What Our Leaders Have To Say About Our Responsibility To Be Good Stewards

Prominent religious, military and Congressional leaders are joining together to advocate that the U.S. take legislative action on climate change that prioritizes those who are most affected by it. A new poll released by Faith in Public Life reveals that a majority of Americans, including Catholics and white evangelicals, see the connection between addressing climate change, poverty, and national security. Congress is currently debating an energy bill that would combat the causes of climate change and protect those most vulnerable to its effects.

What Religious, Military and Congressional Leaders are Saying:

“Climate changes in terms of famine, in terms of the inability to grow crops, in terms of the flooding of islands, most affects the poor…So we here in America probably can do many things to exempt ourselves from the immediate consequences, but the front edge of disaster is most going to affect those who have the least.”

- Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals

“The brutal consumption of creation begins where God is not… I think, therefore, that true and effective initiatives to prevent the waste and destruction of creation can [start] only where creation is considered as beginning with God…Particular attention must be paid to the fact that the poorest countries are likely to pay the heaviest price for ecological deterioration . . . This in turn calls for a responsible relationship not only with creation but also with our neighbors, near and far, in space and time, and with the Creator”

- Pope Benedict XVI

“I tell you stay in doors ladies and gentleman. Stay cool. Get fans. And the poor, they need emergency fans and ice to cool down — the number of people dead is awful. I have not been one who believed in the global warming, but I tell you, they are making a convert out of me…it is getting hotter and the ice caps are melting and there is a build up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels because if we are contributing to the destruction of the planet, we need to do something about it.”

- Rev. Pat Robertson

“We cannot be all that God wants us to be without caring about the earth.”

- Rev. Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life

“As Christians, our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to love our neighbors and to be stewards of God’s creation. The good news is that with God’s help, we can stop global warming, for our kids, our world, and for the Lord.”

- Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, Longwood, Florida

“The growing possibility of our destroying ourselves and the world with our own neglect and excess is tragic and very real.”

- Billy Graham

“The real inconvenient truth is that those who are poor and vulnerable contribute the least to climate change and are likely to suffer the most and have the fewest resources to respond.”

- John Carr, Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

“This important new poll confirms what I have seen in my own congregation and across the country — people of faith are ready to address climate change and deal with its full range of effects, including its disproportionate impact on the poor. I am also thankful for an effort in Congress to help us effectively address these issues.”

- Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed and a leader of the Evangelical Climate Initiative

“This new poll shows that a majority of Americans, including people of faith such as Catholics and evangelicals, support addressing climate change even in our challenging current economic conditions. This is not only about caring for the environment but about assisting the poor, who are affected by these changes.”

- Dr. Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research

“Threats to nations and our world economies do not always originate with our enemies. Global climate change is one of the greatest threats to our national security both because it literally threatens the very planet we inhabit and because the droughts, famine, and floods it creates threaten to destabilize regions around the world.”

- Rear Admiral Stuart Franklin Platt, USN Ret, a highly-decorated Vietnam veteran, with over 20 medals for military sea and combat service

“Addressing climate change is not just a matter of national security and sound economic policy, but a moral duty to care for God’s creation and to care for the needs of those who are contributing the least to climate change but bearing the brunt of its burden. Facing the great challenge of our generation based on these fundamental values will increase our security and rebuild America’s competitive edge with homegrown power that cannot be outsourced. At the same time, we need to ensure that this legislation fairly addresses the burden on low- and middle-income families, especially at a time when millions of Americans are out of work.”

- Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA)

“The energy bill provides us with the unique opportunity of answering the call to be good stewards of creation in a way that will not only create jobs and make our nation safer, but will also allow us to care for the least of these among us. It is not often that Congress has the ability to accomplish all of this in one bill, and I am grateful for the strong support from my fellow Members for this effort and the ability to work alongside leaders in the faith and military communities to ensure that these values are reflected in the final energy bill.”

- Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC)

Supporters for Immediate Action on Climate Change and to Help the Poor Adapt

Oxfam for America
Evangelical Climate Initiative
Southern Baptist Environmental Climate Initiative
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
The United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Episcopal Church
Redeem the Vote
Evangelical Environmental Network
VeteransGreenjobs
VETPAC
Rear Admiral Stuart Franklin Platt, USN (Ret.)
General Gordon R. Sullivan, USA (Ret.)
Admiral Frank “Skeip” Bowman, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Lawrence P. Farrell Jrl, USAF (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Paul G. Gaffney II, USN (Ret.)
General Paul J. Kern, USA (Ret.)
Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Donald L. “Don” Piling, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Joseph W. Prueher, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly, USN (Ret.)
General Charles F. “Chuck” Wald, USAF (Ret.)
General Anthony C. “Tony” Zinni, USMC (Ret.)
Jonathan Powers, CPT, US Army
Michael Hallinan, CPT, Marines
James Morin, CPT, US Army
Scott Holcomb, CPT, US Army
Seth Moulton, CPT, Marines
Robert Diamond, LT, US Navy
Christopher McGurk, SSG, US Army
Rye Barcott, CPT, Marines
Michael McNerney, CPT US Air Force