Katharine Hayhoe: Climate Change Evangelist

(air swooshing) (gentle music) - One of the first times that we went to church in Texas, I met a couple and we were introducing ourselves.

They asked, what do you do?

I explained that I studied global warming, and they said, oh, that's wonderful.

We need somebody like you to tell our children the right things.

You would not believe the lies that they're being taught at school.

They told us that the ice in the Arctic is melting, and it's threatening the polar bears.

And I said, well, I'm afraid that that's true (chuckles) There's often a perceived conflict between science and faith.

It's a little bit like coming outta the closet, admitting to people that you are a Christian and you are a scientist.

My husband, he is the pastor of an evangelical church.

And many people would approach him to ask him questions about climate change.

If anything, there's even more questions in the Christian community, because we are targeted by so much of the disinformation that's going on.

So that's why my husband and I decided to write a book together, a scientist and a pastor, on what a faith-based response to this problem looks like.

With climate change, much of our response to this issue is emotional.

The fear of how our lives would be irrevocably changed if we uprooted our entire economy, and how our rights to enjoy the luxuries of energy and water might be ripped away from us.

Well, as a Christian, we're told that God is not the author of fear.

God is love.

When we're acting out of fear, we're thinking about ourselves.

When we act about love, we are not thinking about ourselves.

We're thinking about others, our global neighbors, the poor and the disadvantaged, the people who do not have the resources to adapt.

And so, I believe that we are called, first of all, to love each other.

And second of all, to act.

Am I a climate change evangelist?

The evangel means good news.

Climate change is not really very good news right now, but at the same time, I think it is good news to know that we have choices.

And by making wise and responsible choices now, we can ensure that we protect the things that we care about the most on our planet for the benefit of the people who we know personally, and those who we don't.

(gentle music continues)