Same Outcomes, Different Values

Two interesting articles in the past two days as the UN continues to hold meetings on Climate Change. The first is about the Pope's first address to the UN slated for April, in which he is expected to address climate change as a moral issue (http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2987811.ece). This after the Vatican become the first carbon-neutral country in the world -- from offsets from funding a Hungarian reforestation site and putting solar panels on St. Peter's Basilica (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6725109.stm).

The second is from the BBC, which reports on a study done by the survey organization Globescan and the University of Maryland on attitudes towards climate change (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7010522.stm). The report notes the global consensus (amongst countries the 21 countries surveyed) that human actions have caused climate change and that a majority of countries believe we need to act immediately to thwart ill effects. I found the following excerpt especially interesting:

Globescan President Doug Miller said growing awareness of global warming had awoken people's self-interest.

"The impacts of erratic weather on their property, on their person, on their country is tangible and real to people across the world."

The contrasts are striking. Miller's comments demonstrates climate change becoming a NIMBY ("Not in my back yard") issue of self-preservation; whereas, the Pope addresses climate change as a moral imperative to protect the "poorest people" and "creation."