ago was magically transported from the Earth in its state back then to the Earth in its state now. What he would see is not “an immense pile of filth” but an environment that is beautifully clean and healthy compared to anything he—or even the Papal Royalty of 300 years ago—ever knew.

He would marvel at the cleanliness and drinkability of the water, in contrast to the inaccessible and disease-ridden water he had been used to; the eradication of or inoculation against once-ubiquitous disease-carrying insects; the pure air compared to the indoor wood fires he kept warm by (when he could afford wood); the ability to access the most beautiful parts of nature.

[Jim Robinson]

Impeach da pope!!

[Blood of Tyrants]

“Francis is using the grand stage of his trip to the United States to demonstrate that the church exists to serve the poor and marginalized.”

Yawn. Call me when they sell off some of the hundreds of millions in artwork that the Vatican owns.

[Alberta's Child]

If Pope Francis really believed that fossil fuels are a moral problem for the human race then he would have come over here on a sailing ship instead of a massive jet that burned thousands of gallons of fuel to get him here.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

Ironic how the fastest fossil fuel burners the world over absolutely HATE fossil fuels for everybody else!

[Lera]

“The leading culprit, in his view, is humanity’s use of fossil FOSL -1.57% fuels, which he believes are immoral and should largely be illegal. “

He really should stay home then instead of flying around burning all that fossil fuel

[fwdude]

Let the poor ‘warm’ themselves before pretty pictures of fireplaces instead.

[DoughtyOne]

This may sound a little too ‘pie in the sky’ for folks, but I will admit to it being a thought in the back of my head.

This world is a complex place. I don’t pretend to fully understand it. There are times when I think of the oil that is out there, and wonder if there wasn’t a reason for it to remain exactly where it was at. Was there a purpose for it we simply don’t grasp?

Could the removal of it impact dynamics we don’t understand?

Seems to me it’s location is close enough to the crust of the earth to remove the idea it could be super critical. There is still that nagging question hiding back there to be considered once every four or five years.

= :^)

[PATRIOT1876]

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

It will be a heck of a lot filthier when we are all turned into third world countries living in dung huts with no electricity, cars, or modern technology.

Maybe the pope should look at a documentary about what conditions were like 500 years ago. You'll see some filth.
Go to some third world and Communist countries. Not as clean as America or Canada, I'll wager.

The pope must not have gone to Catholic school. Nuns are fond of saying, ‘Know what you say and say what you know.

He doesn't even have an arthritic grasp of how things work. He knows nothing about Science (proven by the fact that he preaches the Climate Change Scam) or anything about Capitalism or Communism. If he does and he's just pretending to help the Communists and the Socialists rule the world, then he is guilty of being Satan's vicar on the Earth.

[Vigilanteman]

“Like no pope before him,” according to the New York Times, “Francis is using the grand stage of his trip to the United States to demonstrate that the church exists to serve the poor and marginalized.”

Yep. By further impoverishing and marginalizing them. Like a typical libtard, it is the feeeeeeeelings and stated intentions which matter. Not the actual results.

[Sasparilla]

Did he mention his opposition to abortion with the Senate “discussing” it today?

[pleasenotcalifornia]

It would have been pretty neat if he sailed into the Potomac on the type of galley used to defeat the Turks at “The Battle of Lepanto.”

[g.orwell]

I wish he would get out of here. tired of seeing him already.

[grumpygresh]

“Like a typical libtard, it is the feeeeeeeelings and stated intentions which matter. Not the actual results.”

Libtards know what the results will be. They are just evil totalitarians that want a 90% world population reduction as an offering to their demonic god Gaia.

[VanDeKoik]

I’m just sooooooo sure the Vatican is run on Holy Hydroelectric power.

[g.orwell]

This may sound a little too ‘pie in the sky’ for folks, but I will admit to it being a thought in the back of my head.
........................................................
You should seek professional help.

[MichaelCorleone]

-—“Like no pope before him,” according to the New York Times, “Francis is using the grand stage of his trip to the United States to demonstrate that the church exists to serve the poor and marginalized.”-—

I guess I’m supposed to get excited about this.

Sorry NYT, the purpose of the Church is to bring the lost to Christ for Salvation, and bring the saved into a deeper relationship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Hydrocarbons are very, very far down the list of priorities.

[SeekAndFind]

Italy has no nuclear power since it was banished in 1987 by referendum. In Tuscany was build the first geothermal power station. In 2014 the geothermal production was 5,92 TWh. All Italian geothermal active power station are now in Tuscany.^[5]

Gross production Italy 2014 by sources

Italian gross electricity production by sources in 2014[TWh] [5]
Hydroelettric	60.256	21.5 %
Thermal	176.171	-
of which by Geothermal	5.919	2.1 %
of which by Natural Gas	93.637	33.5 %
of which by Coal	43.455	15.5 %
of which by Oil	4.764	1.7 %
of which by Biomass	18.732	6.7 %
Wind	15.178	5.4 %
Solar	22.306	8.0 %

[PGR88]

The Pope is a “traditionalist” and reactionary

He is mouthing the now decades “traditions” of leftist thought that have been dominant for several decades now - environment, mass immigration, acceptance of “diversity” (ie. gay rights), fossil fuels - seemingly without thought or question

In fact, these are NOT problems.

The problem of the masses of the developed world are the societal and individual moral problems due to ill effects of WEALTH, not poverty. And the problems of the developing world are only hurt ridiculous theories of the Left.

[rktman]

Are the lights still on at the Vatican? Come on popey, walk the walk.