Is global warming real? Should we sell it?

First, happy Earth Day!

Two questions for this newly re-energized holiday:

1) Should (or how should) we as Christians and Christian businessmen interact with the earth? Certainly issues like global warming have gotten a lot of attention of late. Is global warming real? Do we have a Scriptural command to do something about it?

2) Marketing adds a fun twist to our interaction with the earth. Not only do businesses today use the earth to make goods, we use the idea of preserving the earth to sell those goods (keep in mind I work in environmental marketing for "The ($40 billion) Man"). What do you think about the practice in general? Shouldn't consumers know if a company is doing good things for the earth?

What do you think specifically about Wal-Mart's new TV ads that feature "Budget-friendly prices. Earth-friendly products."? Watch them at http://www.savemoneylivebetter.com/.

Are trees and birds part of God's plan for salvation?

I just finished reading Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis and I'd love to get your thoughts on some of the things he says in the book. For example, he suggests that the salvation described in the Bible is much more than a mere legal transaction where we "accept Jesus into our hearts" to cover over our sins and provide right-standing before God. Instead, he says:

The Bible pains a much larger picture of salvation. It describes all of creation being restored. The author of Ephesians writes that all things will be brought together under Jesus (Eph. 1:10).

Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker.

This has huge implications for how people present the message of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can come into our hearts. But we can join a movement that is as wide and deep and big as the universe itself. Rocks and trees and birds and swamps and ecosystems. God's desire is to restore all of it.

The point is not me; it's God. (pages 109-110)

I don't know about you, but this is pretty different than the understanding of salvation I was taught growing up. Are trees and birds and rocks and swamps really part of the salvation brought through Jesus?