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We Are Called by Our Faith

Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director · June 28, 2013 · 2 Comments

On Tuesday, June 25, President Obama spoke of our moral obligation to address climate change on behalf of future generations.  He has not waited for Congress and we should not either. Writing a letter to the editor (LTE) and submitting it to your local newspaper is just one thing we all can do to build on his speech. As just one example, the Chair of NCIPL’s Steering Committee, Carl Siegel, has written the following LTE:

At long last the political silence on climate change has ended. In a forward thinking and powerful statement, President Obama has added his voice to those of religious leaders in saying that, “the planet is warming and human activity is contributing to it.” The President presented an aggressive plan to address the climate challenge but emphasized this is not just a job for politicians.

We all know that life on this planet is suffering, and those people most affected are the poorest. We are called by our faith to urge all of our elected officials to both support President Obama’s initiatives and to expand them through timely and meaningful legislation. Climate change is not a partisan political issue; it is a moral issue.

In America, 125 million people are members of faith communities. Now is the time for us to use our collective voice to promote building a new strong economy by cutting carbon pollution, increasing energy efficiency, and developing clean, renewable energy. As the President said “We’re not a people who fear what the future holds, we shape it.”

Carl W. Sigel, Ph.D
Chair, Steering Committee, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light

See the Climate Action Plan

Full transcript of President Obama’s Speech

Sally Bingham’s response on behalf of IPL

Tips for Writing LTEs

–Nancy Hardy, NCIPL Communications Coordinator

North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (NCIPL) is a program of the North Carolina Council of Churches. NCIPL works with faith communities to address the causes and consequences of global climate change and promote practical, hope-filled responses through education, outreach, and public policy advocacy. Please visit our website for information on our current programs, campaigns, and events.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Children & Youth, Economic Justice, Environment, Good Government

About Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Aleta Payne first joined the Council staff in the spring of 2001 as the Communications Associate. She continues to oversee that work along with development, represents the Council in several partnership efforts, and serves in other administrative roles, as well. Aleta is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in government and foreign affairs and spent much of her early career as a journalist. She has three young adult sons who continue to come home to Cary for dinner, or at least groceries, and two young adult terrier-mix dogs who keep the nest from feeling too empty.

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Comments

  1. Frank Burns says

    June 28, 2013 at 10:20 am

    As a committed Christian, my faith calls me to speak out against what I know to be falsehoods with regards to this theory. The President derogatorily referred to skeptics like myself as members of the flat earth society, I submit it is he who fails to follow science. Attached are rebuttals to his speech. The actual data does not support the theory that CO2 emissions is causing climate change. The planet is in fact not warming. There has been no increase in global warming for the oast 16 years and there is evidence that the earth is now in a cooling phase. The ice at the poles are in recovery, sea levels are stable so why would we raise costs on needy people by increasing utility bills for no good reason? There are many good reasons for diversifing our energy, but global warming is not one of them.
    http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/062613-661588-presidents-carbon-dioxide-speech-full-of-lies.htm?p=full

    Reply
    • Aleta Payne says

      July 2, 2013 at 1:00 pm

      Dear Mr. Burns,
      In the past we have agreed to disagree, and I see that we need to do that again. I remain quite convinced with the 97% plus scientific consensus that climate change is real and substantially caused by human activities. That study is old and I would imagine the consensus is even stronger now. I agree that President Obama was not respectful when he used the reference to a Flat-Earth Society. He could have found a better way to express that sentiment.

      I suggest that you consider watching this extremely well-reasoned YouTube by a Greg Craven, a high school teacher from my home state of Oregon. It’s called “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See” and is a strong argument for action even in the face of skepticism. Even if we disagree about the facts, we can follow his argument and perhaps agree that the risk of being wrong and not acting is too great.

      With respect,
      Kathy Shea
      Senior Advisor, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light

      Reply

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