But if you have faith that Jesus is coming "real soon now", as many do, the environmental movement is a waste of time. That choir has been preached to and environmentalists must move on without them. The best that can be hoped for will be if believers in the second coming are willing to get out of the way of fools who don't "get it" and not actively oppose them.

To echo somewhat what Barry said, it's kind of an uphill battle, considering the way many people interpret Corinthians 3:1-3 and echoed in passages like Matthew 6:19-21. I think a lot of Christians are hostile towards environmentalism because they see it as a form of idolatry and materialism.

Environmentalism (a lot of times) tries to take pages from the Christian playbook about sin and redemption, but the problem usually is that even though there's the notion of deferred rewards, Christianity provides tangible, immediate rewards in terms of relief in facing mortality, isolation, one's regrets, and so on. Environmentalism, on the other hand, is a process of never being satisfied, always feeling like you're doing something wrong no matter what, yet there's no omnipotent, loving being to forgive you for it.

Instead of trying to convince them about the goals of environmentalists, perhaps some of us could try to learn from them why Christianity (and the major religions in general) are so successful.

Something else to consider is the references to humans having 'dominion' (sometimes also given as 'power') over God's creation, as stated in Genesis 1:26. Interpretation of this particular passage may also be key to seeing how many Christians approach environmentalism: is this 'dominion' a wielding of power (careless and unsustainable extraction of resources, for eg.) or is it a caring maintenance?

Something to mull over, especially when you consider the references made to this passage in the original historical foundations of many commonwealth countries like the Dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and, at one time, Newfoundland.

Barry,

As an evangelical, it is easy to fall into the trap that Jesus' return is coming soon and therefore we don't need to worry about the here and now. The very first generation of Christians were convinced of Jesus' imminent return and so have some in every Christian generation since.

The bible says that God will come like a thief in the night, and that no one knows the time except God. With that in mind, it is absolutely important that Christians rise up and address this issue. If we as believers continue to hold jobs, raise families, and save for the future in case Jesus does not come tomorrow, so we must also protect the environment.

Though Christians and secular environmentalists don't share the same beliefs about the world, they must unite to try and save it.

As Paul Woodruff has written, Reverence is a bedrock of ethics, religious or secular. The opposite of Reverence is Hubris, whether claiming to know the mind of God or that there are no Mysteries.

And what if he's already shown up and the world just failed to take notice? Maybe he's already working on implementing a more systematically sustainable society.

barry said, "always feeling like you're doing something wrong no matter what, yet there's no omnipotent, loving being to forgive you for it"

Not true! There is such a being, her name is Gaia, or Earth. Through our love and care for her we are and will be forgiven, enlightened and helped.

Or maybe this idea is incompatible with a Christian worldview?

Many Christians today are realizing that not only does Genesis call on us to be stewards of the earth, but that the return of Jesus Christ will not mean an escape from the earth, but a restoration of the earth. I know there are passages which some interpret as indicating the earth will be destroyed by fire, but there are also those which clearly point to "heaven on earth", such as Paul's mention in the letter to the Romans that all creation is groaning waiting for mankind to be restored to their original position and the Book of Revelation describing the new Jerusalem descending down to the earth.

Please note that the post above was about the religious *right*, not all American Christians. Hooking them into the dialogue of sustainability is more difficult if for no other reason than it is considered a 'left' idea. That's why people like Rev. Cizik have such an impact.
For non-fundamentalist Christians, David is right, the key idea is reverence for God's creation. In my experience, this group doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about Jesus' imminent return.
And I'm sorry Mike, but the idea is completely incompatible with a Christian worldview.

Discussion on this issue in evangelical circles is abundant. As an evangelical, I thought the article was very fair. Unfortunately, the film might have been more effective if the political intentions of the producer were not what they were.
If interested, discussion on this documentary is ongoing here: The Point