Global Warming a Moral Issue, Say Interfaith Panelists

Alana Herro
WorldWatch Institute
September 25, 2006 – 12:13am

Speakers at an Interfaith dialogue say caring for creation is part of religious peoples’ duty. Representatives from a variety of world faiths discussed the role of religion in addressing global warming and other pressing environmental challenges at a September 18–21 conference on climate stabilization inWashington, D.C.

Sharing a panel on “Achieving Intergenerational andInternational Equity,” speakers from the Catholic, Episcopal, Evangelical,Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, and Presbyterian faiths described the progress their communities are making in tackling climate change. Reverend Sally Bingham of the Episcopal Grace Cathedral in San Francisco noted that her job as a religious leader is to “introduce people in the pews to the fact that they are environmentalists.” If a person attends church and professes a love for God, then caring for creation is his or her duty, she explained.
“If you love your neighbor, then you don’t pollute your neighbor’s air.”

According to Bingham, who is also Executive Director of the Interfaith Power & Light climate change campaign, enormous potential exists for involving religious communities in the environmental movement. If the 300,000 or so houses of worship in the United States reduced their energy use by just 25 percent, this would save 13.5 billionkilowatt-hours of electricity, five million tons of carbon dioxide, andUS$500 million in costs, she noted.

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