There’s a fashionable acronym a few years old, W-W-J-D…to remind the faithful to think of what Jesus would do in any situation. But today it may stand for “What Would Jesus DRIVE?” TV ads will start soon urging good Iowa churchgoers to bypass the S-U-V and buy a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. It’s the work of the Reverend Jim Ball, director of the Evangelical Environmental Network. He says they aim to help evangelical Christians, and others, understand that they’re called to “help our neighbor” by reducing pollution. Ball says his group doesn’t consider environmentalism a cause with any political or religious orientation. He says it’s hurting our neighbor and contributing to global warming and hurting the poor, so he says reading the bible it’s pretty clear that if transportation pollution causes problems, we should do something about it. Ball says it’s not an anti-SUV campaign per se, just a reminder not to use more resources than a family may need. He says next time folks need to buy a vehicle, they should buy the least polluting, most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets their needs, which’ll probably save them money — and he says all decisions are moral decisions and Christians shouldn’t be too concerned about a “little bit of sacrifice on our part.” Reverend Ball says the group isn’t “anti-SUV” though the vehicle shopping choice is its focus. Ball says transportation choices, “the way we get around,” have a big impact on God’s creation, and so consumers should consider ways to make their homes more energy-efficient and in other ways reduce pollution. E-E-N, the evangelical environmental network, will pay for TV ads in Iowa and a handful of other states this month, to urge Christians to reconsider buying gas-guzzler vehicles.
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