Church group urges passage of global warming bill, Interfaith council wants to protect environment

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

An alliance of religious leaders from across West Virginia and 10other states are asking their U.S. senators to support federallegislation that would address global warming.

The West Virginia Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaignintended to deliver letters seeking help to the staffs of Sens.Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va.

The letters to Byrd and Rockefeller were signed by 40 members ofvarious religious denominations, including American Indian, Baptist,Buddhist, Church of Christ, Episcopalian, Greek Orthodox, Jewish,Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Quaker, Roman Catholic andUnitarian Universalist.

"Our scriptures teach us that we have a covenant with God and anobligation to future generations to protect the well-being of alllife on earth," said Dennis Sparks, executive director of the WestVirginia Council of Churches in Charleston. "This is the kind ofmoral principle that should guiding public policy. But to fulfill ourend of the covenant, we need our elected officials to at least allowdebate on the merits of possible solutions to the global warmingthreat."

Senators in Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon,Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin were to receive similarletters this week.

"Even though we come from various faith background, we all are ofthe belief that we have an obligation to be good stewards of God'screation," said Tonya Adkins of Huntington, who is a member of theChurch of Christ. "This is an important issue that needs to bedebated on the floor of the Senate."

Last fall, West Virginia's two senators were divided as the Senatevoted 55-43 to reject the Climate Stewardship Act. The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.,would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasesfrom industrial smokestacks.

Rockefeller supported the legislation, calling it a goodcompromise, while Byrd voted against it.

The legislation has stalled in the Senate this year. Congress isin recess until Monday and could take up the issue but has yet toschedule it.

"Global warming is one of the most important issues of our time,"said Rose Edinton, co-pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowshipin Charleston. "And the Senate leadership will not even allow athoughtful debate about it."

The McCain-Lieberman bill would require U.S. industry to cut backthe amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasesreleased into the atmosphere to 2000 levels by 2010.

American Electric Power Co., the nation's largest electricitygenerating company, has been neutral on the bill, partly because thecompany's carbon dioxide emissions already fall below the cap thebill would impose.

Byrd, who has repeatedly criticized the Bush administration fornot doing enough to cut greenhouse gases, said climate changes mustbe addressed but should be done as part of a broader energy billrather than by stand-alone legislation.

"We must develop new and cleaner technologies to burn fossil fuelsas well as new methods to capture and sequester greenhouse gases,"Byrd said. "And we must develop renewable technology that ispractical and cost-effective."