Religious Response to Climate Change is the second of two live web-casts which will help launch EDN�s new Earth Day Television. The panel discussion, co-hosted by Interfaith Power and Light, will highlight the views of various faiths as religious communities become increasingly more vocal and active on the issue of climate change.

"Global warming is the greatest moral issue of our time. It threatens all of life and thus people of faith must answer the call to environmental stewardship for the sake of all who live on this earth," said The Rev. Sally Bingham, executive director of The Regeneration Project and the Interfaith Power & Light campaign. "We must contribute to the solutions in order to secure a healthy future for our children. Practical solutions to climate change are available and we need to begin implementing them. It is immoral not to do so."

The religious panel includes Rev. Richard Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals; Rev. Alida M. DeCoster, Unitarian Universalist Association Washington Office; Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Coordinator for Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light; and Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University.

�Accepting the scientific validity of climate change is a 'threshold issue' for the evangelical movement, which indicates a willingness to overcome historic suspicions about environmental science,� said panelist Rev. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals. �But that is exactly what's necessary in order to not only understand what's occurring to this planet but to be part of the solution. Those who reject such a role for our [evangelical] movement risk a lot, namely, to be on the wrong side of history."

Panelist Imam Yahya Hendi, muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, agrees and added. �Acts of worship involve respect and sincerity towards others, and humility to our Lord, however, we are neglecting a vital component of our lives that we must begin to recognize: care for our home and silent nurturer, the Earth.�

Panelist Rev. Alida DeCoster notes that Unitarian Universalists have drafted statements about the potential dangers of greenhouse gases since 1977. �The 2006 draft �Statement of Conscience� of the Universalist Association states that the Earth is our home and Unitarian Universalists are called to defer to a balance between our individual needs and those of all other organisms,� said DeCoster. �Spiritual growth leads us to a broader identification with all of life, so that we recognize more and more that damage to any part of the ecosystem affects the whole.�

Religious Response to Climate Change will be directly in response to climate change issues raised during a scientific panel discussion from 1-3p.m. EDT at the same location, the AARP Broadcast Center, 601 E Street, NW, Washington, DC. Both panel discussions will be featured live on Earth Day Television, as part of Earth Day Network�s new Climate Change Solutions campaign.

EDN is also encouraging churches, synagogues and other institutions of faith to address climate change in their sermons and addresses on Sunday, April 23rd, immediately following Earth Day. EDN has prepared Religious Earth Day in a Box, which is all the information you need to organize your own event, get involved, and help combat climate change. www.earthday.net/resources/2006materials/EarthDay-in-a-Box.pdf