Trump’s climate views conflict with Christians

Since his inauguration in January, President Trump has declared six national emergencies through executive orders.

These include the three he used to impose tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada; one to declare an emergency at the southern border of the United States; another that declares cartels and other organizations as terrorist organizations.

In total, there are currently 44 national emergency declarations in operation, some of which have been continuously renewed for decades.

The sixth national emergency declaration that this article discusses is titled Declaring a National Energy Emergency (EO14156).

What is a national emergency? It is a situation where the president is granted expansive authority and powers under the National Emergencies Act (NEA) of 1976.

According to Protect Democracy — a nonpartisan, antiauthoritarian group with more than 100 staff that includes conservatives, moderates and progressives — when a national emergency is declared this activates more than 130 statutory powers.

These powers can include closing and controlling domestic transportation, halting the Clean Air Act and seizing private property.

The national energy emergency contends that the “policies of the previous administration have driven our Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action.

Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology.”

Seth Blumsack — Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs at Penn State — states that “over the past 15 years, the United States has become a global energy superpower even without any emergency declarations.” He also claims that the “U.S. is already quite energy secure.”

The issue, however, is that the oil refineries were not designed to process the kind of oil produced in the U.S. Reconfiguring these refineries to process light oil would be very expensive.

The Declaration’s definition of energy appears to mostly include fossil fuels, whereas green energy sources like wind and solar are notably absent.

While President Trump says that he “loves Christians” and wants to protect them, a near exclusive focus on fossil fuel production ignores the dozens of Christian organizations and denominations that support green energy and environmental initiatives.

Yale’s program on Climate Change Communication published a report in 2015 with a key finding stating that a large majority of Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants and evangelicals support regulating carbon dioxide and tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles and solar panels.

The report also notes that whereas a small minority of Christians believe that God wants humans to dominate nature, a large majority believe it’s important to care for future generations, nature and the poor. This report preceded Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change Laudato Si, yet the Christians mentioned in the report seem to be somewhat on board with the encyclical.

President Trump’s statement “drill, baby, drill” is at odds with the views of many Christians.

As we move toward Earth Day, the articles in this column will focus on the faith and environment intersection.