http://www.dow.org/documents/10JAN_web.pdf
Suzanne Belongia (If You Want to Cultivate Peace ... January Courier) has it partially right: if you want to cultivate peace, promote human development.
At the core of John Paul and Benedict's environmental vision is the human person. Technology is the currency of human progress. Increased energy usage is both the precursor to and result of robust economic activity directed to benefit man and his environments. Carbon dioxide is a glorious result of human economic production and in turn serves as a feedstock for further plant growth; it is not a pollutant but a vital necessity for all life on Earth. We hinder it at our peril.
Primitive societies such as Haiti, seemingly more "natural" and environmentally friendly, use largely biomass (e.g. wood and dung) to produce minimal carbon dioxide which translates to low economic output, shoddy infrastructure and poor qualities of life. Developed economies consume greater amounts of energy, produce commensurate amounts of carbon dioxide and yet foster healthier natural environments with efficiency and conservation inherent in the free market. The human person greatly benefits from living happier, safer, more productive, less environmentally damaging lives in such advanced surroundings.
If you want to take care of creation, take care of the human person.
Barry P. Bruss
Rochester MN
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