Interfaith Moral Action on Climate: Honoring the 84th Anniversary of Dr. King’s Birth


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January 15th is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth. As a nation, the United States celebrates this day officially on the 3rd Monday of January.

Today, January 15th, many of my colleagues and friends, with the help of IMAC, the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, will be gathering in Washington DC, in front of the White House, for another type of celebration in Dr. King’s honor: joining together for an interfaith “Pray – in” for the Climate. IMAC is a collaborative initiative of religious leaders, groups and individuals that came together in 2011 in response to the pressing need for more visible, unified, prophetic action to address the climate crisis.

Many in Washington today are inspired and emboldened by Dr. King’s words: “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now…. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ’TOO LATE’.” I too am motivated and moved by many of Dr. King’s prophetic sayings including those that are captured in this photo of my son and I when we visited Washington DC as a family to give the White House and the president a “hug” and let him know that we needed his support to stop the Keystone XL pipeline – which he subsequently did – and which we now need him to show his strength and commitment and do again.

While I can not be there in person today, I am present in “spirit” with: moms, dads, grandparents, spiritual leaders and concerned individuals calling on and urging our President to break the silence on climate change and take the following 3 actions immediately:

Credit: Creative Commons/Flickr Tar Sands Action

1. Permanently refuse permits for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, because tar- oil is among the most dangerous of the planet-heating forms of carbon.

2. Call a National Summit Conference on the Climate Crisis that includes leaders of business, labor, academia, religious communities, governmental officialdom, science, and other relevant bodies.

3. Publicly support and advocate for a carbon fee that will generate hundreds of billions of dollars, with provisions to ensure that working families and the poor are not harmed by higher carbon prices; for an end to subsidies to the coal, oil and gas industries; and for substantial subsidies for research, development, and use of renewable, sustainable and jobs-creating clean energy sources.

Learn more about IMAC today. The Climate cliff we face is infinitely more real then the “fiscal cliff” that has been manufactured and made worse by a dysfunctional congress. Grab the kids in your life, talk to them about the reasons you are fighting for action on climate change, whatever your motivations. We all need to “be on board” and demand action now. Our planet isn’t waiting.

FYI, on January 11th, with little “fan fare” or public announcement, a federal advisory committee under the auspices of the US Department of Commerce released it’s draft Climate Assessment report which begins with the following sentence: “Global climate is changing now and this change is apparent across a wide range of observations. Much of the climate change of the past 50 years is due primarily to human activities.”

This report should be a HUGE wake up call for our president, congress and for us. It clearly tells us climate change is here, now and human caused and is charting a future that is fraught with serious problems for all of us.

What can you do today? Support IMAC, stand up for your kids, tell the president today that you want “tackling Climate Change” to be THE priority of his next term. He needs to talk about it in his “State of the Union” and show leadership in clear and concise ways. Contact the White House today.

Yours,

Climate Mama

photo credit: WilliamMarlow via photopin cc

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2 Responses to Interfaith Moral Action on Climate: Honoring the 84th Anniversary of Dr. King’s Birth

  1. Lise Van Susteren says:

    Thank you so much for this Harriet and for all you do to work to make our planet safe…

    • Harriet says:

      interfaithactiononclimatechange.orgThank you! All of us – scientists, business and political leaders, spiritual leaders, community leaders – moms, dads, grandparents, each of us needs to “step out” as leaders in our own spheres. It’s time to face directly and recognize the moral and ethical choices that now confront us, and to make tackling climate change our number one priority.. I believe that inter-faith prayer, as a way for us to come together, is an important part of our next steps as we move forward.The Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, is helping to lead and organize that charge…

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