The Cornwall Alliance calls environmentalism "one of the greatest threats to society."
A conservative religious organization with ties to the oil industry is lashing out at health-conscious evangelical leaders for supporting new federal rules on mercury. They assert that protection of the unborn from toxic pollution cannot be called pro-life because the term does not mean “quality of life.”
The Cornwall Alliance is a group of conservative evangelicals devoted to spreading disinformation about climate change through its mission of “free-market environmental stewardship.” In its Declaration on Global Warming, the organization says “we deny that carbon dioxide … is a pollutant” and that “we deny that alternative, renewable fuels can … replace fossil and nuclear fuels.”
Think Progress conducted a lengthy investigation of this pollution-pushing evangelical group in 2010.
Responding to a new video and radio ad campaign from the Evangelical Environment Network that encourages lawmakers to support new mercury standards in order to “protect the unborn,” the Cornwall Alliance issued a statement explaining its view that being pro-life does not denote “quality of life.”
The term pro-life originated historically in the struggle to end abortion on demand and continues to be used in public discourse overwhelmingly in that sense. To ignore that is at best sloppy communication and at worst intentional deception. The life in pro-life denotes not quality of life but life itself. The term denotes opposition to a procedure that intentionally results in dead babies. (Bold not our emphasis.)
This doesn’t mean we should ignore environmental risks. It does mean they should not be portrayed as pro-life. Genuinely pro-life people will usually desire to reduce other risks as well—guided by cost/benefit analysis. But to call those issues “pro-life” is to obscure the meaning of the term.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the new mercury rules will prevent 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks each year. And the impact of high levels of mercury in unborn children are well documented:
For fetuses, infants, and children, the primary health effect of methylmercury is impaired neurological development. Impacts on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills have been seen in children exposed to methylmercury in the womb.
Outbreaks of methylmercury poisonings have made it clear that adults, children, and developing fetuses are at risk from ingestion exposure to methylmercury. During these poisoning outbreaks some mothers with no symptoms of nervous system damage gave birth to infants with severe disabilities, it became clear that the developing nervous system of the fetus may be more vulnerable to methylmercury than is the adult nervous system.
A growing number of religious leaders — including the U.S. Conference of Bishops — has come out in favor of reducing mercury emissions because of their impact on the health of children.
“A new national standard to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants is an important step forward to protect the health of all people, especially unborn babies and young children, from harmful exposure to dangerous air pollutants,” said the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy chairman in response to the proposed rules on mercury emissions.
In stark contrast to mainstream religious leaders, the fringe Cornwall Alliance has called the environmental movement “one of the greatest threats to society and the church today.”
Perhaps they are referring to the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI? Dubbed the “Green Pope,” Pope Benedict has been a vocal supporter of strong environmental standards, renewable energy, and action on climate change in order to protect “the whole of creation.”
Watch the video ad campaign from the Evangelical Environment Network below:
Update
The Evangelical Environmental Network continues to defend its ads from political attacks against prominent politicians, including Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe. “We believe protecting the unborn from mercury poisoning is a consistent pro-life position. An issue that impacts the unborn – that’s where we resonate as a pro-life organization,” said Alexei Laushkin, an EEN spokesman, in an interview with The Hill Thursday.
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It is pretty mind boggling that the oil companies would stoop to this, and shows us the kinds of creatures we are dealing with. What’s next? Fighting electric cars and solar energy? Oh, they’re already doing that, sorry.
In this case I think it’s the coal companies and power companies that are against the mercury rules.
At least on this issue, the US Conference of Bishops is very much on the right side, on the moral side, on the rational side. Yet one hears nothing about it in the media.
On the issue of insurance for contraception, one hears nothing but the Bishops’ views.
No worries – we’ll always have lots of work to do. Guaranteed.
I wonder if we’ll soon be hearing the Bishop’s position on insurance coverage for little blue “boing-boing” pills.
The Devil, the Father of Lies, is quite happy with this religious group carrying on his work, of destroying the Earth, for all of Creation, in His name.
Mike Roddy, this argument should stop them in their tracks. Biblical quotations can be cited.
So by their standards child porn and illegal drugs should be legal. Why wait till you reach 18 to start smoking? Put lead paint back in the houses and who doesn’t miss those cadmium toys? If we make your life really crappy on earth, your reward will be much greater in heaven. Yep.
I’m really starting to feel like the inmates have been left out of the asylum. Every time you turn around, there is another misbegotten group of morons with an agenda that will further the demise of civilization.
I caught a little of Stcve King on C-span tonight, ragging on everything from light bulbs to low-flow shower heads. These people the spoiled children of our society. The old-time conservatives used to talk about personal responsibility and avoiding risk. The new conservatives have abandoned those ideas. The only person they want to be responsible for is themselves and they will risk everything to get and keep all they can, all the while calling this single-minded quest to get more an excercise in liberty.
What a travesty.
“The term denotes opposition to a procedure that intentionally results in dead babies.”
I would contend, and reality will bare witness to, the fact that the very same endeavor that promotes the dusting of mercury is also a major player in climatic disruption which directly leads to starving masses hither and yon. Pre-born and post-born. Hypocrites, one and all. Picking at straws with nothing left but short brown ones.
In the earlier post on the Cornwall Alliance, Climate Progress states:
“On Friday, at the polluter-funded Heritage Foundation, Cornwall rolled out its latest campaign called ‘Resisting the Green Dragon.’ Billed as ‘a Biblical response to one of the greatest deceptions of our day,’ the video series claims the entire climate change movement is a ‘false religion,’ a nefarious conspiracy to empower eugenicists and create a ‘global government.’ Watch the absurd trailer here, which portrays the idea of climate change as akin to the Lord of the Rings villain Sauron: …”
The oily operators behind the religious climate change disinformation front group, Cornwall Alliance
By Climate Guest Blogger on Jun 19, 2010
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2010/06/19/206237/the-oily-operators-behind-the-religious-climate-change-disinformation-front-group-cornwall-alliance/
Greatest deceptions, false religion, one world government… For anyone familiar with Revelation, it would seem that this is what they are playing off of:
“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”
Revelation 13:2 KJV
“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
Revelation 13:4 KJV
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Revelation 13:8 KJV
“And the beast was taken , and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
Revelation 14:10 KJV
A belief that we are living in End Times is common among Evangelicals. It would seem that the Cornwall Alliance is deliberately playing off of a belief in End Times, trying to foment a religious hatred of science, turning religion into a weapon for the sake of the fossil fuel industry’s profits. Great deception indeed.
These Cornwall folks sound more like lawyers than Christians.
They must have a different Bible to the one I have. Is their leader Sam Albert Tan?
“we deny that carbon dioxide … is a pollutant”
Cornwall Alliance is ok w/the term “denier.” :-)
I’ve always told people that I have never met a pro-life person, only pro-birth. This just furthers my view that I was somewhat correct.
As an evangelical Christian deeply concerned about climate change (I am currently working on a PhD in Christian climate ethics), I apologise for the lunatics who also profess to follow Christ. Some are misguided, some have let their faith be driven by their political ideology, some have simply sold their soul to the Devil.