Browsing by Subject "Climate change."
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Item Baptist environmentalisms : a comparison of American Baptist and Southern Baptist attitudes, actions and approaches toward environmental issues.(2013-09-16) Weaver, Aaron Douglas.; McDaniel, Charles A.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.This dissertation articulates how and why Southern Baptists and American Baptists have addressed environmental issues during the critical second and third waves of environmental history. With the birth of the modern environmental movement as a logical starting point, Southern Baptist and American Baptist attitudes and actions concerning key environmental questions in American political and environmental history are examined. These include: population explosion (1960s), energy crises (1970s), environmental backlash (1980s) and international ecological concerns (1990s to present). This dissertation argues that Southern Baptists and American Baptists, while enjoying some similarities along the way and despite their shared Baptist heritage, have adopted and promoted very different environmentalisms. The findings from this comparative study reveal that these dissimilar environmentalisms are due to four factors relating to ethics, political engagement approaches, the regulatory role of government and attitudes toward advancements in science and technology. First, Southern Baptists and American Baptists have embraced disparate environmental ethics. Second, Southern Baptists and American Baptists have taken distinct political engagement approaches due to differing theological commitments. Third, Southern Baptists and American Baptists have adopted different attitudes about the appropriate regulatory role of government regarding environmental issues. Fourth and finally, Southern Baptists and American Baptists have held contrasting perspectives on prevailing scientific viewpoints and advancements in technology. These four factors offer answers to how and why these two related historic Protestant denominations have taken such divergent paths with regard to care of the environment or God’s creation. Nearly forty years after the first-ever Earth Day on April, 22, 1970, Southern Baptists and American Baptists had come to embrace radically different environmentalisms. American Baptists preached and practiced an environmentalism that sought strict environmental regulations and was defined by an eco-justice ethic emphasizing the interconnectedness of humans with their environment. Meanwhile, Southern Baptists were preaching and practicing a distinctly different environmentalism. Southern Baptists abandoned the ethic of previous decades and replaced it with a decidedly more conservative ethic that continued to utilize the language of stewardship but was increasingly anthropocentric and strikingly development-focused. Also, an anti-regulation philosophy and skepticism of prevailing scientific viewpoints characterized their environmentalism.Item Using remote sensing to assess potential impacts of hurricanes on mosquito habitat formation : investigating the mechanisms for interrelationship between climate and the incidence of vector-borne diseases.(2010-02-02T19:59:59Z) Naqvi, Zainab R.; White, Joseph Daniel.; Environmental Science.; Baylor University. Dept. of Environmental Science.The present study examined the relationship between climate and the incidence of vector-borne disease. The climatological phenomenon El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found to be significant in predicting the frequency and intensity of hurricane seasons for the Atlantic Ocean and the Yucatan Peninsula between 1985 to 2007. Satellite analysis for hurricanes that impacted the Yucatan Peninsula, specifically the country of Belize, between 1995 and 2007 determined changes in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), mid-infrared range (MIR), and thermal infrared range (TIR) immediately after and one month after the hurricanes. Regression analyses found that correlations between reported cases of malaria and dengue fever for Belize and changes in the NDVI, MIR, and TIR existed between immediate and persistent impacts and disease incidence.Item You think it's hot here? : the theological influences on evangelical leadership concerning the politics of climate change.(2011-12-19) Goodyear, Jack T.; McDaniel, Charles A.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.This dissertation examines the theological influences on evangelical leadership in America concerning the politics of climate change. In the United States, the controversy surrounding climate change elicits strong debate and disagreement on both sides of the issue concerning not only the validity of the science, but also potential solutions to the problem. In recent years, evangelicals have contributed to the rhetoric and action concerning climate change through organizations and individual statements. Although far from a united bloc on the issue of climate change, evangelicals populate a significant amount of the U. S. electorate, potentially impacting the future direction of climate change policies. While grasping influences on evangelicals in the United States is a complicated task, focusing on key groups and individual leaders allows for a more viable examination of evangelical opinions and future directions concerning the topic. In this study, special attention is given to major evangelical groups and their involvement in the climate change debate. Additionally, the discourses of four evangelical leaders, representing various facets of evangelical life, are analyzed to better understand the influences on the directions taken by evangelicals in leadership and potentially their followers. In analyzing theological influences on the politics of climate change in this study, evangelicals are divided into two main groups: Progressive Evangelicals and Conservative Evangelicals. Additionally, eschatology, evangelism, care for the vulnerable, and interaction with science become the major focal areas in studying evangelical thought.