Posted on 11/14/2002 6:21:57 AM PST by AAABEST
RALEIGH, N.C. An evangelical group hopes to turn the car-buying decision into a question of conscience with a campaign that asks: What would Jesus drive?
The Wynnewood, Pa.- based Evangelical Environmental Network will begin running television ads this month in North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Missouri to urge consumers to park their sport-utility vehicles and buy fuel-efficient cars because Jesus wants the Earth's natural systems preserved.
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It's a small voice considering SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks which together make up the light- duty truck category last year made up half the new vehicles sold in the United States. The average fuel economy for all 2003 model cars and passenger trucks dropped to 20.8 miles per gallon, reflecting what automakers and many buyers say is a higher priority on comfort and family needs than conserving gasoline.
Though automakers make higher profits from light trucks than on cars (by some estimates more than $10,000 per unit) they say they'd be happy to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles.
However, Eron Shosteck , a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said: "People want power. Consumers want power."
The Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign plans to send mailings this month to 100,000 congregations discussing the relationship between fuel economy and reli gious teachings about stewardship and justice.
The campaign is a joint effort of the National Council of Churches and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.
The groups plan to frame their arguments in moral as well as economic terms by promoting hybrid and fuel-cell powered vehicles, as well as other existing fuel- saving technologies. Hybrids run on both gas and electricity, and so use less fuel than traditional engines. Fuel cells, a technology developed to power space vehicles, makes energy from a chemical reaction with no harmful emissions.
The Big Three Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG plan to mass market SUVs and pickups with hybrid technology starting next year. Toyota and Honda began selling a limited number of hybrid cars this year.
Other technologies in mass production could cut the weight, improve the acceleration, reduce exhaust emissions and use half the gasoline of a comparative Ford Explorer XLT, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, which supports tougher federal fuel economy standards.
Guessing which rig would meet Jesus' approval should be a serious consideration for conservative Christians, who are called to preserve the created world, Ball said. Global warming and smoggy air worsened by vehicle exhausts threaten the health of humans, plants and animals worldwide, he said in an interview as he rode a commuter train from his Washington, D.C., office to his Maryland home 55 miles away.
"We think he is Lord of our transportation choices as well as all our other choices," said Ball, an American Baptist minister. "When you need a new car, you should buy the most fuel- efficient one that truly meets your needs."
Not all the clowns, just enough for a quorum....;o)
2 Samuel 15:28 - "See, I will wait at the Fords of the Wilderness...."
Jeremiah 51:32 - the Fords have been seized, the bulwarks are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic.
OUTSTANDING!
If I could afford it, that would be a fully-loaded Lincoln Navigator. Meanwhile, I'll have to stay with my big, red, F-350, Diesel, crewcab, dually, long-bed pickup truck (242K and counting), especially with all the scriptural documentation pushing "Ford" products - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine...
But driving a Hummer is a lot more fun.
God gave us the brains to figure out how to take care of our energy needs, but when we try to remedy those needs the greens get in the way.
Joshua 6:5 - And when they make a long blast with the Ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him."
Acts 28:3--
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a Viper out of the heat....
Ezra 1:9 - "And this is the number of them: thirty Chargers of gold, a thousand Chargers of silver...."
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