God and global warming
St. Petersburg Times ^ | September 15, 2005

Science and religion may differ on how we got here, but increasingly there
is little disagreement on where we are headed if we don't begin to address
the causes of climate change. Scientists have long warned of the dangers of
global warming attributed to our profligate use of fossil fuels. Now, one of
the nation's most influential religious groups is delivering the same
message, if based on an alternative standard of proof.

"I had a conversion experience on the climate issue not unlike my conversion
to Christ," Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs at the
National Association of Evangelicals, told the environmental magazine Grist.
"I was at a conference in Oxford where Sir John Houghton, an evangelical
scientist, was presenting evidence of shrinking ice caps, temperatures
tracked for millennia through ice-core data, increasing hurricane intensity,
drought patterns, and so on. I realized all at once, with sudden awe, that
climate change is a phenomenon of truly biblical proportions."

The 30-million-member association, which Cizik says is one of the strongest
voices in the Republican Party, isn't just talking about global warming. It
is taking action. Calling the doctrine "creation care," the association is
conducting a scripture-based campaign to convince its members that they are
"commissioned by God the Almighty to be stewards of the earth."

Cizik doesn't rule out formal collaboration with secular environmental
groups such as the Sierra Club. And the association is preparing a position
paper on global warming policy.

For his part, Cizik is practicing what he preaches. "We sold our RV, which
got about five miles per gallon, and bought a Prius, which gets about 10
times that," he told Grist. "I oughta get a commission from Toyota for the
number of people I've converted to the Prius."

Soon, there will be no haven for those who continue to ignore the
environmental challenges ahead.

Amen!