wfn.org | Religious leaders a driving force

[Daphne Mack <dmack@episcopalchurch.org>]

2002-268

Religious leaders a driving force
behind campaign for fuel-efficient
cars

by Jan Nunley

(ENS) Full of post-modern irony and a touch of Madison
Avenue sass, the "What would Jesus drive?" campaign
launched in November by the Evangelical Environmental
Network (EEN) has already captured the attention of the
media--and a broad coalition of religious leaders hopes
they can capture the attention of the U.S. auto industry at
the same time. 

Leaders of an umbrella group known as the Interfaith
Climate and Energy Campaign (ICEC), carrying an open
letter from over 100 heads of denominations and senior
religious leaders from 21 states, met with Ford, General
Motors, and DaimlerChrysler executives and leadership
at the United Auto Workers in Detroit on November 20
to ask the U.S. automobile industry to build more
fuel-efficient cars. 

Among the signers, who spanned the theological and
denominational spectrum, was Presiding Bishop Frank T.
Griswold of the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop
Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. 

The letter sounded some traditional environmental
themes--pollution from vehicles has a major impact on
human health and the rest of God's creation; it contributes
significantly to the threat of global warming--but added a
concern that resonates with the public mood since the
attacks of September 11: that U.S. reliance on imported
oil from unstable regions threatens peace and security. 

"What specific pledges--in volume, timing, and
commitments to marketing--will you make to produce
automobiles, SUVs, and pick-up trucks with substantially
greater fuel economy?" the letter asked. 

You make it, we'll buy it

The delegation arrived in front of General Motors
headquarters in downtown Detroit in a convoy of
fuel-efficient Toyota Priuses, owned and driven by the
Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Monroe,
Michigan. Portions of the "What Would Jesus Drive?"
slogan were emblazoned on the hood, back, top and
sides of each of the electric-hybrid cars. 

"If you in the American auto industry manufacture and
market more clean cars, we in the American religious
community will not only tell our people about it, but we'll
have prepared them to embrace such a change," said
David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center
of Reform Judaism in Washington. 

Representatives of GM and Ford told reporters they
looked forward to a dialogue with religious leaders on
fuel efficiency. GM has said it hopes to have nonpolluting
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the road by the end of the
decade. Ford plans to phase out one of its least-efficient
SUVs (sport utility vehicles), the Excursion, and introduce
a hybrid gas-electric version of its Escape small SUV
designed to achieve about 40 miles per gallon (mpg). 

Uphill climb

Still, the faith-based drive for fuel-efficient cars is an uphill
climb. 

The Environmental Protection Agency has cited the
Honda Insight and Toyota Prius hybrids as the 2003
models with the highest fuel economy--over 50 miles per
gallon. But minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks accounted
for half the new vehicles sold in the United States last
year, with the average fuel economy for all 2003 models
at 20.8 mpg. 

In September the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
reported that purchases of "light trucks," a category that
includes minivans and SUVs, exceeded passenger car
sales for the third year in a row. "We already offer three
dozen different models that get 30 miles to the gallon or
better," said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the
Washington-based alliance. "Very few people buy
them...They want cars they can multi-task in." 

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) has sent a draft proposal for new Corporate
Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to improve
fuel efficiency for light-duty vehicles, including SUVs, to
the White House Office of Management and Budget. The
final plan is expected to be approved by April 1. But the
NHTSA plan only calls for an annual improvement of half
a mile per gallon over three years, raising the light-truck
standard to 22.2 mpg from the current 20.7 mpg target,
which has been in place for the last 20 years. 

"Raising fuel economy standards for new cars, SUVs and
other light trucks to an average of 40 miles per gallon
over the next 10 years would save nearly 2 mbd [million
barrels a day] in 2012 and nearly 4 mbd by 2020--more
oil per day than we import from the Persian Gulf and
could extract from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
[ANWR], combined," says a "fact sheet" on CAFE
standards produced by the Interfaith Climate and Energy
Campaign. "Making the Ford Explorer go from 19 mpg
to 34 mpg would cost $935 in technology, but would
save the owner $790 each year on gas. Raising CAFE
standards for new cars, SUVs and other light trucks to
40 mpg over the next 10 years will save consumers $16
billion annually by 2012." 

Drilling in ANWR, a measure already defeated twice in
Congress, is expected to be revived in the next, attached
to a "filibuster-proof" budget reconciliation bill for 2004,
according to John Johnson, domestic policy analyst for
the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations. 

Lord of the highway, too

The WWJDrive ad campaign comes even as the
Chevrolet division of GM, maker of such SUVs as the
TrailBlazer, came in for both praise and criticism for its
sponsorship of a Christian music tour. The television
spots, which will run in a limited number of markets, ask:
"So if we love our neighbor and we cherish God's
creation, maybe we should ask, 'What would Jesus
drive?'" In several Boston suburbs, protestors have
gathered on auto dealership "strips" with signs urging car
buyers to steer away from gas hogs. 

Each page of the EEN website carries a header declaring
the campaign to be "a discussion initiated by the
Evangelical Environmental Network & Creation Care
Magazine...because transportation is a moral issue." Not
only is it a moral issue, for the Rev. Jim Ball, executive
director of EEN, it's an issue of Christian faithfulness. 

A "Call to Action" addressed specifically to Christian
leaders frames the issue in the Christ-centered language
familiar to evangelicals. "As Christians we confess Jesus
Christ as our Savior and Lord. The Lordship of Christ
extends throughout every area of our life," it begins.
"Nothing is excluded from His Lordship. This includes our
transportation choices. The Risen Lord Jesus is
concerned about the kinds of cars we drive because they
affect his people and his creation." 

"Stewardship of creation ... has been emerging over the
last few years as a more important piece of the agenda
for many religious communities," the Rev. Robert Massie,
an Episcopal priest in Boston and executive director of
CERES, a national environmental coalition, told the
Christian Science Monitor. Though different groups state
different reasons for participating--Jews quote the Torah,
evangelical and charismatic Protestants quote the Bible,
Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants cite the social
justice imperatives of their faiths--the consensus on this
one issue is unprecedented in modern interfaith and
ecumenical history. 

Personal commitment

The EEN's Call to Action asks Christians to take
concrete steps of their own. First, it asks for a personal
commitment to walk, bike, car-pool and use public
transportation whenever possible, even choosing a home
with transportation options in mind, and to encourage
others to do the same. 

Next, Christians should "purchase the most fuel efficient
and least polluting vehicle available that truly fits their
needs" and donate the fuel savings to missions.
Gas-guzzling SUVs "should be purchased only by those
who truly need them, such as individuals in rural areas and
those genuinely needing 4-wheel drive." 

Finally, churches and individual Christians are asked to
lobby government and auto manufacturers for more
fuel-efficient transportation options, including raising fuel
economy (or CAFE) standards to 40 miles per gallon by
2012 and supporting research and development for
hydrogen fuel cells and other alternative technologies. 

"American investors know that socially responsible
investments have greater returns than what are seen in
their quarterly statements," said Johnson. "People of faith
across the country get this. When will Wall Street?" 

Evangelical Environmental Network & Creation
Care Magazine:
http://www.creationcare.org/campaigns.php

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of
Episcopal News Service.