Hold the ice

A research vessel carrying scientists and tourists has been trapped for some time in the Antarctic ice while attempting to recreate Australian explorer Douglas Mawson’s 1911-13 voyage to Antarctica.  Various icebreakers attempted to reach the ship unsuccessfully and finally helicopters were used to remove all but the ship’s crew to another vessel in open water.  This rescue operation prompted one radio talk show host to comment on the apparent irony that climatologists studying the receding polar ice caps should find themselves stranded in this position.

And so the back and forth on the subject of climate change goes.  Unfortunately although anecdotal stories such as this provide interesting, if not entertaining fodder to the discussion it does little to reduce the acrimony of the debate.  And what exactly is the focal point of the issue?  Or is it just that the focal point seems to shift, depending upon who is pressing the argument.  It seems to me that it is imperative to any honest and critical analysis of the subject that the points of principal interest be clearly defined and understood.

A reasonable framework to apply for this purpose may be found within our own Catholic social teaching.  Scripture imparts to us that God loves and cares for all of creation [Matthew 6: 2-34] and that mankind is the steward of this creation [Genesis 2: 15].  Pope Benedict, in his 2009 Encyclical Caritas in Veritate at No 48, teaches that, Nature is at our disposal not as “a heap of scattered refuse”, but as a gift of the Creator who has given it an inbuilt order, enabling man to draw from it the principles needed in order “to till it and keep it”, but that nature should never be viewed as something more important than the human person.  It is within this balance that we should consider our course.

Does “smarty-pants” man have a complete understanding of the inbuilt order of creation?  A little humility is in order here and we can answer honestly that our grasp of the universe is incomplete.  Does Catholic social teaching suggest that there is an obligation that man should seek a better understanding of this inbuilt order of creation so that he may be a better steward of it?  Yes, I believe that it does.  Ongoing study of our world, including its climate, is therefore a good use of our resources.  Further, an effort to increase our understanding of the effects we humans make on the world by our activities is likewise a duty we should foster.

Whether or not we have adequate knowledge to be legislating certain climate change policies is probably fair game for discussion.  We can be sure that we will never have a complete grasp on the complexities of God’s creation.  But as we advance in our understanding of it we are called to be prudent and care-filled stewards that we may generously share all that the world yields with this and all future generations.  Let that be our charge.