JEB! Burps Environmental Platitudes At Thumper U Speech - Waiting For His Response To Pope
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Bush’s appeal to religion is standard fare for potential GOP presidential candidates, especially when speaking before Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school that has produced many of the Religious Right’s most influential leaders. What was less expected — and potentially groundbreaking — was how he described one of the key components of his faith: concern for the environment. “America’s environmental debates, likewise, can be too coldly economical, too sterile of life,” Bush said. “Christians see in nature and all God’s creatures designs grander than any of man’s own devising, the endless glorious work of the Lord of Life. Men and women of your generation are striving to be protectors of Creation, instead of just users. Good shepherds, instead of just hirelings. And that moral vision can make all the difference.”
This combination of faith and environmentalism, although common in some progressive circles, is highly unusual for a major GOP candidate, and ultimately begs the question: will Bush follow the lead of the Catholic hierarchy and become one of the first prominent Republicans to make the spiritual case for legislation to combat climate change, or is his speech just another case of religious doublespeak?
It bears mentioning that the former governor’s remarks were vague, in part because Bush has undergone something of an evolution — or, perhaps, a spiritual journey — on the issue of climate change over the years. In 2011, he hesitantly acknowledged that global warming “may be real,” but said he was unsure whether it was “disproportionately man-made” and argued skeptics have “every right” to contend that “it’s not a certainty.” And while recent weeks have seen him more willing to recognize our changing climate — he described it in April as an issue he is “concerned about” and encouraged cooperation with other countries to “negotiate a way to reduce carbon emissions” — his actual policy agenda is incomplete at best. Speaking to a group in New Hampshire last month, Bush explained his only solution to climate change was to “take advantage of the abundance of natural gas,” a position that mirrors proposals from some Democrats but still carries its own environmental risks.
But if Bush’s take on the environment feels murky, his pope’s position is crystal clear. Pope Francis has made headlines for his progressive take on green issues, a pro-environment legacy he inherited from his predecessors but has nonetheless made a central component of his own papacy. Since mentioning the need to care for God’s creation during his first mass as the pontiff, Francis has labeled the mistreatment of the earth a “sin,” convened two summits at the Vatican on sustainability, and is scheduled to publish a formal papal encyclical next month that is expected to instruct the world’s billion-plus Catholics to act on climate change. The pope’s zeal is backed by a growing faith-based coalition to protect the planet, with Catholics, interfaith organizations, and even evangelicals regularly pushing lawmakers to pass legislation that preserves our natural resources.
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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/12/3657519/will-jeb-bush-take-faith-seriously-climate-change/