Terra Dei Institute for Environmental Policy

Now more than ever it is evident that we must as a nation pursue clean energy solutions. The cost of fueling our lives and pursuits has become more costly than ever and we believe the price is too high. We support policies that enable energy efficiency and the rapid expansion of alternative energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
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We are alarmed by the pollution of every part of our environment and particularly about threats to the health of unborn and newborn babies and our young children because of contamination of water, air, food, and products we use every day. We support policies that will reduce chemical contamination that endangers the health of our children and all of us.
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Under pressure from population control interests, some secular environmentalists have endorsed so-called “family planning” platforms that include abortion and misleading information that denigrates the value of flourishing families. Other groups are considering these positions, which run counter to Christian values and fundamental human rights. We strongly denounce the appeal to population control as a part of environmental care because we believe that people are the center of God’s creation and redemption, and that human life is a gift to the world and not its scourge. In addition, the fear of overpopulation is overblown. Total fertility rates (the number of babies a woman will have in her lifetime) are declining nearly everywhere on earth. Families have fewer children as they grow more prosperous, as they access better healthcare and infant mortality declines, and as their lives become more stable. The Economist recently concluded that there are no interventions short of forced sterilizations and mandatory abortions that would cause birth rates to drop much faster than they’re already dropping.

We advocate for a new (some would say neo-traditional) approach to how we build our cities, that relies less on the heavy hand of government subsidies and more on the choices made by individual households. These innovations provide a partial remedy to some of our most daunting problems, like the decay of community, the growth of intrusive government, the decline of public schools, the isolation of the elderly, and the increase in oil-dependence, traffic jams, and even obesity.
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How we eat impacts our own health, but it can also have an impact on others if it degrades land, pollutes the air, or promotes cruelty to animals. We support life changes and policies that consider the broad societal impact of food choices.
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We believe that the science that establishes the human contribution to dramatic increases in CO2 in the atmosphere is sufficiently conclusive to make effort to curb this pollution a prudent, moral imperative. This pollution contributes to many problems, including global climate change. We support the limits on carbon pollution that are urgently needed to address climate change, without endangering either the economic health of the nation or the ability of low income families to pay energy costs. Leaders from all parts of the political spectrum must be involved in the development of sustainable climate policy. We urge bi-partisan action both in the development of sound policies and the advancement of these policies by the federal government.
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The Gulf oil spill is a vivid example of the powerful interplay of industrial producers and the natural world, and its impact on the health and well-being of people and their livelihood, both in this country and throughout the world. We call on churches, communities, corporations and our government to better sustain these resources, for the common good and in honor of the Creator.
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As Christians we are called to act justly, to love our neighbors, and to care for God's creation. This involves working with poor communities to develop and maintain an environment in which they can live and prosper, despite environmental degradation.
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