Month: August 2018

Young Evangelicals Applaud Recent Republican Carbon Tax Proposal

Picture courtesy of yecaction.org

Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who represents South Florida, has proposed the Market Choice Act in Congress. The carbon tax bill would improve public health, protect vulnerable communities, and safeguard our generation’s future—all while exceeding the U.S. reduction commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. The Young Evangelicals believe this is the moral leadership on climate change that has been desperately lacking in Congress for far too long.The Young Evangelicals state that they are proud to support Rep. Curbelo’s leadership  and hope that lawmakers hear loud and clear that the rising generation of evangelicals overwhelmingly support climate action, and that young evangelicals will be watching closely how they respond to Rep. Curbelo’s proposal. To read more, click here.

SoCal A Rocha

Picture courtesy of arocha.us

Dr. Mark McReynolds will begin a new A Rocha project in the LA area, known as SoCal, where he says he hopes to use his environmental education, university teaching, research, and seminary skills to show that God is concerned about people and place and everyone, especially Christians, must be also. Their goal is to train leaders to start collaborative, community-based conservation activities to restore both people and places. The training includes Creation Care Camp, EcoChurch, Junior Rangers Club (an afterschool program), and leader meetings to provide community for creation care leaders in local churches. They are also leading conservation projects independently and through partnerships with local groups such as, Church in Creation formation experiences, EcoMissions trips, and Birding with a Mission trips. To read more about this project, click here.

Energy Star Action Workbook for Congregations

Image courtesy of energystar.gov

Working with religious leaders and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Mitch Hescox and others worked on a study to find ways for congregations to become more renewable energy friendly. Their work resulted in a guide called “Energy Star Action Workbook for Congregations” which outlines effective and achievable actions faith communities can take to improve their energy efficiency and in this way save money which can be used to serve the church in other areas.

To be taken to energystar.gov where the free pdf of the workbook can be found, click here.

Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide… by Mitch Hescox and Paul Douglas

Image courtesy of bakerpublishinggroup.com

Leader of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), Mitch Hescox and respected meteorologist, Paul Douglas team up to bring an evangelical guide to creation care. Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment looks honestly at the problem of climate change and argues that it is evangelical beliefs and conservative ethics which should inspire evangelical Christians to take action to be a better steward of the earth.

They begin by outlining what climate change is exactly and where it impacts our daily lives and lives of others around the world. They strike down the idea that the science that defends climate change is political. Thermometers, erratic weather, and other signs of a changing climate have no agenda liberal or conservative. They look back to the history of the conservative and republican movement in the US and find that it is deeply rooted in and aligned in conservative ideology to work against the effects of climate change. Statements from heroes in the Republican party, for example Ronald Reagan, who call for care for the environment remind readers of the history of support within the Republican party. The authors defend the development and use of renewable energy; they point to ways in which solar, wind, and other renewable energy forms are the future and provide economic growth.

Contextualizing the tradition of conservative and evangelical care for the environment, Hescox and Douglas give readers a background and examples of actions they can take to be better stewards of God’s creation. They point out that it is our children and future generations who will have to pay if we do not restore the earth; because of this reality, they call for action against climate change as a pro-life issue.

For any conservative evangelicals who feel alienated by creation care conversations in which they are not given space to reconcile their ideology with the movement, this book will be a breath of fresh air.

Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment can be found on Amazon, through major book retailers, and your favorite independent bookstore.