Article Contributed on: 10/25/2009 2:15:36 PM
I can't stand it! What's going to be next...a "What Would Jesus Do" interlocutory about climate change...a Bill Clinton/Al Gore parsing of the phrase "Colder than Hell?" Or is it "Hotter than Hell?" I'm confused.
This morning's Denver Post carried a story on page 2B in the "Denver and the West" section about a rally "for reduced carbon-dioxide emissions and to avert...catastrophic climate change." The rally was reported to have been organized by "several Denver faith and environmental groups." According to the story, "half a dozen area churches rang their bells 350 times." The leader of that portion of the rally held on the steps of our state capitol was "the Rev. Peter Sawtell of Eco-Justice Ministries"...read it yourself, I'm not making this up!
Hmm, where to start? I guess I should look into joining an organized religion so I can pray for the discovery of cold fusion to solve our energy needs. Maybe it would be good enough just to ring some bells and discover the secret of carbon sequestration. Better yet, why not invoke divine intervention against those "godless Chinese (and Indians)" who persist on burning coal and not paying a carbon tax?
What are the odds that the people attending this rally support, most likely without ever having read it, the 1,400 page and growing Waxman-Markey "energy" bill. Some 648 pages deal with mandates on carbon emissions. Without question, this legislation is, in effect a "carbon tax." Supporters and opponents, alike, agree that the legislation will increase the cost of energy either directly or through taxes that are passed on to consumers. The amount of the increase is highly debatable. What also is debatable is the effect or lack thereof.
I resent anyone inferring that religion or one's faith, or lack thereof, has anything to do with climate change. Climate change is a naturally occurring, periodic and cyclical phenomena that is represented in the geologic record since the Earth's formation some 4.5 billion years ago. That was, presumably, prior to the formation of any organized religion.
Man, just think what the dinosaurs could have done by organizing against climate change through an "Eco-Justice" faith based initiative? Heck, they might have averted that asteroid...Talk about your catastrophic climate change!