US Opinion and Commentary

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Obama’s Clean Energy Plan Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Posted August 4th, 2015 at 1:07 pm (UTC-4)
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The courts already have ruled that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be regulated by the EPA, and to win global cooperation in the climate battle, the United States must go into the Paris climate talks in October prepared to help lead the way. In this fight for survival, timid measures will not work.

Obama Takes a Crucial Step on Climate Change

Posted August 4th, 2015 at 1:11 am (UTC-4)
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President Obama’s Clean Power Plan has rightly been hailed as the most important action any president has taken to address the climate crisis.

Climate Change Plan Invites Praise, Criticism

Posted August 3rd, 2015 at 12:34 pm (UTC-4)
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The Obama administration has unveiled its Clean Power Plan, a set of mandates that will require states to sharply reduce their carbon emissions by 2022. Not surprisingly, there is strong opposition, most especially politicians and businesses from coal-producing states. But environmentalists are praising the “bold” new rules, which are expected to spark a series of lawsuits.

Pope Francis Recycles

Posted June 22nd, 2015 at 10:38 am (UTC-4)
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Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ is, in parts, passionately and beautifully written. And it really is about recycling — of old, tired, and discredited ideas.

Does Catholicism Need a Theology of Politics?

Posted June 18th, 2015 at 5:23 pm (UTC-4)
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It is frustrating to conservative Catholics under a liberal pope for the hierarchy to take sides in domestic partisan politics.

Is the Vatican the Right Place to Preach About Climate Change? Pope Francis Thinks So.

Posted June 18th, 2015 at 1:17 pm (UTC-4)
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Environmentalists hope the message from Francis’ encyclical will spur nations to act ahead of the UN climate conference later this year. But church observers say Francis’ message is really about the poor and society’s most vulnerable, who, he writes, suffer the most when the earth’s natural resources are abused.

What Pope Francis Should Do to Really Help the Poor

Posted June 16th, 2015 at 1:42 pm (UTC-4)
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Pope Francis’s concern for the poor is clear, so it is understandable that climate change is the topic of his forthcoming Encyclical — a Papal letter that is sent out to the world. Climate change will hit the most destitute people first and worst.