Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Passionate Good Intentions



In the late Sixties I became a very passionate promoter of small groups in the church. My passion was built upon my Good Intentions to help my church and promote Bible study methods among the College and Career Sunday school class. In accord with the old adage, "The road to Gahenna is paved with good intentions" my brilliant and passionate ideas blew up in my face. As a result I studied change management or "How to manage change so it doe not blow up in my face."



For many years I have believed and taught that Christians have a mandate from God to "Tend creation". I come from rural Illinois and learned as a youth the importance of caring for the earth, water and air. But when the "Global Warming Fanatics" started promoting all kinds of very expensive ways to protect the environment, I was suspicious. I started researching how well these changes will work and not "Blow up in our face".


For example, I studied bio-fuels made from corn and other plants. It was quickly obvious that making bio-fuels was a disaster economically and environmentally. Taking so much corn from food would raise the price of cereals, grain and meat dramatically. And, bio-fuels cause more carbon in the air. Yes, I said MORE carbon, not less.
Here is the conclusion of the Wall Street Journal article in today's paper.
So, incredibly, when the hidden costs of conversion are included, greenhouse-gas emissions from corn ethanol over the next 30 years will be twice as high as from regular gasoline. In the long term, it will take 167 years before the reduction in carbon emissions from using ethanol "pays back" the carbon released by land-use change. As they say, it's not easy being green. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120286874755264143.html



Why did President Bush and Congress pass laws mandating biofuels? Because farmers love the idea and politicians are buying their votes and punishing the rest of us.

So, let us understand the reality of making changes in what we grow, the fuels we use and what we ask the government to do for us. The Congress of the United States gets reelected by buying out votes. The $600.00 kick back recently voted by Congress is a disasterous policy and will hurt the economy badly. They voted to give us money to buy our votes despite the fact that it will hurt American economy.

When a politician says, "I am here to help you," cover your pocket book and run as fast as you can to the nearest exit.

1 comment:

Paula Clare said...

Hi Gary,
I too have been enrolled (repeatedly) in the "School of what NOT to do so it doesn't blow up in your face." Sadly, refresher courses are necessary...often.

The ethanol business infuriates me...I have long been a proponent of global feeding programs and US help to impoverished nations. HOW in the name of all that is holy, do we justify using a viable FOOD commodity for FUEL? (A fuel which is, as you mentioned, inefficient AND wasteful)I feel that we are literally taking the food from the mouths of hungry children to "feed" our gluttonous overuse of fuel. It may be the Great American Way to take, take, take...so then WHY during an election year are we to buy into the premise that politicians are "here to help?" (themselves to our wallets)

I'll climb down off my soapbox now...

Blessings, brother!