I recently had the chance to sit down with students and faculty at Gordon College in my home state of Massachusetts. Thanks to everyone at the college for a great visit. I look forward to continuing the dialogue with faith leaders nationwide who, through their faith, have a commitment and deep respect for the environment we all share.
Young and old and across different denominations and faiths, our common ground is our shared sense of stewardship and responsibility to address a changing climate that affects us all, especially the most vulnerable among us.
In June and in front of an audience of young people, President Obama spoke about this challenge and moral calling, reaffirming what he said in his second inaugural address that America must strive to “preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.”
We know that climate change is about the environmental and public health impacts of extreme weather. We know it’s about our economy—about crop shortages and higher food prices; less tourism in snow-capped states and disaster relief in flooded ones. But it’s also about a moral obligation to act and to protect those most affected by its destruction.