The Church and Climate Change

In response to Rick, by no means am I suggesting that the Church start endorsing cap and trade over carbon taxes, or the like.  But surely responding to the human impact on climate is, as Al Gore said in very forceful terms, one of the great moral challenges of our age.  In response to Rick's interlocutor, to suggest that contraception even comes close, or that someone who uses contraception but understands the urgency of the climate debate is even arguably less "green" than, say, a (hypothetical) contraception-shunning climate denier is to simply misunderstand the gravity and immediacy of the challenge we face. (FWIW, Rick's interlocutor also seems to misunderstand contraceptive methods, a significant number of which do not involve ingesting chemicals or pharmaceuticals.)  As for Rick's suggestion of an integrated, and distinctively Catholic, approach that stresses responding to climate change as a part of a holistic culture of life, I'm all for it.  As of now, however, what we primarily get is repeated and heavy doses of the reproductive stuff without much discussion of our duties to the environment.  (By the way, I wish I attended your parish, Rick -- it sounds great.)

A clear Church teaching on climate change, rooted in solidly Catholic teaching on environmental stewardship and intergenerational justice, might be something as simple as a clear and forceful as the following:  (1) anthropogenic climate change is a real phenomenon with potentially catastrophic effects, not a liberal fairy tale; (2) inaction in the face of this problem is not an option, and is, in fact, positively sinful; (3) what to do in response to climate change is a prudential question best determined on the basis of sound science and economics, but (4) whatever solution we collectively adopt must be one that places a priority on protecting those who are already most vulnerable among us.  And, since I have no doubt that a great many Catholics deny one or more of these (just go read the comments over at dotCommonweal whenever I post about climate change), the message should be driven home through public statements again and again and again.

Now, no one has done less (or, if we're talking about needless delay and obfuscation, perhaps no one has done more) on climate change than our own President.  That is, our policy has clearly contradicted element (2) of what I suggested above,and probably (1) as well, although more recent statements have tended to accept the reality of climate change.  And so, perhaps another thing the Vatican could have done is listened to Cardinal Martino when he suggested that the Pope talk to Bush about climate change earlier this year.  I never saw what came of this, but I don't think Martino's advice was followed, or at least not in any public way.