Don’t divest just because a minister tells you to

My church recently decided to get rid of investments in companies selling fossil fuels; our minister is encouraging individuals to do likewise.

This is supposed to encourage the development of green energy. But I’m a senior with fixed income; part of that comes from my small investment portfolio.

I’m reluctant to get out of energy stocks.

Ethically am I required to just because my minister says so? Two quick comments. First, you’re not ethically required to do anything just because your minister tells you to; history is littered with bad results of slavishly following clerical directives.

And second, it actually is possible to build a portfolio that performs well without including oil and gas stocks — especially given today’s volatile energy sector.

That said, I don’t get the “divestment” strategy au courant among some religious communities.

It works like this. Delegates travel to some big convention somewhere, either by flying in fuel-gulping jets or driving their SUVs. They ponder for days, eating meals cooked on gas stoves and watching videos powered by fossil-fuel-generated electricity.

They then vote to divest from energy companies as a protest against the damage their products are doing to the environment.

Next, they fly back home (more aviation fuel), barbecue supper (propane), worship in warm sanctuaries (natural gas), and sleep comfortably in cosy homes (heating oil), piously believing they’ve actually done something to end global warming.

Such behaviour is silly. It reminds me of a friend in high school who stopped smoking.

Well, actually he didn’t stop smoking, he just stopped buying cigarettes and began mooching off everyone else. Admittedly an imperfect analogy — but close enough.

It makes sense to divest from products of which one doesn’t approve, and therefore doesn’t use. A religious community that abhors drinking would be hypocritical investing in Labatt while condemning its products. But when there is no intention whatsoever to stop using a product, what sense does it make to sanctimoniously distance yourself from companies manufacturing it?

I’m prepared to bet that, this very Sunday, churches in Toronto will operate at 33 per cent of their overall capacity — at best.

Until religious folk make the simple decision to stop heating buildings and space they no longer need, divesting from energy companies is sound and fury, signifying nothing.

So no, don’t rejig your portfolio merely to satisfy your pastor. Remember, if he’s like most ministers, his own portfolio is worth about a buck-and-a-quarter. Instead, make concrete lifestyle changes to reduce your personal use of fossil fuels.

Buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Better still, use public transport (which would be easier if the TTC wasn’t so awful). Switch to LED bulbs. Recycle. Turn down the ’stat. Hang clothes outside (bylaws be damned). Plant trees. Support political parties that mandate renewable energy. You know the drill. We live in a cold country, divided by great distances. There is, as yet, no viable alternative to fossil fuels to sustain us.

So people who care about such things need, urgently, to work toward careful stewardship of the resources at our disposal, while pushing hard for continued development of new, sustainable energy. Socially aware energy companies need to be active participants in attaining these goals.

Divestment ends the conversation with those companies, while accomplishing nothing. Send your questions to star.ethics@yahoo.ca.