Restoring Eden

Sections

Home » Community » CreationVoice Newsletter Back-Issues » Issue 4, Volume 1 - Earth Day » Protect - The Arctic Refuge protected again by the bold defiance of moderate Christians

Protect - The Arctic Refuge protected again by the bold defiance of moderate Christians

Document Actions

Great news! Once again, 24 moderate Republicans stood up to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from attempts by their own party to open it up to violent oil drilling and industrial sprawl. While it was still in committee, the Republican leadership tried to place funding for drilling into the final budget bill, which had passed the Senate 51-49. But thanks to these 24 moderate Republican Representatives, the budget that came out of the House Budget Committee does not include the drilling. Their moral certainty has saved the Arctic Refuge from another round of drilling. We’re glad so many students joined us last month to speak out on behalf of the arctic caribou to our elected representatives.

This victory confirms what so many observers are talking about: historically conservative folks are recognizing that protecting God’s creation is a moral issue that cannot be compromised on. A Harvard study discussed by the Christian Science Monitor shows that young Christian voters are becoming more integrative in their application of biblical principles to the political world. They are seeing issues like creation care as moral, which should spread across party lines. And the International Herald Tribune published an article earlier this week showing a nonpartisan centering of the Christian vote, particularly among evangelicals.

We are excited to see that God’s community will not let the Bible be held captive by either party, and look forward to building the consensus among Christians on both sides of the aisle that creation care is a biblical and moral issue that the world’s “least of these” cannot afford for us to ignore.

Below is a list of the moderate Republicans that are defying their party’s leadership in order to save the Arctic. If you see your Representative on the list, we encourage you to call or email their office and thank them as a Christian for protecting what God loves. In addition to making it safe for Christians to love God’s creation, we need to remind representatives that TerraAgape is safe even for them!

Easy House of Representatives Contact Page

Signers of Letter Refusing to Pass Pro-Drilling Budget

Nancy Johnson (R-CT)

Charles Bass (R-NH)

Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)

Joe Schwarz (R-MI)

Jim Ramstad (R-MN)

Tim Johnson (R-IL)

Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY)

Christopher Shays (R-CT)

Jim Saxton (R-NJ)

Dave Reichert (R-WA)