Thomas at American Papist separates fact from media hype on the Pope’s ecological references in today’s homily, with this fantastic pickup from Reuter’s (but of course!):

Pope Benedict, leading the Catholic Church’s first ‘eco-friendly’ youth rally, on Sunday told up to half a million people that world leaders must make courageous decisions to save the planet “before it is too late.”
“A decisive ‘yes’ is needed in decisions to safeguard creation as well as a strong commitment to reverse tendencies that risk leading to irreversible situations of degradation,” the 80-year old Pope said in his homily.
Intentionally wearing green vestments, he spoke to a vast crowd of mostly young people sprawled over a massive hillside near the Adriatic city of Loreto on the day Italy’s Catholic Church marks it annual Save Creation Day.

Um, yeah. I’m hoping the Reuters reporter means “Intentionally wearing green vestments because that’s the liturgical color for Ordinary Time,” but I’m thinking, given the context into which the reference is woven…maybe not.
(And before the lectures start, no I’m not dismissing the Pope’s ecological references – at all – it’s just “What Tiny Bit of the Pope’s Words Did the Media Choose to Highlight” is a favorite pasttime around here. And…intentionally green vestments? Eco-pope!)

Above: Pope Benedict XVI,  intentionally wearing green vestments, attempts to boost his ecologically-friendly image by intentionally waving a branch at the 300,000 youth gathered in Loreto.