Evangelical Climate Initiative
A month ago I signed the “Evangelical Climate Initiative“. Though I said I signed it because I cared about the environment and climate change, the real reason I signed it is because Scott Freeman did and he was getting all these crazy interviews with the BBC, NPR and I think even Dan Rather sat down with him over a cup of coffee. I wanted some of the praise too, so I signed up. 
This morning I talked for an hour with Rev. Jim Ball, the writer of the Evangelical Climate Initiative and the president of the Evangelical Environmental Institute. He wanted to talk to all the signatories personally to get to know them, why they signed, and what they are doing to combat climate change.
I gave him a quick tutorial in Churches of Christ polity and the importance of institutions like ACU to ecclesial change. We talked about ACU president Royce Money who is also a signer of the initiative and who invited Rev. Ball to ACU lectureship a few years ago. We both think ACU has great potential to be a leader for Environmental Initiatives, which would not only benefit our global climate but would also benefit ACU through the press it would receive. It would be newsworthy if a small, conservative, Evangelical-ish, Christian school in West Texas oil country tried to make a difference with climate change. Especially one that has benefited so much from oil money, but that’s another story.
One thing that Rev. Ball said that the Evangelical Environmental Network is trying to do is influence change through the market. It’s not that they are against political influence: that is an important way to fight climate change. But the reality is, economics is the global language and if you are to address a global problem then you need to speak the language. Big companies and governments will do nothing about climate change until it benefits them economically. If consumers start demanding more green options, then companies will produce such.
I believe this is behind my alma mater’s (Lipscomb University) recent “green” initiatives. Though some of it may be driven by the desire for true, social change, the bottom line is they could not have sold it to their Board unless they knew it would be economically beneficial. Because of their initiatives such as building a “green” dorm and creating a new Environmental degree, they have gotten press and will attract a student base to which no other university in Tennessee is intentionally catering.
Since Marti and I have been trying to “go green”, we realize it is not an easy thing to do. In a place like Dallas it is hard to find green alternatives and local support. There are some options, though. Our power company TXU offers an 100% wind-power option, and we have done that since we’ve moved to Irving even though it costs a little more. My wife has worked hard to get us using cloth diapers with Taylor. It is by far a better environmental option. She’s written about the cloth diapers as well as our general going green process on her blog.
A great resource for finding out what you can do is coolingcreation.org. This is a website run by the Evangelical Environmental Network. It offers two options for ordinary folks to “do something” about climate change. The first is simply to do what we can to reduce our carbon-impact. However, no matter how “green” we become, we will never completely reduce our carbon-impact. That’s why they offer option two. For $99 you can invest money though the Carbon Fund in alternative energy and technology initiatives that are working to curb carbon emissions. By doing both of these things, you can offset your carbon footprint in the world.
I realize for many all this sounds so strange and unnecessary. But for most of the world, the debate over global warming is over. Climate change is a problem, and it’s a problem that will not go away on its own. Things will get worse, and when they do it will affect the world’s poor the worst, even though they have contributed the least to the problem. As a Christian, it is my faithful responsibility to care for God’s creation and the creatures that inhabits that creation. It may be uncomfortable at times, politically incorrect, and even cost some money, but in the end it will be what is best for the economy, for my family and for the world.
December 5th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Dan is great, and actually it was dinner. At his place.
I noticed today that Thomas Nelson will be releasing a ‘green’ bible soon.