This was featured in the local paper today, under the headline “Synod urges fuel-efficient vehicle use”.

I’m sorry, I find this to be absolutely silly.  Who is going to set guidelines around what constitutes “high efficiency” and “good emission ratings” and just what is “beyond” my needs?  What’s “large”? And what’s a “need”?  And what’s better - buying an already-existing but older and more inefficient vehicle or creating the demand for a new vehicle, which means the consumption of more of the earth’s resources just to create (for example, did you know it takes nearly 40,000 gallons of water to manufacture ONE car? ) In other words, why do the same people who want me to recycle everything else want me to buy new cars just because they get a little better gas mileage? 

This strikes me as being a knee-jerk, PC response to the recent (and just as silly) What Would Jesus Drive campaign. 

I’m not convinced the church has any business helping me decide what vehicle to drive.