Resolved, that the Executive Council meeting in San Antonio, TX, February 21-25, 2002, calls on the U.S. Congress and Administration to pass meaningful conservation-based energy legislation consistent with the long-standing belief that we are stewards of God's creation, responsible for its care and preservation; and be it further

Resolved, that the Church urges government and industry to consider raising vehicle fuel economy of all vehicles in the United States, increasing funding for mass transit, investing in renewable energy research and development, regulating carbon diocese, increasing energy efficiency for consumer products, and increasing funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and be it further

Resolved, that the Episcopal Church strongly opposes drilling or mining in our nation's dwindling wild lands and places important to the traditional cultures of indigenous peoples, including oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge that threaten the life and culture of the Gwich'in people.

Explanation

The Bush Administration and members of the 107th Congress have set as a priority for this nation the introduction and passage of energy legislation. The Episcopal Church cautions Congress not to adopt energy legislation based on short term realities at the expense of long-term solutions to energy independence. Conservation and reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels can be accomplished in economically responsible and beneficial ways. Conservation and development of the cleanest technologies possible are the wisest, most just, and most prudent means to meet our energy needs and fulfill our moral obligations to ensure the health and well being of the American people and people around the world.

Such proposals include:

1. Raising vehicle fuel economy, (also known as CAFÉ standards) for all vehicles in the United States in the shortest feasible timeframe, and require SUVs and minivans to meet the same standards as passenger cars.
2. Developing strategies by the government that encourage the auto industry to further design and produce vehicles using hybrid-electric, fuel cell, and other promising clean technologies, and provide incentives for their purchase.
3. Increasing funding for inter-city rail and metropolitan mass transit to provide attractive and functional alternatives to single occupancy autos.
4. Increasing investment by the government and private sector in renewable energy research and development with a focus on wind, geothermal, solar and biomass technology.
5. Including carbon dioxide as a regulated pollutant from power plants.
6. Applying the strongest feasible energy efficiency standards to consumer products.
7. Increasing funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and other programs to alleviate economic hardships on low-income people caused by high-energy prices.
   

The Rev. Rosemari G. Sullivan
Secretary of the Executive Council and the Domestic
and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States of America