Posted on 01/03/2008 4:07:36 PM PST by wagglebee
Very well said!
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"It is no disrespect to science or scientists to take these latest claims with a grain of salt. Commitment to the scientific method actually requires it," said the Cardinal
Bravo! Cardinal Pell rarely fails to impress.
Thanks for posting!
Cardinal Pell would make an excellent pope someday!
I almost posted just that!
Wow. That’s just great news.
It was known when Benedict was elected that his papacy would be fairly short, I’m sure they will be looking for someone from Africa, Asia or South/Central America next time, but Pell would be excellent. He has a moral clarity that seems to be sorely absent among most of the cardinals and bishops in the US.
Bell looks like Duncan Hunter.
Hey, you're right! Both men of fine character and moral clarity!
I’m always impressed with the way he’s able to go straight to the meat of the matter and speak about it in a way that is both intelligent and completely understandable. And he leaves no room for doubt.
~~Anthropogenic Global Warming ™ ping~~
I don't know that I've ever read anything else he's written, but I agree completely with what you say. He's very intelligent, very clear, and absolutely right!
Desperate to get Duncan Hunter face value on National News and International News.
What Magic can be performed to enhance Duncan Hunter to become the Next President of the USA?
A one on one with the Pope of Rome? Beginning with Cardinal George Pell?
Freepers are incredibly intelligent.
The Duncan Hunter loyalist needs a Conservative George Soros type to fund the real candidate “Duncan Hunter”
Desperate to get Duncan Hunter face value on National News and International News.
What Magic can be performed to enhance Duncan Hunter to become the Next President of the USA?
A one on one with the Pope of Rome? Beginning with Cardinal George Pell?
Freepers are incredibly intelligent.
The Duncan Hunter loyalist needs a Conservative George Soros type to fund the real candidate “Duncan Hunter”
I wonder if we could flimflam Australia into trading us Cardinal Pell for Mahoney.
This, combined with comments by the new Pope, are going to drive the global socialists nuts!
CANBERRA, Australia, January 3, 2007 (ENS) - For many Australians 2007 was the warmest year on record, although when averaged across the whole continent, it was only the sixth warmest year, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's 2007 Climate Statement issued today by the National Climate Centre.
Statistically, the mean temperature for Australia was 0.67°C above average in 2007, making it the sixth warmest year since high quality Australia-wide recordkeeping began in 1910.
Australia has now recorded a warmer-than-average year for 16 of the past 18 years. "This pattern is not surprising given that Australia's climate is warming in line with the rest of the globe," said the bureau.
In the southern half of the continent, temperatures were well above normal, with South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and the country's food bowl, the Murray Darling Basin, all recording their warmest years on record.
A grim feature of the year has been extremely low water availability across parts of Australia, although the continent as a whole received near average rainfall.
"The worst drought on record is continuing to bite hard throughout Australia's food bowl," said Dr. Wendy Craik, chief executive of the Murray Darling Basin Commission.
The basin is home to two million people and supplies nearly half Australia's fruit and cereal crops. The ongoing drought intensified early in November with the onset of very hot weather. Temperatures were up to six degrees above average for much of the southern part of the Basin.
In December, Craik said total Murray water storage was lower than this time last year, which was the lowest for December since 1940.
Less than one percent of divertible water is available for critical environmental watering to protect endangered species and habitats, she said.
National Farmers Federation Vice-President Charles Burke said that early in the year Australian farmers were hopeful that there would be a strong winter cropping season as early rain promised to see production meet high global prices, driven by demand for sugar and grains from the growing biofuels market.
"However, the failure of the rains to eventuate over both winter and spring saw that optimism wane as the sector was plunged into unprecedented back-to-back winter crop failures, and minimal water allocations for many farms across the country," Burke said.
"As a result, farm debt mounted, rising to over $45 billion," he said.
Australian farmers are now hoping that 2008 will bring them a greater share of these prices and that vastly improved rainfall can finally break the back of drought," said Burke.
But there appears to be little drought relief in sight. Patchy rainfall across southern Australia means that long-term droughts persist in the far southwest and in the southeast, including the Murray Darling Basin, all of Victoria and northern Tasmania.
Southeastern Australia has now missed out on the equivalent of an average year's rainfall over the duration of the continuing 11 year drought, the bureau said today.
Despite promising rains during the first half of the year, July to October was particularly dry. It was not until November that rain returned to much of the continent with the emergence of a La Niña event - a cooling of sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
Overall, annual rainfall was average to above average across northern and central Australia, and average to below average in the southwest, with mixed results in the southeast.
Cool temperatures during the austral winter in June were a result of highly unusual heavy rains over northern Australia, and a series of low pressure systems, including that which caused extensive flooding around Newcastle.
Since January 1, 1908, the Bureau of Meteorology has been responsible for collecting, managing and safeguarding Australia's climate record, allowing data recorded today to be placed in historical context.
I'm not a global socialist, but this Pope is very concerned about the environment.
Environmental damage risks God’s creation, threatens poor, Pope Benedict says
"The pope said the created world was a great gift of God but is presently "exposed to serious risks by life choices and lifestyles that can degrade it." ... "In particular, environmental degradation makes poor people's existence intolerable," he said.
"In July, the pope sent a message to Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, praising his efforts in reminding Christians of their duty to protect the environment. In that message, the pope warned that the ecological balance of the Amazon region was under threat."
Protect God's creation: Vatican issues new green message for world's Catholics
"The Vatican yesterday added its voice to a rising chorus of warnings from churches around the world that climate change and abuse of the environment is against God's will, and that the one billion-strong Catholic church must become far greener. ... At a Vatican conference on climate change, Pope Benedict urged bishops, scientists and politicians - including UK environment secretary David Miliband - to "respect creation" while "focusing on the needs of sustainable development". "
Pope Benedict Calls for Action on Climate Change in Christmas Message to World
The article provides an excerpt from the Pope's message, which I'm further excerpting below:
"Respecting the environment does not mean considering material or animal nature more important than man. Rather, it means not selfishly considering nature to be at the complete disposal of our own interests, for future generations also have the right to reap its benefits and to exhibit towards nature the same responsible freedom that we claim for ourselves. Nor must we overlook the poor, who are excluded in many cases from the goods of creation destined for all. Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. 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."
and
"Further international agencies may need to be established in order to confront together the stewardship of this “home” of ours; more important, however, is the need for ever greater conviction about the need for responsible cooperation. The problems looming on the horizon are complex and time is short. In order to face this situation effectively, there is a need to act in harmony."
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