Over the last few days I've heard radio ads for the Evangelical Climate Initiative, an effort to address climate change (global warming). The impetus for Evangelical leaders is a call for stewardship of the world God created; as well as to protect the least among us, who are hardest hit by more powerful hurricanes, flooding, and rising sea-levels.
The ECI has become convinced that human-induced climate change is real, that it's consequences will disproportionately affect the poor, that Christian morals compel action to address the problem, and that there's a need for immediate action at all levels, from individuals to churches to business and government.
I've got a green streak myself, borne of a love of the outdoors, fishing, hiking, camping and swimming. That streak led me to switch majors from Business to Environmental Policy in college. It's kept me recycling, buying less-cool but more efficient cars, and using phosphate-free laundry detergent...all in an effort to minimize my impact on the Creation I so love.
My hope for this and any effort to shoulder our stewardship responsibility is that we keep these things in mind:
- The goal is stewardship that cares for the earth as a whole. Aim for solutions with global net gains.
- Global climate change involves changes to one complex, interconnected, ecological system (pollution
doesn't recognize political boundaries). - Imposing standards unevenly may shift relatively little pollution from an efficient country, to a less efficient country - with an overall negative impact on the global ecosystem. [e.g. imposing higher CAFE standards on cars built in the U.S. to levels creating a competitive disadvantage could force manufacturers to move to China or India where pollution standards (including Kyoto Protocol) are lower, resulting in a NET INCREASE in environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.]
- In remembering our duty to protect and care for the least among us, comprehensive trade agreements
with universal standards to protect both the environment, and workers are called for. If we raise standards only for some countries, market forces will shift jobs and pollution to more lax nations - helping no one. The least in India and China deserve as much care as the least in Southern Mississipi.
For more information on this, visit http://www.christiansandclimate.org/. As always, comments are invited.
2 comments:
Squawpeak obviously has no ulterior motive, no political fish to fry, no reward in mind except a more beautiful world for all.
His clear message is that if we
are to inherit the earth, we might be more meek -- heard that before? -- and, being mindful of whose earth it is, more grateful.
The quality of Evangelical Climate-Change Initiative that distinguishes it from the Greenpeace variety of writing is its refreshing lack of venom. Fire-breathing dragons who claim to want to save the world through peace and love continually
spew hostility and hate.
Their mission always agrees with those of the Eradicate-America people-haters and the Hollywood hypocrites, who might turn off their fountains, bicycle to the market, and dry their hair and their clothes in the sun (as Barbra advises, reportedly having hung her household staff out to dry, for starters) before preaching conservation.
It's their unremitting hatred that motivates these people. Look at any comments by Harry Reid: hatred in his words, in his eyes. Same with Teddy Kennedy, Jay Rockefeller, and dizzy Dr. Dean. Hillary makes the list, but she's taking charm lessons to fool us. Caveat emptor.
The Amerikan press force-feeds us this garbage until it has a familiar ring. The Amerikan press can be stopped, by all of us. When you are bothered on the phone with a swell deal like six months of the NY Times at half price, take the time to say why you're not interested in the paper or the products it advertises.
And refuse to buy those products. Sooner or later, the Timeswill print the truth, or will become known as the second-rate publication it is fast becoming.
thanks for your comment on my "emergent church" post. i agree with your remark about the "less appealing" narrow road. sometimes it seems like christians act all surprised when the world reacts with distaste or outright enmity to them, but i don't know why--didn't Christ say that's what would happen? didn't the world do the same to him?
that's why i have reservations about churches whose goal seems to be to not make anyone uncomfortable. Christ made people uncomfortable all the time--and consistently culled the ranks of his own followers by saying hard things that some of them couldn't accept.
anyway, i digress (and is anyone surprised? of course not!). but thank you for participating in the discussion!
Post a Comment