Hmmmm....now that you mention it, that reminds me of somebody....
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.
I would expect nothing less from a man whose home country routinely has scheduled brown outs. These outages disrupt the food supply causing higher mortality rates among chickens. But I am sure the Pope has been brainwashed to believe that blackouts are required for the common good.
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.
120 Degrees and out running AF Obstacles Courses.
No Black Flag for the 322!
If we all lived like poverty stricken South Americans dependent on the Church, the Pope would be thrilled. What an opportunity for him to flaunt his great humility among the broken....
Abject poverty allows elites to show how ‘giving’ they are... it highlights their superiority and great humility.... A twofer at the expense of the downtrodden... In Arab countries beggars are included in fancy dessert vacations... where their misery provides entertainment for guests. The beggar who does the best ‘job’ of demeaning himself wins money from his Arab elites.
What the Pope wants is a tamer version of the above humiliation.
If instead of abject poverty, citizens are self supporting they don't need the phony baloney ‘charity’ of their betters.
Is the Pope a sicko?
I have Hyperhidrosis....I’ll use all the damn A/C I want...
BTW...if the pope were really interested in reducing the use of A/C, he would be pushing food irradiation.
No, just science challenged.
The leftist elite live in carbon fueled luxury while the rest of us revert to the 19th century.
Spit.
He is the reincarnation of Judas Iscarot and Cain and those who wanted to have carnal knowledge of angels in Sodom. He is vile, the worst man to have ever lived.
But isn't controlling the microclimate a microaggression?
Pope Francis...no offense to Catholics...has jumped the shark on this and many other issues.
That is what happens when someone from a third-world country gets authority over others. They can’t handle it.
I”ll probably get blasted for this, but so be it. He wants us all to be miserable just like the liberals in America do.
That gave me a headache. I need my AC to be turned down!
I think you’re right, Laz.
Pope francis is pretty much a socialist new world order type.
Indeed, the development of mechanical refrigeration made it possible to transport and store food on a far wider scale than possible in the past. And makes food more nutritious, since you don’t need so many unhealthful preservatives—especially the overuse of salt.
He said he was going to step down.
We’re waiting...
Yep!
Amen to that!
Petrus Romanus.
“HA! Come to Houston and say that. “
Yeah, no kidding! I’ve been in Houston when you needed “rain tires” on your car to cope with the wet streets, that were visibly wet from the condensate dripping from all the vehicle’s air conditioners. And then there’s the “ beer bottle” problem with your glasses when you leave an air conditioned building there. But then, it’s the “Guf Coast” as the locals say.
Well, if the Pope has his way that will be a thing of the past :-)
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