wfn.org | US religious leaders put pressure on Bush to change his energy

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #6550 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

policies
6-June-2001
01194

US religious leaders put pressure on Bush to change his energy policies

PCUSA stated clerk joins call for greater conservation efforts

by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK CITY - A broad coalition of U.S. religious leaders has called for
renewed action to change energy policy, criticizing some of the energy plans
of President George W. Bush.

	Describing fuel conservation as a "comprehensive moral value," the 39
Christian and Jewish leaders did not overtly condemn Bush's energy policy in
their open letter entitled "Let There Be Light: Energy Conservation and
God's Creation." But they disagreed with some key Bush proposals, especially
the administration's emphasis on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

	"Humankind has a fundamental choice of priorities for its future," the
religious leaders said in their letter, released on May 21. "By depleting
energy sources, causing global warming, fouling the air with pollution, and
poisoning the land with radioactive waste, a policy of increased reliance on
fossil fuels and nuclear power jeopardizes health and well-being for life on
Earth."

	Among President Bush's most controversial proposals are increased
dependence on nuclear power, coal and natural gas as well as proposed
drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The
administration has also announced it will scrap U.S. support for the
so-called Kyoto protocol on climate change, reversing the policies of Bush's
predecessor, President Bill Clinton.

	Though criticized by environmentalists, President Bush's energy initiatives
have been defended by his administration as practical solutions to a growing
U.S. energy crisis. The administration says that its plan also emphasizes
the need for fuel conservation.

	In their letter, the religious leaders urged Americans to "reflect
carefully and speak clearly from their deepest moral and religious
convictions about the president's recently announced energy plan."

	"Far more than rolling blackouts and gasoline price increases are at
stake," the leaders said, referring to a shortage of electricity in
California and higher gas and fuel prices throughout the U.S.

	"[At stake are the] future of God's creation on earth; the nature and
durability of our economy; our public health and public lands; the
environment and quality of life we bequeath our children and grandchildren,"
they said. "We are being called to consider national purpose, not just
policy."

	Some of those who signed the letter openly criticized President Bush at a
May 22 rally on Capitol Hill attended by about 200 religious activists, and
called for binding international agreements on global warming.

	Bishop Melvin Talbert of the United Methodist Church told the rally that
George Bush's plan to withdraw support for the Kyoto protocols was reason
enough for religious leaders "to raise our voices of protest."

	Bishop Talbert said the administration was not doing enough to curb the
power of US oil companies - another reason, he said, "to raise our voices of
outrage and protest."

	"Yes, we know there are no quick-fix solutions to our energy crisis," he
said. "But we also know that many of the current proposals are not solutions
that will result in our being good stewards of God's creation or doing
justice for future generations."

	In an interview with ENI, Bishop Talbert said he hoped President Bush - a
member of Talbert's denomination - would "see the broader picture," but
added that he and other religious leaders were not surprised by Bush's
proposals. "We've known all along where he stood: he is for the big oil
people," the Methodist bishop said.

	"All we can do is to appeal to the leaders of the country and to the public
and hope that they will see that the environment is just as important as the
'quick fix' that is being proposed for this energy shortage."

	At the rally, Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of
Churches, the nation's biggest ecumenical agency, and a former Democratic
congressman from the state of Pennsylvania, said of the Bush proposals:
"Conservation should be a centerpiece not an afterthought, a solemn vow not
a concession.

	"U.S. energy use is causing global warming," he said, "and the president's
plan is only going to make the planet hotter."

	Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, a practicing Jew who was the
Democratic Party's candidate for vice president in the 2000 presidential
election, also spoke at the rally, evoking the Book of Genesis: "God put
Adam and Eve in the Garden to work it and to guard it - not just to work
it," Senator Lieberman said. "And that speaks to the heart of environmental
protection - that we have an obligation to protect God's creations and to
guard them."

	In recent years U.S. religious organizations - Catholic, Protestant,
Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim - have joined forces on the issue of
environmental justice. Since 1998, the NCC has organized state-wide
climate-change campaigns in 18 of the 50 U.S. states, with participation
from Christian and Jewish environmental activists.

	In the open letter, the religious leaders - quoting extensively from Hebrew
Scripture - said humanity had a "moral obligation to choose the safest,
cleanest and most sustainable sources of energy to protect and preserve
God's creation. Energy conservation is faithful stewardship."

	Bishop Talbert told ENI the religious community might not win the battle
over the administration's proposals, but the open letter "was the right
thing to do, the moral thing to do."

	Environmental consciousness within varying faith communities of different
ideologies was on the rise. "It's not a left-wing or liberal issue," he
said. "You have people on all sides coming together."

	The signatories to the open letter included a number of prominent
Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox leaders, including H. George Anderson,
Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA);
Archbishop Demetrios, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Frank Griswold,
Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church, USA;
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church (USA); and Metropolitan Theodosius, Archbishop of
Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada, and Primate, Orthodox
Church in America; John H. Thomas, president, United Church of Christ;
Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople;
Judy Mills Reimer, executive director of general board of Church of the
Brethren.

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