The new scientific report on global warming warns that global warming is already affecting the earth and that the effects are likely to be significant and widespread in this century, causing increased drought, drinking water shortages, and widespread extinction of species. Poor people around the world are especially vulnerable to the hazards of climate change.
Global warming is already underway, but it is not too late to slow it down and reduce its harmful effects. We must base our actions on the moral imperative and the scientific record, free of political interference in scientists’ assessments of the effects of climate change on society and the environment.
In this Holy Week, we are reminded of these words in the Old Testament: “To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.” We must move quickly to honor God’s creation by reducing greenhouse gas pollution in the United States and around the world.