Initially, it was reported that there were no injuries when fifty cars were derailed on a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio. What began as a crisis averted descended into disaster as the subsequent response to the derailed train involved a “controlled” burn of hazardous, carcinogenic, chemicals that were on board the train. Governor Mike DeWine contended that the controlled burn would prevent a potential explosion. Under such a scenario, chemicals like Vinyl Chloride would be burned, transforming into Hydrogen Chloride, phosphene gas, and Carbon Monoxide—all toxic chemicals. Yet just as motor vehicles have catalytic converters due to imperfect reactions, the reaction described is not absolute and there are other byproducts of burning Vinyl Chloride.
Videos and images of the chemical mushroom cloud that was released have drawn much scrutiny, as has the government’s early statements claiming the air and water were safe. This drew hazardous materials specialist Sil Caggiano to declare that, “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open” and warn that there would be uptick in cancers in the years to come. Already, there have been reports of dying livestock and wildlife, along with oily creeks. This is in addition to the chemical release impacting the atmosphere and potentially the Mississippi River watershed.
Like Mike DeWine, the government will claim there were no good options, just as many officials did with Covid. To the plebs, who are suffering the fallout, the government actions, motivated by myopic greed, led to fallout possibly worse than inaction. For good reason, the phrase Chemical Chernobyl is employed. Though not radioactive, the fallout from the chemical burn impacted East Palestine similarly to the fallout of the Chernobyl, paired with preemptive government denials to the severity of the incident.
The incident could very well be described as the worst non-nuclear environmental disaster in history, and just as Chernobyl, it was brought about by a combination of malice, negligence, and sheer incompetence. After two weeks, the Biden Administration finally devoted FEMA assistance to the region.
What happened in East Palestine is the fruit of American corruption manifest in a singular incident. There is much blame to be shared amongst the parties involved. There is Norfolk Southern, which has been accused by Governor Josh Shapiro (PA) of deception in failing to recommend alternative solutions to a controlled burn. Several others have insinuated that greed motivated the recommended actions so the railway would be cleared sooner. Perhaps the controlled burn was the only viable option, representing the lesser evil, yet it remains the fruit of wanton governance nonetheless. The Railroad Industry is ripe with corruption in its lobbying, often touting innovations like Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes, but lobbying regulators and Congress to not impose them. In other words, as the industry increasingly began transporting hazardous materials and oil, the rail industry pressed against implemented ECP brakes on their train cars. Between 2011 and 2021, the top seven freight railroads, which includes Norfolk Southern, spent $191 billion on share buybacks and dividends versus $138 billion on capital expenditures.
Then there is the walking joke of a Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, whose expertise of trains is nonexistent when it comes to locomotives. Instead of focusing on the racism of America’s infrastructure, perhaps he should have been regulating the railroad industry to improve safety and minimize derailments. After all, that is his job. Moreover, toxic chemicals like Vinyl Chloride, used to make PVC piping, are dangerous to transport by rail for this very reason. Ironically, China forbids it. Perhaps America should too.
Whereas the Trump administration rolled back Obama era regulations, the Biden Administration has both failed to reimplement them and been subservient to the rail industry during the 2022 labor negotiations, spurring Congress to legislate against a union strike. Surprisingly, when given the opportunity to sneak regulation into H.J.Res. 100, the bipartisan congress voted to affirm an unfavorable deal to railroad workers. Congress and the Bureaucratic State have no qualms about regulating everyday Americans, proposing regulations on new vehicles, promoting expensive, cost ineffective electric vehicles by mandates, pushing ethanol as a fuel under the guise of “green” energy, and a host of other intrusive regulations under a wicked climate agenda.
There are no qualms pursuing the climate agenda that will inevitably tax Americans more and raise prices of everyday goods, services, and foods all based on faulty science of global warming. The globalists and Uniparty diagnose Carbon Dioxide as a threat to humanity, demanding that we rewire our entire society to reshape the earth’s climate, yet when it comes to poisonous vaccines or the transportation of hazardous materials, due diligence is absent. Instead, the boot of the environmental activists targets the cattle ranchers and meat consumption of everyday Americans and desires that electric vehicles be forced upon the populace.
The damage performed by this Chemical Chernobyl is a one-off event, and because CO2 is not the culprit, but instead actual chemical hazards, there is no mainstream emphasis by the world. The reason for this disconnect is an issue of worldview. Climate change is wrongly perceived as an eschatological threat, even by mainstream Christianity and Big Eva. The cure is to impose costly lifestyle changes and taxation by inflation or regulation. East Palestine is a one-off event that deviates from the long term narrative.
Big Eva Climate Apostacy
Despite the tangible suffering and fallout from this environmental disaster, which could result in cancers and lost wealth on behalf of the residents, Big Eva will continue to perpetuate the eschatology of Climate Change and why Christians should believe the “science” and become environmentalists.
The Gospel Coalition announced a debate on Climate Change in its upcoming series of “good faith” debates, featuring liberal Jake Meador against a presumably more conservative Brian Mattson. They will be debating the question, “Should Addressing Climate Change Be a Public Policy Priority for Christians?” which presupposes the need to address climate change.
Unsurprisingly, the apostate Christianity Today has perpetuated climate agenda under the banner of Christianity for years. Big Eva feels the need to promulgate the climate narrative on an American church that is disinterested and they perceive this as a threat and gospel issue. One should not be dumbfounded that the supposed Christian organization, Biologos, founded by pro abortion, Covid creator, Francis Collins, is also climate alarmists, featuring climate activists like Katherine Hayhoe.
Rather than market it as climate change or global warming, they brand this agenda under the guise of “creation care.” This is using a more Christianized term that bears implications from God’s command in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it (Genesis 2:15). However, rather than advocate policies that benefit overall human flourishing, which would be biblical, “Creation Care” becomes a means to market environmentalism and climate agenda to the church at the expense of human prosperity.
Jonathan Moo’s Amended Gospel
This subsequent apostacy grafts works to the gospel, works for the “good” of the environment at the expense of the individual. Jonathan Moo recently spoke at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he advocated that it is virtuous to walk, bike, and purchase carbon credits to offset flying. Moo boasts of these as good works, as if biking is preferable to driving. Environmentalism often promotes meaningless actions people can take to “help” the environment that have little effect on the world yet feel virtuous for the doer. Additionally, there is an implication that if one flies and does not purchase carbon offsets through Moo’s organization, then they are not virtuous.
At SBTS, Moo argued that environmentalism is part of the gospel and those who do not “care” about the environment do not have the gospel. Moo relates the summation of the law Jesus teaches to include “creation care.” Moo employs Romans 8 to suggest that just as God reconciles man with both Himself and fellow Children of God, He also reconciles man with creation. Already, he conflates the law with the gospel while adding “creation care” to the law itself.
Moo then goes on to contend Christians ought to listen to the science while using at a minimum “old earth creation premises” (or outright denying the Genesis creation account) to advocate that humans have raised the temperatures of the earth.
Moo’s solution is for Christians to be fully AWAKE: attentiveness, walking, activism, “konsumerism,” and eating. To be attentive was defined as appreciating nature as God’s creation. Walking means to rely less on carbon fuels for transportation. This is where Moo implicitly attributes guilt for average people driving instead of walking or biking. There is nothing sinful about relying upon a vehicle for transportation, nor is one virtuous for inconveniencing drivers on the road. Purchasing carbon offsets is neither virtuous nor a prudent use of money. This is works based religion. His activism point begins with dialogue as a solution before delving into political activism that transcends partisan politics. He proceeds to critique those at the seminary who wrote off his lecture thinking he was a liberal, which they were correct in their assumptions. Konsumerism (consumerism) is stating that people should purchase greener. This is tied into eating “food that costs more but rewards farmers” that are greener.
The problem with “eating” is that the climate religion hates meat and seeks humans and condemns humanity for farming cattle for both meat and milk. The World Economic Forum has been notorious in its push for people to eat the bugs while woke corporations push “meat alternatives” in both stores and fast food menus. Why? Because according to the EPA, which does not care about the air quality in East Palestine, OH, 37% of US methane emissions come from cattle. What happens when “eating” contends that having fewer children to feed is virtuous, creating a reduced footprint. Therefore, it is environmentally friendly to support “family planning” programs.
Moo not only conflates the law with the gospel, his AWAKE mentality adds environmentalism to the law, which in turn adds it to the gospel. Many of these works he advocate cost money, and if imposed by government, would tax everybody thereby objectively harming one’s neighbors. There is no universal standard under his framework and eventually, it would devolve into eating meat is immoral for the methane pollution of cattle. Contrary, Scripture not only permits the eating of meat, but the Israelites were commanded to eat lamb for the Passover meal.
Moo is acting as a trojan horse for the religion, which bears a Malthusian ethic that is anti-human in its belief that humanity is a blight upon the earth.
Climate Stewards USA and A Rocha USA
Jonathan Moo advocated the purchase of carbon offsets through his organization Climate Stewards USA, of which he does not properly disclose such conflict when giving the lecture. Climate Stewards USA is an initiative of A Rocha. Both specialize as supposed Christian organizations focused on creation care, with the mother organization fixated on marine biology and biodiversity conservation (habitats) while the initiative being more about carbon offsets and missions.
Basically, Climate Stewards USA solicits donations by telling nonprofits and donors that their work will offset their carbon footprint. This is in addition to the “carbon footprint audits” they sell as a service. This is a predatory guilt-based model to garner revenue from gullible organizations and individuals who think offsetting a carbon footprint is a good work. Carbon credits generally range from $40-80 per metric ton. Through Climate Stewards USA, purchasing carbon credits has essentially become the modern-day indulgence. They even synergize carbon fasting for Lent, which advocates not eating meat or dairy, taking periods of rest from driving, and taking five minute showers.
They then use money to finance “green” missions projects in third world countries, like planting trees and gasless stoves. It is unclear whether gasless stoves are a cost-effective missions strategy in nations like Nepal, but their pitch is that they are saving carbon, not saving lives, or more importantly, souls. There is much emphasis on works but little emphasis on the gospel.
Conclusions
In the years to come, the climate activists will continue to impose themselves upon the global society and it stands as an unavoidable issue the Church must contest, yet we cannot equate the tangible disasters with the perceived doomsday eschatology of Climate Change. Though creation is fallen, climate alarmists possess an inherent rejection of God’s sustenance over the minutia of creation, as if He is not sovereign over the weather or His creation is not guided towards a natural homeostasis, believing that Man must remedy creation, like a god.
What happened in East Palestine represents a genuine man-made environmental disaster that has been neglected by the State. There is no need to invent sin where there is no sin. What the bible actually defines as sin is sufficient to condemn the corruption involved in this disaster. Greed at the heart of the industry and politicians sacrifices human lives for profits if left unchecked. The deceptions of the regulators advocating that the quality of the air and water are “nothing to see here” is equally appalling. This man-made disaster far exceeds the damage to the environment these climate alarmists consume themselves with. Moreover, the transportation of hazardous chemicals is a real issue that requires genuine solutions, only that it serves as a distraction to the perceived hazards of CO2.
There is much that can be said of truly biblical creation care, as God intended. This would include perhaps an emphasis on homesteading and gardening as desirable, though not mandated practices. The bible also prescribes allowing the land to rest, of which was used to calculate the 70 years of exile—that the land received a rest from the Israelites. The principle of Leviticus 25:4 could apply beyond a Sabbath rest for the land to general practices of crop rotations and sustainable agriculture practices. Unlike these green energy initiatives, there is a general principle that allowing the land a Sabbath was best for human flourishing.
Instead, these organizations add to the Law of Moses the sin of carbon emissions which requires indulgences to offset. Even worse, their efforts are accessory to global efforts to force “green” energy scams upon the nations, like electric vehicles, solar panels, and eventually fifteen minute cities. These works will feel righteous yet do nothing but tax the society at the expense of human flourishing. Ironically, these measures are often worse for the environment in the long run, proving to be folly.
This is a battle of religions, and the same actors who syncretized Christianity with Social Justice and Branch Covidianism are doing so with Climate Change, ultimately creating a distinct gospel of works.
