Posted on 06/23/2015 7:13:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Pope Francis’s aversion to air conditioning may be red hot, but he himself is comfortably cool.
In his encyclical Laudato Si’, published today, the pope lambasts wasteful consumerism and unchecked human economic activity as a root of climate change, singling out one product in particular for censure: the air conditioner.
“A simple example [of harmful habits of consumption] is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning,” Francis writes. “The markets, which immediately benefit from sales, stimulate ever greater demand. An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behavior, which at times appears self-destructive.”
But ironically, Francis probably penned his disapproval in a well-ventilated corner of his residence, Domus Sanctae Marthae, which has air conditioning.
Two years ago, Francis broke with tradition when he became the first pope since 1903 to forgo the papal apartments for newer, more modest accommodations in Domus Sanctae Marthae, an adjacent building erected in 1996 to house cardinals during papal conclaves. In line with Francis’s image as the “people’s pope,” a Vatican spokesman said the pope wanted a more “simple living arrangement.” Simple, yes, but air-conditioned.
The pope isn’t just being a tad hypocritical here – he’s being short-sighted.
Air conditioning is an exemplar of modern ingenuity, but it’s also a mechanical thermoregulatory product that’s often put to conservative ends — for instance to preserve important artifacts of the past. In fact, right next to the air-conditioned Domus Sanctae Marthae is the Vatican Secret Archives, which conserves invaluable documents spanning millennia by controlling the microclimate in which they are housed.
And next door to the Archives is the Sistine Chapel, where just a year ago the Vatican installed a new air-conditioning system to preserve the deteriorating, centuries-old frescoes while accommodating existing tourist traffic. Director of Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci wrote in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that officials had to either limit access to the chapel in order to reduce the amount of dust and carbon dioxide brought in from the outside or find a technological solution. The Vatican’s decision to do the latter, according to Paolucci, allowed the Sistine Chapel “to breathe again.”
More valuable than a tool to preserve objects, of course, air conditioning is a tool to preserve lives. Two years ago, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a study concluding that air conditioning reduced heat-related deaths in the United States by 80 percent and could save even more lives in hotter, often poorer countries. A/C is an especially promising life-saving technology given the potential effects of climate change, the authors contend. “The typical Indian experiences 33 days annually where the temperature exceeds 90 degrees fahrenheit and this is projected to increase by as much as 100 days by the end of the century.”
Air conditioning also increases labor productivity and preserves capital stock, which has crucial implications for developing economies — and sweltering NR interns (@JackFowler). Jokes aside, another study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that labor productivity peaks at 65 degrees fahrenheit and decreases by around 15 percent every time the temperature rises by 10 degrees. Climate-control technology is also needed, the authors argue, to preserve textile threads, paper, and machinery.
Pope Francis’s words carry moral weight. If he’d like to help industrializing populations that benefit the most from air conditioning, he should find a different crusade.
— Shubhankar Chhokra is an intern at National Review.
“What the Pope needs to be fighting is corruption and establishing the rule of law in these despotic countries that routinely rob its citizens while at the same time blame capitalism and the West. “
Yeah, but he’s part of the problem in that he seems to be a Marxist himself! If I were a Catholic, I’d tell him to go to Hell as part of my letter of resignation.
Perhaps he is senile.
I don’t mean any offense to Freepers who are RC, but I’m really glad I’m not. What the Pope says is irrelevant, except for his influence on others.
Rite on! I grew up in Houston without a/c. We had no idea how miserable we were.
Wow, I didn’t see this. Insane. This Pope is unabashedly communist. More and more open about it by the day.
Maybe the heat in west Texas is dry, but the east half of the state is humid and muggy during the summer.
This pope is so horrible, he needs to go and as soon as possible. He is the worst of the worst. How anyone can make excuses for this jerk pope is beyond me.
I agree!
Anyhow it was 90 degrees there the whole time. It was frikking hot with many places not having AC. I guaran-damn-tee the Pope's digs are kept very comfortable.
Is kissing the Koran, or tolerating those bishops that do a trivial, or temporal matter, or the sign of a grave problem?
The Popemobile’s engine better be air-cooled. Anti-freeze provides the same benefit for engines as A/C does for humans.
I was just telling my boys yesterday about my G-GF's house. He lived next door and had a window unit...and that was it. He had it in his smallest bedroom and that was his "summer" room where he slept. He had a room that was for spring and fall...and had one for winter that had no outside windows...so it stayed warmer. No central AC...just one window unit for a bedroom that was about 10x9...and it cooled that thing down ice cold.
He also had a big attic fan and another huge window fan mounted in the window that would blow air out in the kitchen.
We spent most nights outside...watching satellites pass over (granted there were a lot fewer of them then than now...and I would chase lightning bugs.
I miss that old man....and those good times.
Excellent point which is the rub with Marxists which insist that the problem with Marxism isn't Marxism, it's the Marxists. If only the right Marxist was in charge would Marxism work. Who better than the Pope to finally be the moral authority to realize the Marxist dream.
Good point!
My father spent a lot of time in Houston on business when I was a kid. Upon his return he once told me “don’t move there unless you enjoy the feeling of wet underwear”.
LOL...and I would add "wet underwear at 6:30 in the morning." I hate that I break a sweat during the 50' walk from my house to my car....:)
Is there anything the pope hasn’t opined on yet?
RE: Is there anything the pope hasn’t opined on yet?
I’m still waiting for him to tell us who he personally prefers to be the President of the United States in 2016.
Air Conditioning, Triple wrote:
Is kissing the Koran, or tolerating those bishops that do a trivial, or temporal matter, or the sign of a grave problem?
That book kissing business was disputed and went round and round here in FR’s. MSM later reported it wasn’t the Koran. What Francis was kissing I believe was an ancient compilation of prayers and rituals used in Eastern rites by an early saint. The whole episode was scrutinized including the book’s cover design which had nothing to do with Islam.
Yea we have grave problem it’s with an Argentine socialist playing Pope.
So no bishops or cardinals have been showing reverence to the Koran, but if they were, that would be a sign of a grave problem. (If left to stand unchecked by the Holy See.)
Is that your position?
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