THE FAITHFUL CONSUMERDecember 06

…connecting faith and the environment

By Sarah Streed

In last month’s column, I wrote that I was hopeful for the power change in Congress. I wrote this because the current party in power—under the aegis of the current Administration—has used that Congressional power to roll back environmental protections that have been built up over the last 30 years. In three years the Bush Administration initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of U.S. environmental laws as well as relaxing rules aimed at oil, coal, logging, mining, auto, real estate development, agribusiness and chemical industries. And they did this under the most innocuous of names, e.g., the “Healthy Forests Act” which promoted logging of old-growth forests, or the “Clear Skies Act” (replacing the “Clear Air Act”) which allowed more pollution into our air.

Recently, I read an article by Paul Krugman, economist, New York Times columnist, author, who was saying how wealth in our country is transferring from the middle classes to the “elite.” Krugman cites studies that show wages have stagnated since Bush took office, but corporate profits have doubled. The gap between CEOs and average workers is ten times greater than a generation ago. Lee Scott, chairman of Wal-Mart, is paid almost $23 million—but this is not even exceptional in CEO salaryland. Bush’ tax cuts have saved the richest one percent of Americans more than $44,000 on average. Whereas the earnings of the typical full-time worker, adjusted for inflation, have actually fallen since Bush took office.

So what’s the link between these two seemingly disparate observations? Mainly this: Corporations—especially the executives who run them—are getting rich in part from polluting the environment. It costs money to cooperate with environmental restrictions. If you run a hog industry, it’s much cheaper to let all that waste (including chemicals, pesticides and plastics as well as the manure) run straight to the nearest river. It would cost money to properly dispose of it. Same if you’re a coal-fired energy company that emits hazardous fumes into our air. It costs money to install filters and pollution controlling devices. It’s much cheaper to lobby our government to allow this pollution into our air and water.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a retired CEO at a neighborhood picnic a few years ago. I don’t often spend time with CEOs, so I thought I would use the opportunity to ask him some questions. I asked, “Why don’t corporations support environmental protections? After all, the people who run them have children and grandchildren. They know that what they’re doing is jeopardizing future generations. What are they thinking of when they try to get by with polluting and cutting corners on our environment?” He replied, “They’re thinking of the next quarter’s profit.”

I have often thought of that answer since. It is why I believe corporations will never become green by themselves—they need government to impose restrictions that protect us, the public, and work for our common good and the good of the earth. The party that has been out of power in the House and the Senate is the party that has had a tradition of supporting environmental restrictions, and that is why I am anticipating laws to protect the environment will come out of the new party in power.

Jesus stood up to the fat cats of his time. His whole ministry is based on the concept that the poor and dispossessed matter just as much—if not more—than the rich. I believe as Christians we need to stand up to corporate polluters, both in the name of the poor and of Creation.

December’s tip: “An Inconvenient Truth” is now out on DVD. Rent it from Movie Gallery or Netflix. I wrote about this movie in a previous column, but now I have even more reason to promote it. One of my 16 year-old daughter’s friends rented it the other day, then talked to my daughter about it for over an hour. (My daughter, like most teenagers, considers her mom a bit addled. Her attitude is that I’m OK for a mom, certainly not more than that.) But after this conversation, she came to me and said she now understood why I was so upset about the environment and wants to do something with me. I was elated! For a similar boost in your family, watch the DVD.

Sarah Streed is a board member of the Wisconsin Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign (WICEC) and runs Write Stuff Works (www.writestuffworks.com ) a writing business. She lives in Stoughton, Wisconsin with her husband and children. Email smstreed@sbcglobal.net

 

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