Global Warming Events Nationwide to Call on Congress to 'Step It Up'
Faith Groups Join Tens of Thousands on National Day of Climate Action on Apr. 14
Churches and faith-based groups across the nation will join tens of thousands to urge congress to "Step It Up" on Global Warming this weekend.
More than fifty events organized by churches, synagogues, faith-based organizations and people of faith will be held to urge Congress to cut carbon emission 80 percent by 2050.
The faith-based events are part of the National Day of Climate Action, the largest day of citizen action focusing on global warming in U.S. history. Tens of thousands of Americans are expected to gather nationwide on Saturday to call for action on climate change.
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"Climate change is a moral values issue," said Jennifer Butler, executive director of Faith in Public Life, an organizing and communications resource center for faith leaders, in a statement. "The robust participation of churches and synagogues in Step It Up 2007 is more evidence of the vibrant creation care movement."
Some groups involved in faith-based events this weekend include the Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu, which will host a "Teach in on Climate Change" followed by a rally at a major city intersection; OC Interfaith Coalition for the Environment, which will deliver letters to the mayors of each city in Orange Country, Calif., requesting support for programs to reduce carbon emission; Earth Keepers in Marquette, Mich., which will mobilize their network of 130 churches from nine different faiths across upper Michigan; and Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn., which will sponsor a "Faithful Response to Global Warming" worship service and rally.
"The groundswell of support for this effort is incredible. This is truly a viral grassroots movement, organized mainly through word of mouth, email outreach among friends, and the online community," said Step it Up Organizer Bill McKibben in a statement. "The enormous participation in this movement is a wake-up call to legislators from across the country. Their constituents are urgently demanding that America get on the path towards reducing carbon emissions before it is too late."
Participants at every event will be photographed displaying their message: "Step It Up Congress! Cut Carbon 80 percent by 2050!" The photographs will be sent to Washington, D.C. so congressmen can see the demand for stronger climate change laws.
The Step It Up 2007 campaign reported that as of Friday there are 1,367 reported events planned for Saturday across all 50 states.
