Jerry’s Blog – Family Council

Guest Column: Tiny Forests

Oct 2, 2023Guest AuthorEthicsEthics

According to Cara Buckley with The New York Times, a growing number of “tiny forests” are appearing across urban areas in the U.S.

In addition to absorbing carbon dioxide, reducing water runoff, and providing homes for wildlife, “[T]iny forests can help lower temperatures in places where pavement, buildings and concrete surfaces absorb and retain heat from the sun.”

The concept was pioneered by Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki and suggests that people are the best stewards of nature. What the world needs is not some return to vast, unspoiled “wilderness” by massively reducing the human population, as so many suggest. Instead, we need more of this: creating space for people to use their ingenuity, resources, and innovation to increase creation’s fruitfulness.

Our screens and concrete jungles disconnect us from God’s creation, while bad ideas about “nature” and the environment treat humans as its biggest problem. But humans were created to care for the rest of creation. In fact, only humans can.

Family Council Action Committee Releases 2023 Legislative Report Card, Names ‘2023 Statesman Award’ Recipients

Sep 29, 2023Jerry CoxLegislature, NewsArkansas Legislature, News

The following is a news release from Family Council Action Committee.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – On Friday Family Council Action Committee released its legislative report card for the 2023 Arkansas General Assembly. The report card scored 25 laws passed by the Arkansas House and Senate. Legislative topics ranged from right-to-life and education to the LGBT agenda, religious liberty, and other issues. Lawmakers earned letter grades ranging from A-F based on how they voted on the bills. Lawmakers had to vote on at least 60% of the bills in the report card in order to receive a letter grade and to be considered for the 2023 Statesman Award.

Family Council Action Committee President Jerry Cox said, “One of the most common questions I hear from people around the state is, ‘How did my legislator vote?’ That’s the question this report card tries to answer. This report card is not an endorsement of any candidate or political party. It does not measure any lawmakers’ integrity, commitment to their faith, work ethic, or rapport with Family Council Action Committee. It is only a report on how each lawmaker voted. We chose bills based on our core belief in promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values. These bills were chosen because they address abortion, religious liberty, the LGBT agenda, education, and other issues conservative Arkansans care about. Arkansans can see their lawmakers’ votes and grades online at ArkansasReport.com.”

Family Council Action Committee also announced the recipients of the 2023 Statesman Award. “This year we again awarded legislators for their hard work and good votes,” Cox said. “We commend these legislators for promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values during the 2023 legislative session.” Seventy-seven legislators received the award based on how they voted on 25 different bills.

The 2023 Statesman Award recipients included 20 senators and 57 representatives: