By Yvette Shin

“Would you like a bag for that?”

“Sure. Actually, on second thought, no.”

“Great! Take this wood chip and drop it into one of the bins.”

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Because you decided against using a plastic shopping bag for your purchase, NYU will make a donation to one of four environmental non-profit organizations. Drop the chip in the organization of your choice.”

If you’ve been to the bookstore lately, this conversation should sound very familiar to you. The worldwide push to go “green” has finally reached NYU.

For years, the NYU community has fostered a passion for environmental responsibility. However with the formation of the university’s Sustainability Task Force in the fall of 2006, what was once a matter of conscience has now become a full-fledged, financially-supported, campus-wide initiative.

Going green is increasingly becoming a priority to the academic world. However not all factions recognize the urgency for sustainability efforts with such lucidity. The most disconcerting resistance comes from faith-based organizations. In particular, Christian leaders remain apathetic or even hostile toward this growing movement. The cause for this reaction is unclear. Some theorize that Biblical eschatology teaches a renewal of all things, making environmental preservation redundant. Others cite that the church’s chief mission is spiritual salvation and not global conservation. Still others claim that the long-standing leftist claim on this issue makes right-wing Evangelicals uneasy.

But not all share this opinion. Reverend Richard Cizik is the Vice President for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, and he is, for lack of a better term, the “Environmental Evangelist.” Once indifferent to issues such as conservation and global warming, Reverend Cizik had a conversion experience during a lecture on Climate Change at Oxford University in 2002 that left him ablaze for everything environmental. Since then “Creation Care” has become his newfound passion.

At the heart of his argument is the divine mandate to “fill and take charge” of the world found in the first chapter of the Bible. He also purports that Creation Care is a matter of moral responsibility; humankind’s inherent duty is to cultivate, not exploit, the ecosystem for the benefit of all life on earth.

Unlike most Evangelicals of his stature, Cizik is ready to cross political, ideological, and theological lines to fulfill this mission. He exemplifies the view of the “New Evangelicals,” a rising group of prominent Christians who have done away with the “us vs. them” mentality. He does so not only to nurture cooperation, but in obedience to his Creator.

“This is everybody’s concern,” says Jeremy Friedman, Project Administer of NYU’s Sustainability Task Force who believes that concern for the planet is a powerful unifying factor, especially for faith-based groups. “Every major religion has a leader or major figure that went into the wilderness to experience God.” The Buddha achieved Enlightenment under a Bodhi tree. Moses encountered Yahweh at the summit of Mt. Sinai. Jesus fasted forty days in the Judean desert. Muhammad received his revelation from Allah in a mountain cave.

So, is God green? Does He care about global warming? Is it His will for humankind to lessen the impact of its ecological footprint?

Yes. Of course. Duh.

The real question has to do with priority. Should matters environmental take precedence over those of morality and social justice and personal piety? Is feeding the world or preserving the world more important? There are no easy answers to these questions. But it is clear that the degradation of our planet deserves attention, hopefully before it is too late.