Muslims Join: The Religious Coalition Against Global Warming Just Doubled In Size
There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and today many Muslim religious leaders issued a joint statement from a meeting in Turkey calling on all Muslims but especially on developed countries to lead the switch to renewable fuels and reduce CO2 emissions so that global warming does not cross the 2C threshold. Their argument for doing so was from the Koran and was couched in language and terms that Pope Francis could wholeheartedly agree with: They argued that it is the poor of the world that are being most significantly impacted and thus it is immoral to pursue development for the sake of development, using non-renewable resources at a heedless pace. They also argued that humans were made stewards of the world and have done an abysmal job.
Can a small but respected and influential group of Muslim clerics influence the hearts and minds of 1.6 billion faithful? We’ll find out. This much we do know: the Islamic declaration is very, very similar to the Pope’s encyclical, to the point where the two religions can be said to be allied on this point. Here is a link to an excellent article on the Muslim declaration. It is well worth your time to read it.
Scott Christiansen
Planet in Distress 
Good morning Scott,
I just read a piece that might interest you by Tom Friedman, in today’s NYT, about the Middle East being a world hot spot, literally. The data mentioned are almost beyond imagining. The column reinforces some of your recent comments here, and in your presentation, about the world’s growing temperature extremes, etc..
May our Lord be lifted up, ever more faithfully, as the only answer to the growing sin driven desperation of the world.
God bless, and thanks again for the ongoing updates.
Rus
Rus, there are some indications that a heat dome may be coming to the US southeast, just as monsoonal humidity flows from the REALLY hot Gulf of Mexico make the heat impossible to endure. If that happens (and it may not), then expect to get some prominent coverage of heat domes in the US media. In the mean time, bravo to Friedman for talking about the spiraling temps (and accompanying drought!) in the Middle East.
Scott