Young Evangelicals For Climate Action Blast U.S. Senate Approval Of Pruitt To EPA
Don’s Dossier: Daggers & Daisies, a new weekly opinion feature of Environmental Echo, singles out friends and foes of the Earth for attention. Readers can submit nominees for Daggers & Daisies by emailing suggestions to environmentalecho@gmail.com.
Daisies to Young Evangelicals for Climate Action for taking a strong stand against the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He is one of the worst appointments in a very flawed cabinet still being assembled by President Donald Trump. According to Young Evangelicals for Climate Action: “Even as we lament this dangerous confirmation, we take hope. We take hope in the millions of evangelical Christians who have already risen up on behalf of God’s creation; on behalf of clean air, clean water, and stable climate for all. We take hope in the power of people to stand up on the side of justice, flourishing, and life in the face of the death-dealing powers of exploitation and greed.” (Learn more at yecaction.org)
Daggers to Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin, who now has a new ally in the U.S. President. A novel alignment between Russia and a friendlier America under Trump will stifle climate action. Trump denies global warming more nakedly than Russian President Vladimir Putin, who pivoted from years of downplaying climate change to calling it a grave threat in 2015, but Putin has done little to address greenhouse gas emissions. Russia is a petro-state: It was the world’s second-largest exporter of oil in 2015, after Saudi Arabia. Recently Russian businesses have been taking steps to shift away from fossil fuel dependence, but those moves are predicted to reverse now that America, the world’s second-biggest emitter, is shifting its priorities toward increased fossil fuel production with the Trump cabinet appointments.(Learn more about this and the global warming crisis by checking out Carl’s Climate Letters: climatecarl.com)
Daggers & Daisies, a regular weekly opinion feature of Environmental Echo, singles out friends and foes of the Earth for attention. Readers are encouraged to submit their nominees for Daggers & Daisies by emailing suggestions to environmentalecho@gmail.com.
Environmental Echo 
Lindsay Mouw enjoyed coming to St. Louis this fall for the presidential debates at Washington University. She came from her Iowa college as part of a delegation of the Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA).
At Washington University, Mouw led a prayer in a pre-debate session that the candidates would “act on this (global warming) issue and act for all those around the world who struggle daily due to climate change.”
Mouw and YECA were in for a triple disappointment. Neither candidate, nor the news media, had much to say about climate change. In fact, the news media focused on a “lovable character” in the debate forum named Ken Bone. Bone and his red sweater became an “internet sensation.”
Nov. 8 proved to be a second disappointment for Mouw. The outlandish candidate, who professed that climate change is a Chinese hoax to de-industrialize the United States, won the presidency in the electoral college.
A third disappointment for Mouw came with post-election analysis, which found 80 percent of Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump. Given his lifestyle and his pronouncements on his weird relationships with women, many were taken aback by the Evangelical vote.
“I am still somewhat shocked,” said Mouw. “I think most Christians voted for him solely based on his strong pro-life stance. It’s frustrating because I’ve learned conservative leaders will likely never actually try to end abortion, because then they will lose this large demographic who vote Republican solely because of this issue.”
Mouw said that after this election, she thinks it is even more important for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action to engage politicians and all students on college campuses on the pressing issue of climate change.
“God created man in his image to care for his creation,” said Mouw. “Just as God cares for us and all of his creation, we should strive to emulate his caretaker role on Earth. And, to truly care for the well-being of our neighbors, we need to care for the environment that sustains them.”
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