God, The Environment and the Presidential Election
God charged us to be stewards of His creation. As stated in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Also, as is noted in Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” AS Christians, we are called to take care of His creation, not just use it. We must understand that what we do today impacts the most vulnerable: the unborn, newborns, children, and the elderly in current and future generations. As I head to the voting booth in November, I will keep in mind those who are unable to do so themselves as I select which candidate to support.
The best predictor of how one will act in the future is to look at their records in the past. One candidate was president for four years and the other the VP for almost four years. For the sake of this opinion, we will use the record of Biden/Harris as Presidential candidate Harris’ record.
During Trump’s presidency (2017-2021), the administration enacted many regulatory rollbacks to increase the production of fossil fuels and poisonous products, such as mercury, lead, asbestos, pesticides, methane, and PFAS (also known as forever chemicals). Despite the comprehensive body of science clearly showing climate change is a result of man’s extraction and use of fossil fuels, Trump surrounded himself with climate deniers, justifying increased pollution. The choice put profits over health. This doesn’t align with the Christian value of loving our neighbor as yourself. As a result, he pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord and declined involvement in the 44th and 45th G7 summits, which focused on climate change. These rollbacks put millions of children at risk of developmental delays, cancer, respiratory ailments, and compromised immune systems. Further, these rollbacks are projected to result in 8,600 deaths annually.
During the Biden Administration, much has been done to put the country back on track to lead the world in overcoming climate change. This positions us to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate.
Early in his presidency, Biden reversed many of Trump’s executive orders that rolled back important health protections. He also strengthened regulatory rules through agencies like the EPA which will reduce pollutants like methane, soot, and carbon which have been shown through comprehensive medical research to have significant negative health impacts, especially on our children — both born and unborn — whose hearts, minds and lungs are still developing. Additionally, the Biden Administration worked with Congress to pass the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which addressed multiple environmental concerns by focusing on clean energy, forest management, carbon management, energy efficiency, methane reduction, and energy innovation. All of these changes are a positive step in the direction of defending the health of all of God’s children and creating an environment where they can live life abundantly.
In the platform of the 2024 Republican Party, there is no acknowledgement of environmental protections. Rather, there are many references to releasing “burdensome regulations,” “lifting regulations on American Energy Production,” and “slashing regulations.” This is consistent with what was experienced in the four years under the Trump Administration. The focus of another Trump Administration would be again to undo the progress made by the Biden Administration to address climate change. We need to strike a balance between job creation/economic growth and defense of children’s health, and this plan does not do it.
Despite Trump’s denials about involvement with Project 2025, it becomes the de facto blueprint for rolling out the platform in a second Trump Administration. One goal of this proposal is to eviscerate the EPA in order to reduce regulations that limit unbridled fossil fuel removal. Project 2025 would once again roll back much of the progress made by the Biden Administration to reduce CO2 and toxins impacting the environment and humans alike. Also, the future impact of the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the Chevron Doctrine is unclear, but it is expected to make it more difficult to address protecting the environment and defending children’s health.
In the platform of the 2024 Democratic Party, there is a devoted section entitled Combating the Climate Crisis and Pursuing Environmental Justice. It identifies that the party will continue the progress made by the Biden/Harris Administration to address climate change with a focus on clean energy and limits on polluting the air, water, and ground. It will also focus on the impact that pollution has on the people who live closest to oil and gas infrastructure, which is known to have significant health impacts. Additionally, there is a focus on agriculture while addressing the health impacts of certain pesticides, lead in our drinking water, clean-up of polluted sites, marine ecosystems, and others.
We have a choice in November. The two visions are virtually diametrically opposed to each other. While one focuses on the near-term (profit over health), the other focuses on the long-term impacts on health, while restructuring the energy industry and creating family-sustaining careers.
God called us to be good stewards and good neighbors, and this involves ensuring a livable world for our children and those who come after us. This needs to be done on two fronts, climate change and toxins. If we do not address it now, we put ourselves, our children, and future generations at risk.
What are your priorities? Only you can answer that. As for me, I will be voting for Harris to defend the health, wellbeing, and future of God's creation and all God's children.
