Kudos to Pope Francis for his environmental encyclical on Thursday, which called for “swift action on climate change,” as the New York Times put it.

Reports the Times: “Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, blending a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action. The vision that Francis outlined in a 184-page papal encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He describes relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment and says apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness are to blame.”

And a little later on in the report, the Times offers this bit of hope: “Religious figures, environmentalists, scientists, executives and elected officials around the world awaited the official release, and scheduled news conferences or issued statements afterward. News media interest was enormous, in part because of Francis’ global popularity, but also because of the intriguing coalition he is proposing between faith and science.”

I suspect, though, that the pope’s encyclical is mostly blowing in the wind today, because honestly, does anybody actually believe rich industrialists will suddenly change their ways because the pope pointed out the obvious — things that environmentalists, hippie types and other concerned citizens have long been shouting about (e.g. see Greenpeace). Does anybody think the commoners in developed countries will stop using the products supplied to us by those rich industrialists.

Sorry, the pope may believe he represents a supernatural being called God, but the true god of this planet is Money.

Still, we should all be comforted by the thought that although climate change might destroy the human race, the planet will cleanse itself after we’re gone, and whatever meek creatures remain will inherit the earth . . .

— Jillian

P.S. I’ve tried an interesting new look for my new blog. Please check it out and leave a comment there to the post I’ve done so I can see how the comments work there. The design is not final, but I do like the magazine look. The background picture might be changed, too. The blog’s menu is opened by clicking on the thingy in the right-hand top corner.