The Environmental Crimes of the WTS
This is a thread that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time but haven’t really had the time to do the research needed to flesh out things completely. The objective of my research is to show the true environmental cost of being a Jehovah’s Witness and furthermore to prepare the information for publication in online environmental websites for the intent of rallying support to change WTS policies to make their organization more environmentally friendly.
Perhaps this is a strange concept for many of you reading this because we normally don’t think of the Watchtower Society as a dirty industry. After all, they just do printing right? Actually no. For example, lets take a look at the environmental consequences of what roughly one million people in the USA alone do and then compare this with a million dubs to see if there is any significant difference.
For the start of this discussion (and I hope you can add your own input in following posts on things you noticed as well) I will just focus on the costs of driving for the American public.
The following information is taken from the Minnesota State Government website at: http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/pages/ConsumerTips/ConTip-GasPrice.htm
Here is a breakdown of information you need to understand the effects of driving for one million people.
As consumers, we are driving more than ever before. In 1980 the average number of miles traveled per person was 5,540 and by 2000 the average was 10,549 miles per person. Fuel efficiency has not kept up with our increased use of vehicles. In 1980, the average fuel economy was 22.5 miles per gallon. By 2000, the average was 24 miles per gallon. (Includes cars, light trucks and SUVs)Using these statistics then, we find that the average person in the USA uses somewhere between 22.5 and 24 mpg. Using a mid range then of 19.4 mpg, the average person purchases 543.8 gallons of gas per year. One million people then, would be using 543,800,000 gallons of gas per year.
How does the typical JW compare here? Well, the way I see it, not only does he have a “normal” lifestyle that includes doing everything from going to work, shopping, etc. he also has an imposed lifestyle that includes going to meetings and field service.
I did some quick calculations and here is what I come up with:
Activity Dist… X/YR..Total
Book study…. 10…... 50….. 500
TMS/SM…. 12….. 50….. 600
PT/WTS…. 12….. 50….. 600
Sat FS 25…. 50….. 1250.. 24
Sun FS 15…. 50….. 750… 24
Circuit Ass…. 500…. 1……. 500
District Ass… 1000.. 1……. 1000
This amounted to a total of 5200 miles and 216.7 gallons of gas
As you can see then, this is almost double the amount of traveling that the average person does per year. In reality, it probably is more than double when you consider the number of pioneers, elders visits, and other JW related activity.
I therefore suggest that just in this one example, that nearly the Jehovah’s Witnesses for their evangelical activity are using 217,000,000 of gasoline annually. When you consider that there is roughly six million JW’s worldwide, we are not talking about a minor environmental impact. It could easily be a billion gallons of gasoline worldwide per year!
If you haven’t glossed over this fact yet, maybe you realize that the price we pay at the pump isn’t the true economic cost for our energy consumption. I encourage you to read this article in full, which relates to what energy prices really cost: http://www.iclei.org/efacts/economic.htm
Governments also subsidize energy prices in more indirect ways. In 1989, it was estimated that the United States' military spent between $15 and $54 billion safeguarding oil supplies in the Middle East. The Gulf War in 1991 cost at least an additional $30 billion on top of the regular yearly expense. The most conservative estimate of military spending represents a government subsidy of $23.50 per barrel of oil imported into the U.S. This is a significant amount, approximately equal to the market price of a barrel of crude oil. If the cost of safeguarding oil supplies were paid for by oil consumers, gasoline prices at the pumps would be much higher.Thus, not counting the environmental costs (coming in a moment) the true economic costs for the Witnesses to do what they do this year amounted to around an extra $101,990,000.00 we as citizens paid out in our taxes, for them to knock on doors.
The environmental costs for Witness driving
Using the sources here:
1. How Healthy Are We, Capital Health Regional Public Health Report, 1997..
2. Driving Ourselves Sane. Jim Boothroyd, Canadian Geographic.
3. Environment Canada, 1990.
I was able to see that (1) 4 tons of pollutants are released by one car each year. (2)
Automobiles account for ¾ of smog-creating pollutants formed when nitrogen oxides meet hydrocarbons in the sun. (3) 45% of all greenhouse gases are released from cars.
So, using the examples above again, in the USA we are looking at 2 million extra tons of pollution being released by the Witnesses.
If you ask me, it is pretty damn offensive.
What else is there to add? How about the amount of electrical power they use in their meetings? How much paper do they use printing their magazines? Can you think of any ways they can be kinder to the environment (outside of just stopping?)
Kind Regards,
Skipper
