Evangelical Christians and Climate Change

There has been an interesting discussion on our Energy Matters discussion group:
having to do with including the evangelical and fundamentalist religious communities in the fight against climate change. The discussion also includes some analysis of the value of setting community emissions targets. It was started with a comment by Ed Mainland, with responses by Ann Hancock and Stan Gold.

Ed M.:

Enlistment of "creation-care" evangelicals into the anti-global warming effort would add a powerful new element to Sonoma County's admirable Climate Protection Campaign, if it has not already been started. One notes the myriad small fundamentalist Christian churches springing up across non-urban California, including parts of Sonoma County, and inroads of evangelical fundamentalism among working people, notably Hispanics. Is this a potential additional constituency for the climate Campaign? Would it be a means of neutralizing or offsetting those reactionary naysayers of the Right who still speckle some city councils, planning commissions and civic groups and thwart more aggressive community measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the consequences of pollution? Setting ambitious community-wide goals is one thing -- as Marin learned years ago -- but actually devising workable implementation plans and carrying them out is another. Religious facets of the climate protection constituency -- "creation care" -- may be something to build on. See below url. -- Ed M.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/10/07/eco_evangelical/index.html

"A crisis of biblical proportions"

A pro-Bush but eco-conscious evangelical launches a crusade against global warming.

By Amanda Griscom Little

Ann H.:

Yes! Related to this, Rev. Sally Bingham will be here in Sonona County addressing the faith community on global climate change. Visit www.climateprotectioncampaign.org for more information.

Ed: How long ago did Marin set its ambitious community-wide target? Do you fault the Marin community for not having a plan for achieving the targets in place? I thought this is what is happening with the general plan.

Ed M.:

Ann:

I don't believe Rev. Bingham qualifies as an evangelical or a fundamentalist, which was the focus of my posting. If the climate protection effort could somehow attract those who say they believe literally every word of the Bible, estimated at at least 40 percent of the U.S. population --through "creation-care" fundamentalism -- this would be a tremendous boost to anti-global warming campaigns, right?

And Marin's failure to meet certain quantitative targets (not Marin County's current greenhouse gas emission target and implementation plan) that I'm told were set decades ago, like in the early 1980s --
way before my time, I confess -- have, I gather, given "targets" a generically bad name in Marin planning circles. That's why in the current planning process, there has been expressed considerable wariness about stating targets that, in the minds of the planners, can't be met or are not explicitly accompanied by enforceable implementation plans that ensure they are met. That's my chief concern with stand-alone city and community GHG targets, as noble as they are.

-- Ed M.

Ann H.:

Yes, right. Rev. Bingham is not an evangelical or fundamentalist.

What quantitative targets did Marin set in the early 80s? Who's bad mouthing whom for what? I know Alex Hinds found energy goals in the last update for the General Plan that were never attended to. Is this the reference?

Stan G.:

In the case of "creation-care" evangelicals, the old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", has a potentially very deep down-side. One never knows what direction this so-called "ally" is likely to take next.
This unpredictability, and vastly different value systems, can lead to embarrassments and loss of credibility that might not be worth the risk of this strange alliance.
-- Stan Gold

Comments

[Zeno Swijtink]

The NTY today ran a story today about the National Association of Evangelicals circulating a draft of a policy statement urging legislation for mandatory carbon emission controls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/07/politics/07air.html

“Environmentalists rely on empirical evidence as their rationale for Congressional action, and many evangelicals further believe that protecting the planet from human activities that cause global warming is a values issue that fulfills Biblical teachings asking humans to be good stewards of the earth.”

I think the NYT got it wrong here. Some environmentalists are evangelicals, others find a bearing in another religious, spiritual or moral ground and awareness.

But we all speak our truth based on more than an understanding of the facts. The facts as such are mute, but the facts of climate change, from the sinking polar bears in the Arctic to the floods in Bangladesh and the intensifying hurricanes that are sweeping the Caribbean, speak to our shared concern for the earth and the webbing of life.

Other Christian organizations that support climate care mentioned in the article are the Noah Alliance http://www.noahalliance.org/ and the Evangelical Environmental Network http://www.stewards.net/. Another group, the Interfaith Council for Environmental Stewardship http://www.stewards.net/ maybe reconsidering its 2000 stance of wait-and-see.

“John Green, a senior fellow for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said "Among rank and file, evangelicals are as environmental as the rest of us. They're in favor of environmental protections, at least in principle." On the other hand, he added, "they don't like environmentalists. They associate environmentalists with the Sierra Club and with people who have nontraditional religiosity. Alliance leaders have a real opportunity here, but the impediment is getting over the image of environmentalists."

Another religious/spiritual group working for climate protection, not mentioned in the NYT article is the Network of Spiritual Progressives, a project of the SF Tikkun Community http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/ which you probably could not tell apart from a a Sierra Club group if you met them on the trail.

[Shelly]

Hello, do you endorse any particular candidate in city council with regard to the issues of the environment, taking into consideration your evangelical viewpoint? I am looking for advice.
Shelly

[Shelly]

yes, I was referring to the Petaluma city council...sorry to be vague
shelly

[Zeno Swijtink]

Petaluma Mayor Dave Glass is clearly the voice that holds the space for long term stewardship of creation on the City Council.