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ROME - In his continual effort to quell worldwide conflicts, Pope Francis Thursday chastised world leaders for lacking the will to make change, and also insisted true peace implies an “ecological conversion” or it won’t work. In an annual message for the World Day of Peace, which is celebrated on Jan. 1, the pope implied that violence toward humanity and violence toward the planet go hand in hand. “If a mistaken understanding of our own principles has at times led us to justify mistreating nature, to exercise tyranny over creation, to engage in war, injustice and acts of violence, we...

Does anybody have that link? It was a really good video.

Failure to tackle global warming could result in economic disaster, the United Nations Secretary-General warned Thursday in Madrid, as negotiators at the U.N. climate talks remained deadlocked over key issues. António Guterres said unrestrained climate change would allow only the “survival of the richest,” while former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the “absence of leadership” from Washington was a big obstacle in the talks. “It’s very difficult to get this done if the United States of America isn’t there,” the veteran diplomat told The Associated Press during an interview in the Spanish capital, adding that he felt negotiators...

I consider myself a minimalist. Too much stuff gives me all kinds of stress, from ecological to financial. I’m a big believer in experiential gifts and spending time (together), not wads of money. But I’m buying my kids presents this year. They're tangible, need to be unwrapped and aren't just experiences or vouchers. And I’m feeling good about it. It’s not out of guilt or peer pressure, or any of those other powerful emotions. There is a method to my consumerism. First of all, when I say I’m buying my kids presents, I don’t mean a pile of plastic, electronics...

I use a lot of dangerous drugs. Well, not me personally, but on my patients. Of course, I use dangerous drugs only when the disease I’m treating is more dangerous than the drug. In diseases that are not life-threatening, naturally I avoid dangerous drugs and try to stick with safer therapies. Chemotherapy drugs can save your life, but they can also have significant side effects. Side effects that you would not tolerate if you were treating a sinus infection. But if you have cancer, and you’re trying to avoid dying, it may make sense to take a chance on side...

Reindeer in the Swedish arctic are facing food supply shortages and going hungry, thanks to climate change. “If we don’t find better areas for them where they can graze and find food, then the reindeers will starve to death,” Niila Inga said. His indigenous community herds about 8,000 reindeer year-round, moving them between traditional grazing grounds in the high mountains bordering Norway in the summer and the forests farther east in the winter, The Associated Press reported. The reindeer already have been pressured by the mining and forestry industry, and other developments that encroach on grazing land. Now, their food...

Brazil will push to expand oil drilling in its massive “pre-salt” oil and gas area off its coast in spite of growing global concerns about climate change, the country’s energy minister told Reuters on Monday.

The 2019 Miss Universe competition has completed, and one aspect of the show that caught the attention of many was the reaction of host Steve Harvey after reading a question for a contestant about climate change. Somebody get that video to Al Gore ASAP! SNIP

[Barf Alert} Pope Francis urges United Nations to save the poor from climate change December 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has sent a message to the participants of the latest United Nations climate conference, which opened in Madrid last Monday, asking whether “there is the political will to allocate with honesty, responsibility and courage, more human, financial and technological resources to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, as well as to help the poorest and most vulnerable populations who suffer from them the most.” In a purely “horizontal” context, in which he spoke neither of God and...

Fido and Sylvester could be in big trouble, according to Emma Thompson. The actress issued a strong warning on Thursday of an impending "climate crisis" so dire that people will have no choice but to eat their own pets. The actress, 60, attended an Extinction Rebellion protest outside of the BBC Broadcasting House in London on Thursday, where she claimed there is "extreme weather" ahead. **SNIP** "Better wrap up warm, stockpile food and remember there is a surprising amount of protein in the average household pet."

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VATICAN CITY - Despite growing recognition of climate change as a legitimate and looming threat, current commitments to mitigate its effects and alter human behavior fall short of those needed to resolve the crisis in time, Pope Francis said. “We must admit that this awareness is still rather weak, unable to respond adequately to that strong sense of urgency for rapid action called for by the scientific data at our disposal,” the pope said in a message to the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP25. The conference was being held in Madrid Dec. 2-13, and the Vatican released a copy of...

– U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the world’s efforts to stop climate change have been “utterly inadequate" so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the “point of no return.” Speaking before the start Monday of a two-week in Madrid, the U.N. chief said the impact of rising temperatures — including more extreme weather — is already being felt around the world, with dramatic consequences for humans and other species. **SNIP** “The point of no return is no longer over the horizon,” Guterres told reporters in the Spanish capital. “It is in sight and hurtling...

Last month the country’s leadership produced its first report on the issue in 23 years as the trade war with the US and other issues prompted a fresh look at how it can continue to feed its population

Former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry (D-Mass.) is launching a new bipartisan coalition of world leaders and celebrities to push for an active strategy against climate change on Sunday. Dubbed "World War Zero," the activist group's goal is to unite "unlikely allies with one common mission: making the world respond to the climate crisis the same way we mobilized to win World War II," according to its website. Headlining the group are former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Kasich, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sting and Ashton Kutcher, the New York Times reports. In...

Even the biting chill of Berlin’s already wintry fall weather wasn’t enough to hold protesters back on Friday as they took to the streets in their thousands to demand more action against climate change. One group of students even plunged into the icy waters of the Spree River, holding up a white box in a symbolic attempt to rescue the government’s climate-change package. The latest global climate strike comes just three days ahead of the COP25 Climate Change Conference in Madrid. People were set to march in 2,400 cities across 157 countries. […] Across town on Friday, the Bundesrat —...

**SNIP** Tien, 27, has been on hunger strike for 11 days. He and hundreds of others of Extinction Rebellion climate activists worldwide began fasting on November 17. Most people have stopped, but Tien is still not eating. “I desperately want to eat, but I would rather have a future,” he wrote in the Guardian. So far, he’s lost 12 pounds. Last week, Tien and other U.S. Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers occupied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s outer office on the Capitol, demanding a meeting about Congress’ plans for environmental action. She barely acknowledged them—granted, she was likely consumed by last week’s...

The average temperature in Germany rose 1.5 degrees Celsius between the years 1881 and 2018, with a 0.3 degree rise just in the last five years, a new climate change report revealed on Tuesday. “The observations of the German Weather Service are unambiguous. It is rapidly getting warmer, more heat waves are threatening our health and everyone must expect damage from heavier rainfall. Germany is in the grip of climate change,” said Tobias Fuchs, head of the Climate and Environmental Consulting Department of the German Weather Service (DWD). Fuchs was speaking at the presentation of the “Monitoring Report on Climate...

Denmark announced Monday a plan to speed up its battle against greenhouse gases, targeting nitrogen emissions due to farming, in a decision criticised by the agricultural industry. New rules targeting nitrogen aim “to guarantee a reduction of 3,500 tonnes in 2020,” a year earlier than promised by the previous government, the environment and food ministry said in a statement. The measure is part of wider government plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030. Denmark estimates that between 48,000 and 54,000 tonnes of nitrogen are emitted as a result of agriculture each year. The national farmers’ federation...

A group of Democratic senators, half of whom currently running for president, are supporting a new bill that would direct the Federal Reserve to formally factor climate-change risks into its oversight of large financial firms. Sen. Brian Schatz, (D., Hawaii) announced on Wednesday that he was joining with nine other Democrat senators on the legislation—including presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Michael Bennet (D., Colo.), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Kamala Harris (D., -Calif.). Rep. Sean Casten (D., Ill.) has introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. The bill, if passed, directs the...