Next week Pope Francis is hosting a conference at the Vatican that will directly address the threats faced by humanity from a hotter planet. Devastating extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts are becoming increasingly more intense and will cause much hardship going forward. The major food producing regions of the world are now under growing pressure from water shortages, increases in pest outbreaks and other symptoms of a hotter world.

Science diagnoses the state of our environment

The oceans are acidifying and forests are dying. Whereas it used to be humans cutting down forests, now the dying off of forests is becoming a self-reinforcing feedback loop. The oceans and forests that used to digest the atmospheric carbon (carbon “sinks”) and produce the oxygen we breathe, are now reversing and themselves becoming sources of carbon. Without carbon sinks, life for humans will become very difficult and eventually impossible. Continue reading Viewpoint: Can Pope Francis mobilize a community of over a billion Catholics to take action on climate change? →