Pope Francis to focus his attention, in 2015, to climate change

#PopeFrancis #ClimateChange #CatholicBishops Pope Francis has shown that he is made of a different material and he is unhappy that no one is taking climate change seriously. People call him the “superman pope”, and President Obama has cited him as a key player in the thawing of relations with Cuba. Pope Francis has also lectured his cardinals on the need to clean up Vatican politics. And, his focus is now on climate change.
Among his plans for 2015 are to issue a lengthy message on the subject to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, give an address to the UN general assembly and also call a summit of the world’s main religions. His basic intention is to influence the 2015 crucial climate meeting in Paris. On that occasion, the countries will try to conclude 20 years of fraught negotiations with a universal commitment to reduce emissions.
In March last Pope Francis had visited Tacloban – this was the city in the Philippine that had been devastated in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan. The pope would be publishing a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology. He would also urge all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds. He plans to send the document to the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will be expected to distribute it to parishioners.
He has very rightly remarked that the monopolizing of lands, deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. In this connection he has added that climate change, the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms that are being witnessed.
The efforts of Pope Francis would possibly meet with resistance from certain groups but, for preservation of the world and for the sake of environmental protection, his stand should be appreciated.

Philippines prepares to face Typhoon Hagupit or Ruby in the Philippines

Philippines is bracing itself to face the wrath of Typhoon Hagupit, or Ruby in the Philippines – it is expected to strike with wind gusts of 250km/h (155mph) and is due to hit land on Saturday evening. It is reported to be on course for the Eastern and Northern Samar provinces and the city of Tacloban. This is the city where thousands had lost their lives last year in Typhoon Haiyan.
The people have sought shelter and many of the locals are still living in temporary shelters – they are moving away from coastal areas.
Haiyan - known as Yolanda in the Philippines – had struck in November 2013 and was believed to have been the most powerful typhoon ever recorded over land. It tore through the central Philippines and left over 7,000 dead or missing. Hagupit is not likely to be as powerful as Haiyan but could bring storm surges up to one-storey high, apart from heavy rain and the risk of landslides.
In Tacloban, people have taken shelter in the sports stadium. Reports indicate that nearly 19,000 people from coastal villages are in 26 evacuation centers. The disaster office spokesman feels the figure could increase twofold as the authorities force people to evacuate from danger zones.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the US Navy had classified Hagupit as a super typhoon but has subsequently downgraded it. It still remains the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year. Of course, the meteorologists feel that it could veer away in a northerly direction towards Japan and miss the Philippines altogether.