Electing a President (Part 3)

The Environment

The environment has become a big issue this year and much of that is because of high oil prices, T. Boone Pickens, and Al Gore. I don't know if I believe in climate change. Climatologist disagree why temperature change has occurred. Some says it is because of man's destruction of the earth others because of cyclical patterns. I have no idea.

Here is what I do know. God made the heavens and the earth and he placed man to watch and tend it. We are stewards of what God has given us. It amazes me how many Christians teach about being good stewards of money that God has given us and then say who cares what we do concerning the world God gave us.

Much of this is probably because we have seen extreme people and want to protect a tree or an owl and chose them over human jobs. And because companies have destroyed the land in due to progress and never reclaimed it but left it desolate and bare. I grew up in a coal mining area and I can tell you companies left areas looking like a war zone.

My personal view is that God has placed me on this earth to watch and tend over his creation. It is my duty to take care of what God gave me. I believe he has given us natural resources like oil, natural gas, wind, etc. There is nothing wrong with using them but we need to do it in the most responsible way possible. To do so seems to be disrespectful to God. I am all for solar, wind, responsible drilling, and maybe nuclear although it scares me. I don't like the idea of drilling in Alaska no more than I like the idea of coal mining in the Grand Canyon (thank God for Teddy Roosevelt for stopping that).

I think churches need to build green. It saves money in the long term that can later go to funding the Lord's kingdom. Spring Meadows went geothermal in their new building and their heating and cooling bill will be 90% less than traditional methods. That is a lot of money saved. They are using their rain water to irrigate the grass. Some places use rain water to flush toilets. All these save resources and money so why would anyone object?

As Christians what responsibility do we have concerning the environment? What does being good stewards really mean? How does being a good steward of money compare to being one of the environment? When we look at building new buildings should we build green? Is this a theological issue or just an ideological one?