clair031

[Updated May 7, 2015] Encyclicals.   Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, will soon issue a papal encyclical on global warming.   An encyclical is a document transmitted through the church hierarchy to its 5,000 bishops, and from them to all 400,000 parish priests.   In this way its contents are presented to the parishioners of every Catholic church throughout the world, about 1.2 billion people.   Encyclicals, wrote Pope Pius XII in Humani generis , can resolve discussion or controversy on a particular topic.   He declared        “…if the Supreme Pontiffs in their acts, after due consideration, express an opinion on a hitherto controversial matter, it is clear to all that this matter… cannot any longer be considered a question of free discussion among theologians.”   This statement indicates that an encyclical can resolve a controversy of doctrine by establishing the Church’s position from that time forward. Clim...

Here we are… back with another one the series of interviews with bright PR professionals from around the world for this blog,  “global public relations” , in-cooperation with the  World Communication Forum   –  #WCFDavos . This time we had the chance to talk to a very inspiring, energetic and experienced senior PR professional from Bulgaria. I have the honour to introduce Maxim Behar. Sofia, Bulgaria Maxim Behar is a Bulgarian businessman, CEO and Chairman of the Board of  M3 Communications Group, Inc.  –  a leading Public Relations and Public Affairs company. He is one of the most well-known and influential persons in the PR business in Bulgaria and Europe. One of the founders of the World Communication Forum in Davos and person dedicated 24/7 to our profession. He is also lecturing in many countries, forums and universities all over the world on Social Media and Modern Communications’ topics.  Maxim Behar M3 Communications Group, ...

Global warming has been proceeding for more than a century as the result of humanity's use of fossil fuels to provide the energy that powers our economy. The excessive, rapid warming we are currently experiencing produces harms and damages from extremes in weather and climate. These include heavy rainfall and flooding, heat waves and drought, rising sea levels, and secondary health problems. Global climate models that successfully reproduce past climate patterns are used to project future behavior of Earth's climate. They show that without significant measures taken to abate further emissions of greenhouse gases warming will continue and indeed will even accelerate, bringing more intense and more extensive extreme events that have the potential to disrupt humanity's socioeconomic well-being. In 1624 John Donne wrote a poetic meditation, “ No Man Is An Island ” : “ No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; … .........

  In both industrialized countries and developing countries there may be those who ask “ why should we care about global warming ?”   After all, many people may not feel that they are affected by warming, and may pay scant attention to reports showing the effects of extreme weather and climate events.   Also, political leaders, especially in developing countries, may place higher priorities on economic development than on greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming has proceeded ever more rapidly over the last century.   Warming occurs by virtue of the greenhouse effect due mostly to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-active gases added to the atmosphere by human activity.   Many recent accounts have catalogued the progressive warming and the resulting harms caused by extreme weather and climate events.   Here we focus on new reports from the technical literature on severe droughts in various parts of the globe and on the harmful effects that they produce....