Pirate's Cove

There’s literally nothing that the Cult Of Climastrology won’t involve themselves in

Ambitious Saudi plans to ramp up Hajj could face challenges from climate change

Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to welcome millions more pilgrims to Islam’s holiest sites. But as climate change heats up an already scorching region, the annual Hajj pilgrimage — much of which takes place outdoors in the desert — could prove even more daunting.

The increased number of pilgrims, with the associated surge in international air travel and infrastructure expansion, also raises sustainability concerns, even as the oil giant pursues the goal of getting half its energy from renewable resources by 2030.

Next week, Saudi Arabia hosts the first Hajj pilgrimage without the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. Some 2.5 million people took part in the pilgrimage in 2019, and around 2 million are expected this year.

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s wide-ranging plan to overhaul the kingdom’s economy, known as Vision 2030, 30 million pilgrims would take part in the Hajj and Umrah — a smaller, year-round pilgrimage. That would be an increase of more than 10 million from pre-pandemic levels.

And this is the business of climate cultists why, exactly? They can mind their own damned business and deal with their own carbon footprints.

The Associated Press reached out to several Saudi officials with detailed questions but received no response. It’s unclear what, if any, studies the government has done on the environmental impact of the pilgrimage or whether that figures into its plans. And well-intentioned measures, like a high-speed railway network, aren’t enough to remove polluting traffic in and around the holy city.

Most likely because Saudi officials said “mind your own business, chumps!” Seriously, the AP’s Raizat Butt (hey, that’s what the article says) wrote 27 paragraphs on this cult stuff.

Muslim activists have launched grassroots initiatives aimed at a “green Hajj,” encouraging pilgrims to only make the journey once, to avoid single-use plastics and to offset carbon emissions by planting trees.

The Hajj “can be green and sustainable if there are smart policies and technology to lower the ecological footprint,” said Odeh Jayyousi, a professor at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain who researches sustainability and innovation.

In other words, it’s yet another astroturfed initiative from big moneyed cult members. And they might want to be really, really careful lest they annoy the more Religion Of Peace folks.