Archbishop to UN: Environmentalism and Humanism not at odds

Archbishop Migliore today spoke to the UN according to the Catholic News Agency, here's the meat and potatoes:

Between the human being and the environment there is "an inseparable alliance, in which the environment essentially conditions man’s life and development, while the human being perfects and ennobles the environment by his or her creative activity," he stressed.
He highlighted the need to balance economic growth with the grave responsibility of protecting the environment: "While the duty to protect the environment should not be considered in opposition to development, it must not be sacrificed on the altar of economic development. My delegation believes that, at its core, the environmental crisis is a moral challenge."

Emphasis added. Although this is not the irrefutable evidence that many of the enviro-skeptics demand of the current global situation, it is an assertion by the Vatican that there is a compelling issue at hand that is tied to our actions on and within the environment. The Archbishop is right we're obliged to find a balance between the needs to preserve, conserve and protect the environment while fostering economic development and in my humble opinion that means rethinking the complete free hand given to capitalist and alleged free traders, though nothing is intrinsically wrong with either philosophies un-restrained they've proven to generate great wealth at the expense of much more than just environment. After all "When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist." -- Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife. Applied to todays situation with the both the Planet and her people and it's still true.

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