Original Sin, Prophets, Witches, Communists, Preschool Sex Abuse, and Climate Change

Wallace Manheimer

Many theologians, including Pope Francis, assert that the increase of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, caused by burning fossil fuel, endangers the planet, and urge us to stop.  This article notes that fossil fuel has helped civilization advance worldwide, has alleviated abject poverty for billions, and that there is no substitute for it at this time.  Thus there is a strong moral component on this side of the issue as well, a moral component which many theologians, politicians, commentators, and scientists, neglect.  The bulk of this paper concerns assertions of damage from climate change, and then checks them out against available measurements in a way, which anyone can do.  While increasing CO2 in the atmosphere may be a concern, it is hardly a planetary emergency.  It is very likely treated as such by some, because of a new set of modern day ‘prophets’ who claim that they have access to knowledge that ordinary people cannot have.  It compares climate ‘prophets’ to other such ‘prophets’ in American history.