Larry Schweiger, the relatively new President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, has a piece in the Winter ’05 issue of Creation Care, the environmental magazine of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Here’s an excerpt:
And you know something, I have to tell you tonight, that we have an obligation to our children and their children, and I think it is a Biblical obligation, to address this matter of climate change.
I don’t care if it takes the rest of my time on this planet to do it, I want to be stubborn, I want to follow in Ralph’s words to be careful what we’re stubborn about, and this for me, is the place to stake my ground.
And I’m here to tell you something else. The environmentalists, the National Wildlife Federations and the Sierra Clubs and all the other groups out there will not win this battle — [pause] — hear this, will not win this battle without evangelical Christians.
Because the U. S. Congress is made up of a lot of Conservative Republicans and the Conservative Republicans consider their bedrock constituency evangelical Christians. If evangelical Christians come to the table and say that caring for the planet is a part of Christianity and a part of our message, evangelical Christians can turn this struggle.
In fact, I will predict that until evangelical Christians weigh in in a serious way in this matter, we will not win it, and I mean that sincerely.
So I’m here as a brother in Christ to urge you who are not in this fight to get in this fight for the benefit of our children’s children.
Together we can turn this if we work together and find ways to make this happen.
I’m not a religious person, but I do believe that Schweiger is right. (As an aside: I’m somewhat familiar with Schweiger as a canny and effective politician from his time here in southwestern Pennsylvania as the director of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.) I think we can overcome the distrust on both sides, if indeed there are “sides.” Good for Schweiger for trying to reach out.
