INTRODUCTION.

The article presents information related to the Human life cycle and the views of the Catholics, on this topic. In Belarus, where the majority of the contamination from the Chemobyl nuclear reactor accident resides, the United Nations estimates that human life expectancy has declined about a dozen years for men and nearly a decade for women. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in their statement, Global Climate Change: a plea for dialogue prudence and the common good, identify the "common good" as a crucial element in environmental policy debates. The physiological aspects of temperature regulation and heat illness, especially in the elderly who are least equipped to maintain a stable body temperature in the face of stress, are well understood. The ethical norm that--those least able to protect themselves, like the elderly, demand the most protection--is also well understood. In their common declaration of 2002, Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I provide a message of both hope and urgency. Among other things, they invite "all men and women of good will to ponder the importance of a number of ethical goals." These goals include the "use of science and technology in a fall and constructive way, while recognizing that the findings of science have always to be evaluated in the light of the centrality of the human person," being "humble regarding the idea of ownership and... open to the demands of solidarity."