Evangelicals and the Environment

Here is an interesting piece on the rise of Evangelical environmentalism and the effects it could have on future presidential elections. 

Evangelical Christians have long been an important part of the Republican Party's electoral base, but the Republican Party has (it seems to me) generally been guilty of pitting the environment against the economny and choosing the economy every time, since that is seen as the real vote-getter.  What will happen if care for the environment and the dangers of climate change become more important issues for evangelical Christians? 

Whatever the effect of future elections, this issue has been notably absent in what passes for political discourse this year.  This year's presidential debates, for the first time since the Reagan era, included no questions about care for the environment or climate change.  That makes me wonder who gets the final say on what questions are included, as they obviously have a great deal of power over the shape of the campaign season's discourse.