The Pope's encyclical on climate change is an eye opener. It was written with the aid of the scientific community including several nobel laureates. If you have any interest whatsoever in the climate change debate I encourage you to give it a read. I found it compelling based solely upon its scientific credibility. In fact it caused me to overcome much of my distaste for the church that stemmed from its historical suppression of Galileo and others like him.
The english version of the encyclical can be found at http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/ ... to-si.html. His actual comments on the topic begin at paragraph 17. The preceding paragraphs lead up to his discussion of the topic.
I have copied paragraph 18 below. It gives you a sense of whats to come. For those of you are are still skeptical that humans are significantly contributing to a climate change that is liable to have a substantial negative impact on humanities ability to survive on this planet, your open minded read of his encyclical might change your mind. For those who are still undecided on the matter or who already recognize that it is an issue of concern I think you may find this to be the most succinct and compelling dialog on the topic that you can find anywhere.
Dan
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18. The continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work which might be called “rapidification”. Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution. Moreover, the goals of this rapid and constant change are not necessarily geared to the common good or to integral and sustainable human development. Change is something desirable, yet it becomes a source of anxiety when it causes harm to the world and to the quality of life of much of humanity.
The Pope's encyclical on climate change - An outstanding read regardless of your religious persuasion
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