 January 28 , 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! Caring for our neighbors in times of economic crisis
This week, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a survey of the public's concerns going into 2009. Unsurprisingly, the economy, jobs, and terrorism topped the list, but it was encouraging to see that helping the poor was named as a top priority by 50% of respondents. The study also noted that concerns about the environment and global warming had slipped in the past year, with global warming fears having fallen to their lowest level--ranking in last place--since their first inclusion in 2007. The WeGetIt.org Declaration captures these sentiments quite well. It urges us to be “cautious of...speculative dangers like man-made global warming,” and warns that “environmental policies must not further oppress the world’s poor”--both here and around the world. As one pastor, a civil rights leader (and WeGetIt.org supporter), put it this week, “higher energy prices discriminate against the poor.” In this time of economic upheaval, we would do well to remember our poorest neighbors. Please forward this week’s Bulletin to your friends and family, explaining why you feel it's important to tell our leaders that we want to care for the environment and the poor, Biblically, and encouraging them to join you. Thank you! High energy prices kill Why is it important to keep energy prices low? You could ask Marvin E. Schur--if he were still alive. But he froze to death inside his home in Bay City, Michigan, days after the city electric utility limited his electricity flow because the 93-year-old widower, with no children, had $1,100 in unpaid electric bills. This tragedy should be a stark reminder of the stakes in this discussion. Politicians who want to raise taxes on fossil fuels to fight manmade global warming, like environmentalists who want to restrict energy production, need to admit the consequences of their policies. Both cause energy prices to rise, making it less affordable to low-income people like Mr. Schur. Because cold snaps kill ten times as many people as heat waves, global warming, if it happened, would reduce temperature-related death rates. But multiplying scientific discoveries over the last three years have greatly reduced the likelihood that greenhouse gas emissions are even a significant, much less major, cause of global climate change. It's time to abandon global warming hype, for the protection of the poor. Don't mistake propaganda for argument While multiplying scientific discoveries point away from human and toward natural causes of recent global warming, and while global cooling is now underway, former Vice President Al Gore and other global warming alarmists keep up the drumbeat for draconian legislation to fight global warming. Don't mistake their propaganda for rational argument. University of Alabama senior research scientist Dr. Roy W. Spencer, a climatologist and author of Climate Confusion: How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad Science, Pandering Politicians and Misguided Policies that Hurt the Poor, has made a handy list, with refutations, of the fallacies Gore uses in his propaganda campaign: appeal to fear, appeal to authority, the bandwagon effect, flag waving, personal attacks, appeal to prejudice, the black-and-white (either-or) fallacy, euphoria, falsifying information, and stereotyping or name calling. Colossians 2:4 warns believers not to be "deluded" (the Greek literally means "fallacized," made the victims of fallacies) by "persuasive argument" (the Greek derives from words meaning "emotional argument"). While this passage warns us against being deceived by arguments contrary to Christ, fallacies are dangerous wherever they occur. Learn to recognize and resist them by studying a Summary of Major Concepts, Principles, and Functions of Logic. 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 |
