Christian economist Doug Bandow, a long-time friend, has published three thoughtful responses to Laudato Si, Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment. One is "In Calling on Government, Laudato Si Underestimates Power of the the Market." It is, as usual, clear and concise. This excerpt is particularly important: ... the Pontiff’s own goals conflict. For instance, he speaks movingly of the dignity of work and its importance for all, including the poor. These jobs—especially better ones, of … [Read more...]
We Pray for Those Working in the Jardim Gramacho Landfill, Brazil
BACKGROUND REPORT by The Rt. Rev. William Mikler The Jardim Gramacho landfill is the largest garbage dump in South America. No longer active, this enormous trash heap is home to 12,000 people who have neither running water nor sewage. Most all live in shacks made of cardboard or tin, and share the dump with wild pigs, vermin, snakes, and buzzards. Many of the inhabitants are children who do not know who their father is. The Life Change Project Rio team that serves in the dump is comprised of … [Read more...]
To Divest or Not to Divest—That is the Question
“To be, or not to be? That is the question.” With those words Hamlet pondered suicide. That’s a question we should ask as we ponder shrill calls on various college campuses for divestment from fossil fuels – as took place this past weekend as part of Global Divestment Day. For with the end of fossil fuel use comes the eventual death of a significant portion of the human race. Yes, I just said that. And it’s true. 1.3 billion people live without electricity across the world, 2.6 billion lack … [Read more...]
Oppressing the Poor In the Name of Fighting Global Warming
"No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change." So said President Barack Obama in his State of the Union message last week. That he spent under 5% of the speech on the subject—about one-ninth as much as on the economy, one-fifth as much as on our need to overcome cynicism, and a little less even than on affordable college education—and tucked it away in a section about two-thirds of the way through suggests that the President doesn't really believe it … [Read more...]
Castrate All Boys at Age Ten to Save the Planet?
A friend posted on Facebook responses she had received when she announced she was pregnant with her second child. “Already?!” “Was this pregnancy an accident?” Reading many of them made me sad. Some chided her for having her children so close together, others for having them when she’s so young. (But she’s in her mid-twenties and happily married). Reading Katie Herzog’s “Why I’ll never have kids, and why you shouldn’t either” later that day made me even sadder. She thinks neither she nor … [Read more...]
Have You Thanked God for the Free Market?
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...]
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