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Energy Policy in A merican Faith Communities: “The Power to Change”
Author(s) -
Townsend Patricia K.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
culture, agriculture, food and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2153-9561
pISSN - 2153-9553
DOI - 10.1111/cuag.12001
Subject(s) - stalemate , energy policy , faith , political science , commission , politics , power (physics) , energy (signal processing) , public administration , law , engineering , renewable energy , theology , physics , philosophy , electrical engineering , quantum mechanics
This paper traces the development of energy policy in the mainline churches beginning with M argaret M ead and R ené D ubos's 1974 commission to prepare a report to the N ational C ouncil of C hurches on the use of plutonium as a commercial fuel. The report stirred a controversy and a broader examination of energy ethics that culminated in the adoption in 1979 of a N ational C ouncil of C hurches of C hrist in the U.S.A. policy paper and encouraged constituent denominations to make their own studies of energy policy. The development and implementation of these policies is followed from 1980 to the present, using the P resbyterian C hurch ( U.S.A. ) as a representative mainline denomination. This turn to ethical reasoning to support change in U .S. energy policy is a hopeful development, given the stalemate in such discussion when framed in scientific or political terms.