Please take a survey

As you can read in my previous post, I have been working on a survey that aims to learn about LDS attitudes towards the environment. As of 9 am (Eastern Time) the survey was not yet live. But I am told that it will go live today.

Please take a few minutes and participate in the survey.

Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/environmentsurvey

If you click on the envelope icon at the bottom of this post you can also invite others to participate.

I'm not allowing comments until after the survey is finished. If you have questions about the survey, e-mail ldssurvey at gmail dot com.

Why not put together a survey?

Last Summer I participated in J Nielson-Seawright's survey Experiences of the Book of Mormon. After taking the survey, I asked myself why not put together a survey to learn about LDS attitudes towards the environment? I answered my question with two good reasons why I shouldn't take on a survey project:

1. I'm lazy. Surveys take a lot of work.
2. As a Mormon/Environment blogger, I have a distinct point of view that limits both my ability and credibility for conducting an unbiased survey.

Not too long after taking the JNS survey, Bryce Hammond published this post on the Millennial Star blog. I summarize Bryce's post in a sentence: The Pixar movie Wall-E is part of a Satan-inspired scheme to trick people into sin by baiting them with calls to save the planet. Before you think harshly of Bryce, read on...

Bryce's post led me to an AHH-HAH moment: I should ask Bryce to team up on the survey! His involvement would solve both of my problems. Bryce could share the workload, and his "opposing" point of view would add balance and credibility to the survey. I sent an email to Bryce, and he agreed to join the project.

Wanting some additional help, I also petitioned the LDS Earth Stewardship group for assistance. Peter Ashcraft, a member of the group, agreed to be the third member of the survey team.

Bryce, Peter and I have been working for the past few months to create what we hope is an unbiased and meaningful survey. My main contribution to the survey was putting the team together. Peter and Bryce provided the brains and brawn behind the project. My next post will give a link survey. Stay tuned.

The survey writing process wasn't always smooth, but it did provide ample learning opportunities. For example, I learned that Bryce Hammond is a nice person who is great to work with. Another important lesson: Different points of view can be a great blessing if they are viewed as such.

Just don't get me started on the Gospel Principals that are affirmed by Wall-E. ;)

Thanks Bryce. Thanks Peter.

Resource: Perry Quote

I don't read too much into this quote. But it is post-worthy when an Apostle mentions sustainable energy, if only in passing.

Quote from Let Him Do It with Simplicity, General Conference 10/08, L. Tom Perry:

"We have been hearing a lot about fuel and energy—about their high cost and limited supply, our unsafe and unpredictable dependence on their suppliers, and the need for new and sustainable sources of energy. I leave the discussion of these complicated issues to leaders of government and industry. The fuel I want to discuss is spiritual fuel." (italics added)

He certainly wasn't antagonistic towards sustainable energy. Your thoughts?