Salon.com News | "A crisis of biblical proportions": "Polluters will have to answer to God, not just government, says Richard Cizik. Vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, Cizik is a pro-Bush Bible-brandishing reverend zealously opposed to abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research. He is also on a mission to convert tens of millions of Americans to the cause of conservation, using a right-to-life framework. Cizik has been crisscrossing the United States in recent months, spreading the doctrine of 'creation care' to evangelical Christians.

Citing the Bible, Cizik says 'it is sinfully wrong -- it is a tragedy of enormous proportions -- to destroy, degrade, or despoil the earth.' And he maintains that subscribing to the 'creation care' agenda does not mean people 'have to become liberal weirdoes.' With his leadership, NAE, one of the most politically powerful religious advocacy groups in America, released a manifesto last year urging its members to adopt eco-friendly living habits and exhorting the government to lighten America's environmental footprint. Next month, the organization will begin circulating a charter calling on its member network and top-level Beltway allies to fight global warming."

(Via Salon.)