NCC, Sierra Club run environmental ads

Christian Century, Jan 30, 2002

The National Council of Churches and the Sierra Club are joining together in a series of advertisements promising to protect the environment and oppose drilling for oil in Alaska. The TV and newspaper ads were to run in Georgia, Arizona, North Dakota, Indiana, Missouri and Delaware.

The ads evoke religious themes and pledge to "keep our promise to care for creation," according to a joint press release. "We don't need to ruin the land we love, the land left in our care, to meet America's energy needs," a sample TV ad reads. "Drilling in special places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not the answer. The answer is conservation. Fuel efficiency. Solar and wind power. And keeping our promise to care for our creation."

The ads were paid for by the Sierra Club, with staff time and consulting provided by the NCC. This is the first partnership between the two agencies. Both groups have vocally opposed President Bush's plan to increase the supply of oil by testing for oil drilling in the pristine Arctic refuge.--RNS