So said Pope Francis today as he unequivocally declared that climate change poses a dire threat to our future and implored us all – citizens, elected officials, governments, organizations, corporations – to take immediate action to “regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”

The Pope, who worked as a chemist before becoming a priest, completely embraced the science connecting climate change to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels.

“A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system,” he said. “A number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity.”

“The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits,” he continued. “The idea of infinite or unlimited growth… is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry at every limit.”

Pope Francis did not mince words in conveying his concern for the impact this attitude has had on Nature.

“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth…Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years.”

“Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain.”

The pope specifically drew attention to the effect climate change may have on future generations if we do not act now.

“What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? The question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal.”

Francis’ statement came in the form of an encyclical, considered to be one of the church’s most authoritative teaching documents, titled, “Laudato Si, or Praised Be: On Care for Our Common Home.” The document took more than a year to research and write and draws on the work of dozens of scientists, theologians, scholars expert in a variety of subjects, and the writings of previous popes, many of whom also raised concerns about pollution and the environment.

The Pope addressed his letter to “every person living on this planet,” reaching far beyond the planet’s one billion Catholics.

“I would like to enter a dialogue with all people about our common home,” Francis said. “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family.”

In fact, mirroring suggestions Big Green Purse has long made, the pope urged people to take individual responsibility for their environmental impact by reducing their use of fossil fuels and minimizing overall consumption. “Simple daily gestures” like “taking public transit, car-pooling, planting trees, turning off the lights and recycling,” will make a difference, he said.

However, he put his biggest emphasis on creating a new economic and political paradigm that does not sacrifice the environment we all share for the profits of a few.

“Politics must not be subject to the economy, nor should the economy be subject to the dictates of an efficiency-driven paradigm of technocracy. Today, in view of the common good, there is urgent need for politics and economics to enter into a frank dialogue in the service of life, especially human life.”

This position has drawn the wrath of climate deniers and conservative politicians. Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a leading climate change skeptic, wants the Pope to “stay with his job, and we’ll stay with ours.” Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican presidential candidate who is also a practicing Catholic, has called on Pope Francis to “leave science to the scientists,” ignoring not only the Pope’s own scientific training but the fact that 97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real, affected by human activity, and needs to be acted upon now.

Our Sunday Visitor, a weekly Catholic newspaper based in Indiana, called attacks on the Pope “venom-spewing, ideologically based commentary.” Not only is it wrong to “disparage, cast aside and belittle the leader of the Church,” an editorial in the paper said. “It is profoundly disrespectful” and “the wrong behavior for Catholics to be engaging in.” The head of the Vatican’s Academy of Science dismissed attacks on the encyclical, saying they came only from the “Tea Party and those who derive their income from oil.”

What Can You Do?

• Start the conversation in your place of worship. The Pope’s message is not intended for Catholics alone. Protestant pastors and Americans rabbis are also tackling climate change. For example, Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Philadelphia-based Shalom Center has called it “a crisis in God’s name” and likened the world’s largest energy companies and their production of carbon dioxide to the oppressive pharaohs of ancient Egypt. If you are Catholic, be aware that the Washington-based Catholic Climate Covenant will be sending “homily hints” to the U.S.’ 17,000 Catholic parishes to help priests incorporate the Pope’s message into their sermons this summer. The group is also planning media events with bishops in Iowa, California, New Mexico and elsewhere.

• Push back on criticism of the Pope’s message. The science is clear. But so is the right of any religious leader to argue in favor of protecting the environment. Both the Old and New Testament call for all humans to be caretakers of the earth and all God’s creatures. As the moral leader of more than a billion people worldwide, Pope Francis clearly has the moral authority to speak about protecting God’s creation, as do the leaders of other faiths.

* Stand with Moms Clean Air Force and support America’s Clean Power Plan by signing this petition.

“Nobody is suggesting a return to the Stone Age,” said Pope Francis,
“but we do need to slow down and look at reality in a different way.”

RELATED:

Top 10 Reasons to Take Climate Change Seriously

Note: I originally wrote this article for Moms Clean Air Force. You can join the Force here.

The post Pope Francis Climate Change Message Calls for “Revolution” appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Here’s his advice. I hope it helps you choose cleaner, greener energy where you live.

The start of the New Year is time for resolutions. If you live in a state with electricity consumer choice, you can resolve to reduce your carbon footprint and keep that pledge with just a little bit of time spent researching your options for alternatives to coal, oil and nuclear and filling out a form or two on the Web—no need to invest in solar panels or doing anything more complicated than a few clicks of the mouse. 

 For several years now, I have purchased electricity from a supplier that offers me 100 percent wind-generated electricity. It was surprisingly easy to switch. Yet, talking to my environmentally-conscious friends, I find that many of them are not even aware that they have a choice.

I encourage you to look in to it. Here are a few tips on getting started.

1) Do you have the option? To see if your state offers consumer choice, go to this Web page of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  You’ll see a clickable map of every state. Hover the cursor over your state. A little pop-up menu will tell you whether retail choice for electricity supply is available where you live. According to the EIA map, retail choice is available in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and Oregon, plus the District of Columbia.

2) Click on your state outline. You’ll be taken to a page that contains arcane and old information about the status of deregulation in the state. Ignore that. What you want are links to the state Web sites. Click on the link that says [STATE] Web sites, and you will go to a page that will contain links to Web sites relevant to that state. One of them will be to the State Public Service Commission (it has a different name in different states—for example, “the Board of Public Utilities” in New Jersey). For your state, that’s the place to get started. 

For example… Since I don’t have room to walk through every state in detail, I will use my state, Maryland, as an example. 

Starting with the Energy Information Administration’s clickable map, when I click on Maryland, I go to a page titled, “Maryland Restructuring Active.” In the upper right of that page, there is a list, “Other Links,” and the option to click on the link, “Maryland Web sites.” That takes me to a page with links to some electric utility companies that serve Maryland and to the Maryland Public Service Commission. The link on this page to the Maryland PSC doesn’t work, so I went to Google to find the right page to begin my search for electricity suppliers in Maryland.

On this page, I select a customer type and utility service area. In my case, I’m looking for electricity in the Pepco service area, so I select Electric/Residential/Pepco. I also selected the option for looking only for suppliers who are seeking new customers. 

3) Choose a supplier. Once you identify your service area and your residential status, you’ll be taken to a page offering a long list of electric suppliers. This is where you will spend the most time. For Maryland, 39 suppliers are listed, but not all of them offer clean fuel options. Some list themselves as “suppliers,” some as “brokers,” and some as “aggregators.” (See this fact sheet for an explanation.) From this page, you can click on the listed company Web sites to see what their energy mix is, pictured above. (If they don’t tell you what the fuel options are, you can be pretty certain they are not a clean energy provider.)

There is a company called Clean Currents. I’ll click on that. (Full disclosure: I am actually getting my power from Washington Gas Energy Services, which was selling 100% wind when I switched several years ago.)

A big button says “Sign Up Now.” Easy enough. I next have to enter my zip code, and click the button, “View Your Rates.” I am given a choice of three offerings, differing in the term of the contract (12 or 24 months) and whether I will purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs, creating demand for wind power across the country) or “Neighborhood Wind” (locally-generated wind electricity, from Pennsylvania). 

I can lock in to a 24-month contract for Neighborhood Wind for 11.1 cents per kilowatt-hour. If I choose “enroll now,” I am taken to a page where I must enter my utility account number and personal information for billing. Once I hit submit, Clean Currents will take care of switching my electricity supply. I will continue to receive a bill from Pepco, my electric utility, which will continue to charge for distributing the electricity. Charges from my new supplier (Clean Currents, in this case) will appear separately on the same bill.

If you have your latest electric bill with your account number handy, this entire process takes only a few minutes, depending on how much research you want to do with your supplier options.

4) What will it actually cost? How much is 11.1 cents per kilowatt-hour? If I did not exercise my right to choose a supplier, I would receive Pepco’s “Standard Offer Service.” As of this writing, the price is 9.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. According to my last bill (Nov/Dec), I used 536 kilowatt-hours of electricity, so I would have paid an extra $9.64 with Clean Currents for the month. Pepco’s Standard Offer Service (as of December 2013) is generated by coal (42.7%), followed by nuclear power (33.6%) and natural gas (16.6%). Only 6.6% is generated from renewable sources.

That $9.64 for the month is my environmental premium with Clean Currents. The price of Standard Offer Service goes up and down, as does the price of wind power (though you are protected from price changes for the length of your contract).

5) Bottom Line? Feel good, take a stand, support clean energy.

In the absence of national policy to reduce carbon emissions from power production, we can make our own policy. We can simply stop buying coal-generated electricity. It’s really easy.

Questions? Get them to Diane, and I’ll try to answer them at a later date. I’d love to encourage as many people as possible, if your state permits, to exercise the option to buy clean energy. 

Maurice Belanger is an environmentally-minded neighbor, freelance writer, and consumer of green power.

Thanks, Maurice!

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