 February 11 , 2009
Dear Friend, As you read this week's WeGetIt.org Wednesday Bulletin, please be thinking of friends who would benefit from it, and then forward it to them. Thanks for your support! Burning questions down under
A few weeks ago we reported that the downing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 by geese seems to have been caused, at least in part, by the misguided concerns of environmentalists who didn’t want the birds exterminated, moved, or chased away, even though they had long been identified as a hazard to airplanes. Sadly, the deadly wildfires in Australia do not have a similarly happy ending. As the death toll mounts into the hundreds, survivors are complaining that local officials bowed to environmentalist pressures , limiting tree-cutting and clearing of land around homes. While a few folks have been quick to finger global warming as the culprit, others—including at least one declared global warming agnostic—are quickly concluding that Australians and their leaders need to reevaluate environmental policy, with a new emphasis on saving human lives in the near term. As the post-tragedy analysis begins, it would be a mistake to adopt the unconscious attitude that people and nature are in inevitable competition. In God’s wise design, people and nature can thrive together. This is no less true when faced by the sometimes tragic, even fatal, consequences of poor environmental stewardship. We extend our sincerest condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones, and our prayers to those who still wait. Chilling, out Some particularly committed environmentalists, fearful that rising CO2 threatens civilization through global warming, are taking the radical step of unplugging their refrigerators. Since lack of refrigeration requires more frequent shopping, and efficient refrigerators use very little electricity, it's at least questionable whether turning off the fridge will really reduce CO2 emissions significantly--never mind whether reducing CO2 emissions would reduce global warming. Once more, good motives and symbolism substitute for truly beneficial action. When they begin insisting that others follow their example, though, they run the risk of doing significant harm. A billion and more poor around the world would benefit enormously by the ability to refrigerate their food to prevent spoilage that causes disease and undernourishment. As the WeGetIt.org Declaration puts it,
The anti-refrigeration movement may be trendy for some comparatively wealthy Americans, but it's not a realistic solution for the truly poor in the developing world. They need more energy, not less--energy to cook, energy to refrigerate, energy to live. Too many people Culling the human herd, by killing its weaker members, is the only way to save humanity. So writes Green guru James Lovelock, author of The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity. “Proposed regulatory and technological fixes" for global warming "verg[e] on a gigantic scam"; it’s too late to save the world from global warming, and the best we can do is cull the herd. Chris Rapley, director of the British Science Museum, is a bit more measured. "If we believe that the size of the human [carbon footprint] is a serious problem...then a rational view would be that...the issue of population management must be addressed." Watch for the spread of China's one-child policy. Alerting Christians to this threat, Chuck Colson points out that, "in contrast, Christian concern for the environment, including the willingness to sacrifice on its behalf, is rooted in an exalted, not debased, view of man. Man, created in God’s image, is called to exercise stewardship in a way that protects the environment and promotes human flourishing." A recent booklet from a Roman Catholic charity joins the chorus warning of the anti-human tendencies of modern environmentalism, calling it "as deadly as Communism." Now, please forward this message to your pastor, other Christian leaders, and friends and urge them to sign the WeGetIt.org Declaration, too! The more people sign, the stronger the message our leaders will hear that Biblical principles and factual evidence, not media hype about speculative fears like global warming, should guide our care for the environment and the poor.Gratefully, We value your privacy. If you received this from a friend, you can join the campaign at www.WeGetIt.org. This message was originally sent to [email address suppressed] because someone signed the WeGetIt.org Declaration as "fullname." Edit your name | Bulletin Archives | Unsubscribe | Inquiries |
