As you reflect on the blessings God has given you this Thanksgiving, I’d like to invite you to thank Him for something many of us take for granted: the free-market economy. Most of the world has never had it, and in countries like ours, it is under siege. From the early twentieth century to about a generation ago, the great threat to it was Communism. That brutal experiment, however, clearly failed. But that didn’t leave our liberties secure. The newer threat is the environmental … [Read more...]
Man, Woman, the Mystery of Christ—and Environmental Stewardship
What do marriage, childbearing and childrearing, economic development, and environmental stewardship have to do with each other? More than you might imagine! Consider those topics in reverse order. First, environmental stewardship is each person’s responsibility to use and sustain the earth. Note those two words together: use and sustain. Many environmentalists tend to consider only the latter, and they have a skewed perception of what it means: keeping the earth pretty much in its natural … [Read more...]
A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger
Click here to read the full paper (PDF). Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies Epigram The greatest threat to the alleviation of the structural poverty of the Third World is the continuing campaign by western governments, egged on by some climate scientists and green activists, to curb greenhouse emissions, primarily the CO2 from burning fossil fuels. … [I]t is mankind’s use of the mineral energy stored in nature’s gift of fossil fuels … accompanying the … [Read more...]
Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies
As governments consider far-reaching, costly policies to mitigate human contribution to global warming, Christian leaders need to become well informed of the scientific, economic, and ethical debates surrounding the issue. Consistent with the findings of A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger, we believe: As the product of infinitely wise design, omnipotent creation, and faithful sustaining (Genesis 1:1–31; … [Read more...]
Notable Signers of “Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies”
Read "Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies" Endorsements While our signatures express our endorsement only of the declaration “Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies” and do not imply agreement with every point in A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger, we believe that document provides ample justification for it. We call on scholars, experts, … [Read more...]
Original Signers of Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies
Original Endorsements, by Category While our signatures express our endorsement only of the declaration “Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies” and do not imply agreement with every point in A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger, we believe that document provides ample justification for the declaration. We call on scholars, experts, leaders, and citizens to join us in signing … [Read more...]
End Federal Ethanol Policy’s Harm to the Poor and the Environment
To borrow a phrase from another debate (where it is misused), the science is settled. So is the economics. As Peter Suderman points out, the federal Environmental Protection Agency proposes reducing from 18.5 billion to 15.2 billion gallons the amount of renewable fuel (essentially, ethanol, almost all from corn) it requires refiners to mix into total U.S. gasoline production each year. Well, the longest journey begins with a single step. But this journey could be completed in one fell … [Read more...]
Does Caring for “the Least of These” Demand Fighting Global Warming?
Recently, my fellow evangelical scientists and academics sent a letter to the United States Congress urging immediate legislation on climate change. In an effort to care for the planet—God’s second greatest gift to humanity—they argue that our uncontrolled use of fossil fuels will disproportionately affect the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed. I applaud their concern for the environment and for those in defense of whom Jesus commanded us to be especially diligent. But their call to … [Read more...]
Does Caring for “the Least of These” Demand Fighting Global Warming?
Recently, my fellow evangelical scientists and academics sent a letter to the United States Congress urging immediate legislation on climate change. In an effort to care for the planet—God’s second greatest gift to humanity—they argue that our uncontrolled use of fossil fuels will disproportionately affect the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed. I applaud their concern for the environment and for those in defense of whom Jesus commanded us to be especially diligent. But their call to reduce … [Read more...]
Is Fighting Global Warming the Solution to Water Shortages in Malawi (or Elsewhere)?
In late May two evangelical environmentalists, recently returned from visiting Malawi, published articles in which they said poor Malawians are suffering from reduced rainfall caused by manmade global warming. Jonathan Merritt wrote for Religion News Service, “In America, climate change is a matter of debate, but in places like Malawi, it’s a matter of life and death.” Judd Birdsall wrote for Huffington Post, “In Fombe village, Malawi, climate change is not a matter of political or scientific … [Read more...]
