Pope Is Hot Under The Collar Lately. So Is The Climate

Pope Francis annoys climate denial shills.  

Pope Francis came out with his long anticipated encyclical last week, warning of the dangers associated with climate change.

His timing was good, too, at least in one respect. Also last week NOAA  released itslatest monthly report on the world's climate, and it indicates things continue to heat up fast.

Pope Francis and NOAA  caused quite a splash, dominating a news cycle or two.

As expected, a fair number of conservatives say the Pope shouldn't be talking about the climate; he should stick to moral and religious topics.

But the Pope focused his message squarely on the morality of heating the planet. One of my main takeaways on his message was that he was saying God created the Earth, so we ought to respect and maintain His creation.

The Pope's message was squarely in line what he's been saying right along. That the poor ought to be protected (global climate change will adversely affect the poor the most).

But that doesn't matter. The shills for the fossil fuel industry know that what really matters is continued huge profits for these outfits, and they don't need some Pope complaining that their industry is causing some major future dangers for many people in the world.

The NOAA report indicates a continued surge in the pace of global warming. Climate change has, and probably always will go in fits and starts. It'll slow down for a couple years due to natural factors,  then speed up for a few years, slow a bit again, etc.

But the trend is relentlessly upward.

From the climate denial perspective, last week was pretty bad. Pope Francis was spouting off on climate change, and the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information monthly report for May emphasized his point.

The report showed May, 2015 was the hottest such month since accurate records started around 1880. NOAA's update also indicates 2015 is on pace to be the hottest year on record, beating out the previous record set in 2014. Yep, just last year.

The Pope and the NOAA's latest climate report is continuing a trend that is almost as relentless as the changing climate itself: The climate denialists are getting into a more and more tenuous situation as the evidence gradually stacks up against them.

Oh sure, they can point to an odd cold snap, or a slightly counterintuitive scientific report and claim victory. But the march of climate science, and climate change goes on.

I'm not crowing. It would be nice if the denialists were right and the climate wasn't changing dangerously. It would be easier for all of us, including me.

But the denialists are slowly going the way of the cranks and conspiracy theorists that the Earth is flat and the moon landing was staged.

However, policies and ideas to combat climate change are going to be slow to come by as long as very rich people with very strong interests in keeping their money battle efforts on the political front.

You thought the tobacco industry was pretty touch in fighting health claims regarding cancer?  Watch the fossil fuel industry, at least the more mendacious ones, continue a full court propaganda campaign trying to convince us that efforts to fight climate change are just a reason for those awful liberals to take your freedoms away from you.

What about freedom from experiencing the effects of climate change?

No doubt there are good ideas from both liberals and conservatives to fight climate change. I want to hear 'em.

Let's just hope the very loud voices of the Koch brothers and the worst of the fossil fuel industry don't drown them out.