Southside Pride

Keith Olstad, Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis, and Chuck Dayton , Roman Catholic layman in St. Paul, are part of the Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign, an initiative that exists in 19 states, and aims to get people of faith to recognize that global warming is a moral issue. The reason for that, says Dayton, is “The United States makes up 4 percent of the global population, yet produces 30 percent of global air emissions. The impacts of global warming fall heavily on nations that don’t produce pollution.” So far, not all Christians agree that stewardship of the earth and environment is an issue they need to be concerned about. Olstad and Dayton’s editorial, “When the Ludicrous Becomes Sublime: What Would Jesus Drive?” pleads their case.

It’s hard to imagine a more ludicrous question than “What would Jesus drive?” Jesus apparently couldn’t even afford a donkey. Christian scriptures have him walking around Galilee with his ragtag followers, whom he sends to borrow a colt for his so-called triumphal entry into Jerusalme. For even the most naive Christian, whose image of Jesus comes from a painting on the church lounge wall, it’s hard to imagine that impossibly blue-eyed, blonde guy with the perfect beard behind the wheel of a heavy duty, all-wheel drive, loaded-to-the-gills SUV. It is just plain too bizarre a merger to manage.
Ironically, when the Evangelical Environmental Network challenged Christians with the question, “What would Jesus drive?” instead of being amused, many were provoked to outrage or worse.

Do Christians doubt that SUVs are a significant source of the very air-borne pollutants that are causing our climate to change? Even the Ford Motor Company, in a strikingly frank Corporate Citizen Report 2000, admits that SUVs are a major source of air pollution, and furthermore describes “climate change as a key strategic environmental and business issue for the Company.” In a speech in April 2000, CEO Bill Ford declared, “We know greenhouse gases and global temperatures are increasing. There’s no need to wait for all of the science to be completed before taking responsible actions.”
No, the real question is not about the damage done by SUVs. Rather the reaction against the disarmingly cute question seems rooted in the notion that what one drives and how what one drives affects the environment is not a legitimate concern for Christian ethics.

All Christians believe that God created this world, and gave life to all that lives. But is it possible that these same Christians think that God does not care deeply for the whole beautiful sphere God has created? Is it conceivable that God is not profoundly invested in the health and well-being of all that breathes?

And, If God cares for the world, and the world’s climates are changing, how can we not worry about what God thinks about our role in changing the climate? Not only do we rely on fossil fuels to run our cars, but our appetite for larger and dramatically less efficient cars is accelerating the rate at which our planet’s atmosphere is warming. A change of only one degree has already occurred over the last century, yet that small change is melting glaciers and the ice caps at both poles, increasing insect infestations, causing severe droughts and more devastating storms, and killing the coral reefs. Now, broadly respected forecasts suggest that the earth’s average temperature will rise by 2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by century’s end.

Consumers, however, can make a difference. We can demand and buy fuel-efficient vehicles. One car at a time, we can make a difference. A car that gets 20 miles to the gallon produces approximately five tons of pollutants per 10,000 miles. If those pollutants were collected as dirt, they would fill the beds of five pickup trucks. But a car that gets 40 miles to the gallon will only produce half that much.

Consumers could also ask for research and development of new engine technologies. We could urge greater investment of new engine technologies. We could urge greater investment in public transportation. Some of us could drive less and walk or bike more. We could even advocate with congress for increasing the car industry average fuel efficiency standard to 37 miles per gallon, which would save a volume of oil equal to the amount imported from the Persian Gulf every day.

What would Jesus drive? Perhaps the ludicrous does become sublime, if in facing the question we recognize that our choices about energy use are affecting the climate of the planet. Perhaps it’s even a helpful question if it leads us to think about what God wants for the world’s community of life.