NEW YORK>> Pope Francis declared Friday that the environment itself has rights and that mankind has no authority to abuse them, telling world leaders at the United Nations that they must take urgent action to halt the Earth's destruction from the "selfish and boundless thirst" for money. Hoping to spur concrete commitments at upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris, Francis took the stage in front of more than 100 global dignitaries to accuse the world's wealthy countries of ravaging the planet and impoverishing the weak and disadvantaged in the process.