The Pope minced no words in his 192-page papal encyclical "Blessed Be," acknowledging man-made pollution as the source of climate change, criticizing those that deny science on the issue, and making several recommendations.
As leader of the largest church in the world, the Pope has great influence, but in countries like the U.S. where the Catholic church--along with many other institutions in the country--is highly polarized, environmentalism often falls squarely on one side of the rift.
But how clearly can we predict the impact of climate change? And how do we know what policies will lead to solutions? There have been doomsday scenarios for man kind since the 1960s, most notably the "population bomb," that would have led to widespread starvation in the 1980s. That didn't come true, so what can we take from that, and how accurate is the Pope to say we can't science our way out of this problem?
Guest:
- Patrick N. Allitt, professor of American History at Emory University. Author of the book "A Climate of Crisis: America in the Age of Environmentalism"
Prof. Allit will be giving the lecture "Pope Francis's: Environmental Encyclical: The View From America" at St. Mary's University Center tonight at 7pm as part of the "Lin Great Speaker Series"
