News Analysis

OUR SUNDAY VISITOR l APRIL 23, 2006

3

 WORLD

“From heat waves to stormsto floods to fires to massive glacialmelts, the global climate seemsto be crashing around us,” Timesaid.

The real-t ime seemingArmageddon is the result of achain reaction of events origi-nating in the excessive generationof carbon monoxide and othergases that damage the protectivelayer of the earth’s atmosphere.The damage lets in harmfulenergy, such as ultraviolet rays,and traps the sun’s heat,causingsurface temperatures to rise,among other side effects.

For years, the immense com-plexity of the problem delayedan accurate assessment of thecause-and-effect relationship,but long-term research com-bined with technological break-throughs has all but confirmedthe stark reality of the situation.

“I haven’t run into anybody that’s skeptical about it,” saidEdward Wassel l , a formerresearcher for NASA and now aprofessor at Thomas AquinasCollege in Santa Paula, Calif.“Mostly the question is what do you do about it. And that’s not ascientific question but a policy question.”

 Taking actionIt is time, researchers and

activists say, for state and federalelected officials to acknowledgethe problem and enact initiativesto reduce greenhouse emissions.Stories in the local and nationalnews media have echoed thesame concerns and conclusions.Although the federal govern-ment has been accused of footdragging and even obstructingprogress to mitigate the problem,much of the private sector hasdecided to pre-emptively beginchanges.

Cross sections of corporateAmerica have recognized that itis good public relations,and evenfiscally beneficial, to confrontthe business challenges presentedby global warming; recognizingthat greenhouse gas limits areinevitable and that they cannotrisk falling behind their interna-tional competitors in developing

climate-friendly technologies.Faith-based groups also have

advocated for action to addressthe problem of global climatechange.In January,a coalition of evangelical Christians formedthe Evangelical Climate Initiative.“Over the last several years many of us have engaged in study,reflection and prayer related tothe issue of climate change,” thegroup said in a statement.“Formost of us until recently this hasnot been treated as a pressing issueor major priority.”

The initiative noted that evensmall increases in global tem-peratures could cause sea levelsto rise,more frequent heat waves,droughts and extreme weatherevents. The poor would bear adisproportionate share of thenegative impact since the areaslikely to be hardest hit are in thepoorest areas of the world,accord-ing to the initiative statement.

Church responseThe Evangelical Climate

Initiative has striking similaritiesto a 2001 statement from the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops,who, apparently, were ahead of the global-warming-acknowl-edgment curve.Nearly five yearsago,the bishops emphasized thesocioeconomic ramifications of climate change. “We especially want to focus on the needs of thepoor,the weak and the vulnera-ble in a debate often dominatedby more powerful interests,”they wrote.

John Carr, director of socialdevelopment and world peace forthe U.S. bishops, is gratified tosee that consensus about theproblem appears to have reachedcritical mass.“I think people arecoming around to the points that

the bishops made and continueto make,”he said.“This is a clas-sic case of where we have to actin pursuit of the common goodinstead of responding to one setof interests or another.”

Should Catholics rush out andbuy gas-electric hybrid vehiclesand begin campaigns to lobby their legislators and corporateexecutives?

Not necessarily,say the experts.“We’re not part of the ‘WhatWould Jesus Drive?’ campaign,”said Carr.

“Catholic teaching is morecomplicated than that. What wedrive and how we live is a chal-lenge for each ofus.Sacrifice andrestraint, as Lent teaches us, arenot only good for creation,they’regood for our souls.”

But Catholics should keep aneye on the big picture as well,saidCarr, who suggests a three-pronged approach. “Watch thedebate. Make the case for pru-dent action with a focus on how it touches the poor. And thenshape our own choices in termsof sacrifice and restraint,”he said.“Because in Washington there area lot of voices at the table, theenvironmentalists, the powercompanies,industry and labor toa certain extent. The poor aren’tat those tables.They’re not buy-ing 60-second TV ads.”

Public denialBut while scientists,corpora-

tions and churches have acceptedthe problem as virtual fact,much

of the public seems to be indenial. The disconnect may berelated to misleading media cov-erage which grants equal time tofringe elements who claim thatthe problem is grossly exagger-ated,or outright reject the over-whelming evidence, accordingto Geoffrey Henebry a Catholicprofessor and senior researchscientist at South Dakota StateUniversity.

“I think the media feels thatit makes a good story to have acouple of dissenting voices, andif they’re presented pretty muchon equal footing … the reader of the article is saying ‘Oh, look,there’s two sides and they’re pretty much divided,’ ” he said.

But Franciscan University pro-fessor and greenhouse-effect

researcher Jim Slater offers a dif-ferent,less forgiving observationon the public’s reluctance to con-front the issue. Slater attributesthe disassociation to self-interest.

“This is something that turnsout to be very difficult to deal withif we decide that the greenhouseeffect is a really important thingand that we ought to take someaction,” he said. “That requiressome real serious efforts to changethe way we consume energy,andmaybe the cars that we drive andhow big a house we live in,” hesaid.“So it’s kind of easier to say ‘Well, it’s not important, thegreenhouse effect isn’t really hap-pening.’ ”

Stephen James writes from

California.

Global warming’s effects seen as a justice issueBecause it will hit the poor hardest, Catholics should watch debate and explore options for prudent action, experts say

Dealing with the effects of greenhouse gas on the environment is not so much a sci-entific question as it is a policy question, said Edward Wassell, a professor atThomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif. Earth Day is April 22. KRT ILLUSTRATION

By Stephen James

Arecent cover story in Time magazine featured the head-

line “Be worried. Be very worried,” and proclaimed

that the debate about global warming is, or should be,over.

 Americans lukewarm about threat

According to Gallup Poll results released earlierthis month, 62 percent of Americans worry a greatdeal or a fair amount about global warming, a fig-ure that hasn’t changed much in the past 17 years.Source: Gallup Poll News Service

Related readingJust in time for Earth Day,

find out how good steward-ship of creation fits in withCatholicism and how toeffect change on both adiocesan and individuallevel. In Focus, Pages11-14