June 27, 2008

With the price of gas already skyrocketing to over $4 a gallon in some cities around the country, Americans are struggling at the pump and elsewhere. Though lawmakers are looking to provide short- and long-term policy solutions, many faith-based groups are approaching the larger issue of global climate change from a different perspective and offering answers based on their belief in a spiritual obligation to preserve the planet.

The price of crude oil and the cost of refining are the two main factors that are causing gas prices to rise so quickly. The global market determines the price of crude oil, not oil companies. OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) only sets limits on how much oil its member states can produce. It is the global market, on the other hand, that determines what people are willing to pay at a particular time. As the world population steadily increases, so does demand for oil. Coupled with supply disruptions due to natural disasters and political upheaval in oil-producing countries, this creates the formula for high gas prices.

At a time when America is at an energy crossroads, the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have offered solutions to minimize this country's oil dependence. Though their energy plans differ on a number of points, both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have proposed policy reforms that address speculation and the windfall profits tax, as well as exploring alternative energy resources, such as natural gas, wind, and ethanol.

As politicians continue to determine which policies would best address rising gas prices and the effects of global climate change, there are dozens of faith-based environmental organizations that have taken steps toward the same end. In their effort to protect the earth, groups like the Washington, D.C Green Muslim are working to help communities understand and implement sustainable and eco-conscious ways of living while relating their efforts to Islam and a holistic worldview. MPAC has also joined the faith-based environmental movement by launching its own guide to protecting the earth.

Other groups are also thinking about the green movement as a responsibility within their faith. The Teva Learning Center, for example, seeks to create awareness among Jews about their connection with and dependence upon the natural systems that support life. The Center seeks "to renew the ecological wisdom inherent in Judaism" by "immersing participants in the natural world."

The Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL), whose motto is "helping congregations protect creation," uses worship as a means by which people and faith groups "can learn respect for God's creation, and experience a call to environmental stewardship." To this end, the GWIPL has worked to promote clean and efficient energy, and sustainable food practices.

The pressing need for comprehensive environmental reform is difficult to ignore and more people thinking about how to solve the problem can only increase the number of solutions. While policymakers are searching for viable answers, the faith-based green movement is also a valuable method in thinking about these concerns across faith lines to preserve the earth as a form of worship.