a friend called to leave me a message at about 4:30 in the afternoon and i don't know where i was, but he joked that i must have to leave the office early since i ride my bike. ha, ha.
he reads my blog and i can take the ribbing about being stuck on the question of the environment. i do have to admit it seems to be on my mind lately. i'm thinking a lot about ecology and work since our faith as a way of life project's working group is focusing on work this spring by visiting tyson foods in springdale, arkansas. tyson is interesting because they are not willing to let profit steamroll concern for the moral impact of their businesses, and so are seeking ways to moderate the way their push towards factory farming impacts the environment. tough business, tough issues, and we're going to try to theologize about these things in a very grounded way. that, dear readers, is what pastors need to do to be effective: grounded practical theological reflection. anyway, more on that in future posts, and more here on pollution.
another reason i've been thinking about the environment is because our family minivan was really freaking out and we were faced with the question of what to do to replace it. we looked at the schedule for coming out with hybrid minivans but their not coming anytime soon. then we looked at the new toyota highlander hybrid but it is not nearly as big as a minivan and doesn't have the many family friendly features, and for about 10 k more in price. i don't think so. so then the question was new or used. we opted for new, thinking that a new car would have the best running engine and most up-to-date capacity for smog-reduction, in addition to having good coverage if anything goes wrong. and we don't have to deal with other family's ground in cheerios and when their dog couldn't wait till the next exit and etc. new is good when it comes to minivans. they get trashed by families. so here is our toyota sienna:
my son, isaiah, picked the red color. it gets about 19 in the city and 26 on the highway, and it rates about average in greenhouse gasses emitted per year. not great, not awful. ah, well. dreams of moral purity fall away and i must trust that we are saved by grace, not our gas mileage. out of gratitude, then, and not any other reason, we join god's work of mending the world in this case by seeking to moderate the impact of our living on life's flourishing in god's glorious creation.
anon, and +peace
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