Few issues in recent years have fueled public debate as has global warming. Since first registering a blip on the public radar screen in 1988, when NASA scientist James Hanson argued that its existence was undeniable, the controversial subject has generated countless professional papers, articles, television broadcasts and international conferences. Indeed, the Kyoto Protocol – designed to address global warming by reducing fossil fuel use and thus greenhouse gas emissions – has become a … [Read more...]
Appeal Letter to the National Association of Evangelicals on the Issue of Global Warming
Leading evangelicals ask NAE to refrain from taking a position on climate change issue We have appreciated the bold stance that the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has taken on controversial issues like embracing a culture of life, protecting traditional marriage and family, promoting abstinence as AIDS prevention, and many others. We respectfully request, however, that the NAE not adopt any official position on the issue of global climate change. Global warming is not a consensus … [Read more...]
An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change
An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change Policy (PDF) Executive Summary Few issues have permeated or fueled public debate like the topic of global warming. Since first registering on the public radar screen in 1988 with NASA’s James Hansen’s famous pronouncement of its alleged existence, the controversial subject has generated countless articles, television broadcasts and international conferences. Indeed, the Kyoto Protocol – designed to … [Read more...]
New Religious Coalition Brings Balanced Biblical Perspective to Environmental Issues
Washington, DC – In a marriage of environmental concern and religious faith, the launch of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation* was announced by Ugandan Ambassador Edith Ssempala, along with a distinguished group of Alliance organizers, at a press conference at the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda. The Cornwall Alliance adds a powerful voice to some of the most prominent environmental and developmental issues worldwide. The coalition promotes the principles of the Cornwall … [Read more...]
A Theological Framework for Evaluating Genetically Modified Food
The public debate regarding genetically modified (GM) food has for the most part been driven by practical considerations. For those on the side of GM food, the economic and social benefits far outweigh any possible negative consequences (if there even are any). In this vein, Reason magazine science correspondent Ronald Bailey points out, “With biotech corn, U.S. farmers have saved an estimated $200 million by avoiding extra cultivation and reducing insecticide spraying. U.S. cotton farmers have … [Read more...]
Fruitful Dominion: Time for a New Environmental Ethic?
Responsible stewardship can bring prosperity to all of the earth’s inhabitants Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (NKJV) When it comes to mankind’s relationship to nature, the idea of “dominion,” as expressed in the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis, is for some people one of the most … [Read more...]
Get Out Your Bed Nets:
We must let Africans fight mosquitoes and disease the same way we do: with pesticides Gulf Coast residents are slowly recovering from Katrina’s winds, floods, anarchy, and tardy local, state and federal disaster responses. Now they face yet another peril. Millions of acres of brackish, polluted water could become fertile breeding grounds for billions of mosquitoes. Some fear the hordes could infect survivors with West Nile virus and encephalitis – or even malaria and yellow fever. They point … [Read more...]
God, Man, and the Environment
On April 22nd, much of the world will celebrate international Earth Day. Like many fads, the popularity of this event has waned throughout much of the West. This may owe something to the fact that the dire consequences predicted by many ecologists have not eventuated. Despite this, many people of faith continue to preach a type of “Green Gospel,” claiming that an ecological apocalypse will be upon us unless various policies – usually involving various forms of government regulation – are … [Read more...]
Dominion and Stewardship: Believers and the Environment
“Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created. Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end.” St. Ignatius of Loyola A welcome development of the past thirty years has been the emergence of less-utilitarian attitudes towards the environment by believers and non-believers alike. No … [Read more...]
The Cornwall Declaration On Environmental Stewardship
Download the Cornwall Declaration (pdf) View a list of notable signers Add your endorsement The past millennium brought unprecedented improvements in human health, nutrition, and life expectancy, especially among those most blessed by political and economic liberty and advances in science and technology. At the dawn of a new millennium, the opportunity exists to build on these advances and to extend them to more of the earth’s people. At the same time, many are concerned that liberty, science, … [Read more...]
