Acton Institute PowerBlog - Entries from Thursday, September 13, 2007

Giving and the Rise of Volunteerism

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Whenever an ex-president releases a new book there is considerable buzz in the media. When Bill Clinton released a new book in Chicago this week the buzz was more than considerable. President Clinton’s new book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World (Knopf 2007), is sure to provoke good and important discussion. My hope is that those who love him, as well as those who despise him for whatever reason, will take a long look at his central argument (even it they refuse to buy his book). The argument he makes is simple and he uses stories to make it—each of us can make an important difference in the world, a much greater difference than we’ve ever imagined.

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Posted by John H. Armstrong in Effective Compassion at 12:31 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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bill clinton, charity, christianity, effective compassion, giving, volunteerism

Global Warming Consensus Alert: Could This Be The End of Science?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from supporters of climate change alarmism, it’s this: Science = consensus, and consensus = TRUTH.

Well, it appears that science and truth have taken another hit:

A new analysis of peer-reviewed literature reveals that more than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting at least one element of current man-made global warming scares. More than 300 of the scientists found evidence that 1) a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to ours since the last Ice Age and/or that 2) our Modern Warming is linked strongly to variations in the sun’s irradiance.

Via Henry Payne at Planet Gore.

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in Environmental Stewardship at 10:05 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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climate change, environmental stewardship, global warming, global warming consensus alert

The Annotated Inbox

Thursday, September 13, 2007

A brief survey of a number of items of note from my inbox over recent days:

“U.S. Court Backs States’ Measures to Cut Emissions,” New York Times (September 13, 2007). This is noteworthy because one of the oft-overlooked elements of the Mass. v. EPA Supreme Court decision was that federal law prevents state agencies from introducing stronger standards than those of the federal EPA. There’s a states’ rights issue in there somewhere.
“Why the Hungry Refuse Help,” New York Times (September 13, 2007). No big surprise here: “bureaucratic hassles imposed by the city may be discouraging hundreds of thousands of eligible New Yorkers from getting the help they need.”
“Faith’s role on the rise in campaign ‘08,” Christian Science Monitor, September 12, 2007: “Hot-button social issues of concern to religious activists are taking a back seat to Iraq and domestic issues, even among Evangelicals.”
“Low Technologies, High Aims,” New York Times, September 11, 2007. MIT “has turned its attention toward concrete thinking to improve the lives of the world’s bottom billion, those who live on a dollar a day or less and who often die young.”
What was the cause of the sudden dearth of honeybees? At first the claim was that it must be related to global warming, the scientific default boogeyman. Now we hear it’s a rare virus instead. See “A Virus Among Honeybees,” which plays up other potential causes. See also “Virus Is Seen as Suspect in Death of Honeybees,” and “Clue found to missing bees.” The former report says that the “theory” of climate change as a cause has been “rejected.”
“Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries,” New York Times, September 10, 2007. The rather unsophisticated and seemingly blanket censorship is troubling, given the need that hardened criminals have for spiritual renewal. See also “Going Off Parole: How the Elimination of Discretionary Prison Release Affects the Social Cost of Crime,” a new NBER paper, as well as “Prison Town, U.S.A.” on the expansion of the prison-industrial complex.
“The Role of Religious and Social Organizations in the Lives of Disadvantaged Youth,” NBER Working Paper, September 2007: “This paper examines whether participation in religious or other social organizations can help offset the negative effects of growing up in a disadvantaged environment.” See also the Acton publication, “Faith Makes a Difference: A Study of the Influence of Faith in Human Service Programs.”
“Wealth tax initiative enters circulation,” Eureka Review, September 8, 2007. California might have a potentially devastating progressive tax measure on the ballot.
“The Freemasonry Threat,” Christianity Today, August 31, 2007. Denial of the compatibility of lodge membership with Christianity was one of the elements that has historically separated the Christian Reformed Church from the Reformed Church in America. See the CRC statement here. There’s been a big push in Michigan by the Masons to revitalize their organization. They advertise on every Detroit Tiger baseball radio broadcast, for instance. See also my “Civic Groups Remain Relevant” for the larger context.
“What is Wrong with Capitalism? The Problem with the Problem with Capitalism,” The Other Journal, no. 5: “Whatever defense of capitalism’s virtues is proffered, no one confuses capitalism with the Kingdom of God.”
“Should Christians Give Markets Another Chance?” The Other Journal: “As a Christian, I doubt that the kin-dom of God can accommodate the traditional baggage of ‘capitalism’ and its presumed antagonism. Indeed, as Kathryn Tanner notes, this image of capitalism seems to be Christianity’s exact opposite.”
“The 17 Percent Problem and the Perils of Domestication,” New York Times, August 13, 2007: “What does it mean to go from a humanly ancient world in which only 17 percent of nature had been “tainted” to a world in which only 17 percent remains untainted?”
“An Atrocity That Needs No Exaggeration,” New York Times, August 12, 2007: “No matter how noble their intentions, there’s no need for advocacy groups to kill more Darfuris than the conflict itself already has.”
“What the Beatitudes Teach,” Policy Review, August & September 2007.