Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Environmental Stewardship

December 20, 2012

Conservation and Entrepreneurial Environmentalism

I found this profile of Mark Tercek, the former Goldman Sachs managing director who was tapped to head the Nature Conservancy, raises some profound issues concerning the relationship between economics and the environment: Tercek, 55, didn’t come to the Conservancy to fight financial brush fires. Continue Reading...
November 28, 2012

Rachel Carson’s Environmental Religion

Review of Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson. Edited by Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers, and Andrew Morriss (Cato, 2012) During the 50 years following the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, much has been written to discredit the science of her landmark book. Continue Reading...
September 14, 2012

ResearchLinks – 09.14.12

Working Paper: “Top Ten Myths of Medicare” Richard L. Kaplan (University of Illinois College of Law), Illinois Program in Law, Behavior and Social Science Paper No. LBSS13-02; Illinois Public Law Research Paper No. Continue Reading...
July 19, 2012

Churches and Climate Change

I belong to the Christian Reformed Church, and our synod this year decided to formally adopt a report and statements related to creation care and specifically to climate change. I noted this at the time, and that one of the delegates admitted, “I’m a skeptic on much of this.” Continue Reading...
July 06, 2012

Legatus Magazine & Acton Round-Up

The Acton Institute’s staff is heavily featured in the July/August issue of Legatus Magazine. First, there is a brief review of the Rev. Robert Sirico’s new book, ‘Defending the Free Market’: He shows why free-market capitalism is not only the best way to ensure individual success and national prosperity, but is also the surest route to a well-ordered society. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2012

Growing Detroit

Some time back I argued that urban farming and the entrepreneurial spirit in Detroit was something that should be embraced rather than dismissed. Detroit mayor Dave Bing has given verbal support for urban and community farms in the past, but in many cases some regulatory hurdles remained and he was somewhat skeptical at times about the importance of large scale urban agriculture projects. Continue Reading...
June 19, 2012

The Tyranny of Scientific Consensus

As might be expected, the question of “scientific consensus” and its presumptive role in shaping our public and ecclesial policy was raised in the context of a decision by the Christian Reformed Church to make a formal public statement regarding climate change. Continue Reading...
June 15, 2012

Doubling Down on Pascal’s Wager

The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) held its annual synod this week, and among the items it dealt with were overtures and recommendations related to the issues of climate change and creation care. Continue Reading...
May 16, 2012

Free Market Environmentalism for Religious Leaders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcuZYn6BLyI Our friends at the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment (FREE) in Bozeman, Mont., have put together another strong slate of summer programs for clergy, seminary professors and other religious leaders with the aim of deepening their understanding of environmental policy. Continue Reading...
May 02, 2012

Video: The False Promise of Green Energy

For PowerBlog readers, we’re posting the video from Andrew Morriss’ April 26 Acton Lecture Series talk in Grand Rapids, Mich., on “The False Promise of Green Energy.” Here’s the lecture description: “Green energy advocates claim that transforming America to an economy based on wind, solar, and biofuels will produce jobs for Americans, benefits for the environment, and restore American industry. Continue Reading...