Midwest religious leaders add voice to curbing carbon pollution

Nearly 400 religious leaders from across the Midwest have signed a letter to President Barack Obama and Gina McCarthy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.

The letter asks that standards for carbon pollution for new and existing power plants be finalized in an effort to curb climate change, which is referred to in the letter as a 'moral issue.”

'The foundational premise has been that Earth actually belongs to God and we are fortunate to call it our home,” said pastor Randy Kasch of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids. 'It goes clear back to the very first part of Scripture in the book of Genesis where God gave the first humans the opportunity and the responsibility to care for the creation.”

Kasch, who has served at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church for 24 years, added his signature to the letter alongside 96 other Iowa religious leaders representing 14 different faith traditions. The letter was sent Tuesday.

The letter was written by members of the organization Interfaith Power and Light. The organization's mission is to help people of faith become involved in addressing the consequences of climate change.

'There really are two things that unite all of our faith traditions,” said the Rev. Susan Guy, executive director of Iowa Interfaith Power and Light. 'One is the calling to care for Earth and the other is a calling to care for those who are most vulnerable in our world. Because climate change is something that really impacts both of those, it's been really easy to coalesce around that.”

The EPA has been working on proposals for carbon pollution standards for new power plants under Obama's Climate Action Plan. Guy said that Interfaith Power and Light believes a draft of carbon pollution standards for existing power plants will be released on Monday, standards that the letter asks to be finalized by June 2015.

Kasch recognized that not all individuals of his 220-member congregation may agree or even know that he signed the letter, but said that the church has always worked to serve the community and advocate for the voiceless.

'Who else is going to speak for the environment if people of faith don't, and others as well. The creation is either going to continue to provide gifts for generations to come ... or it's going to be jeopardized by our actions,” Kasch said.

The letter was the first of its kind sent by Interfaith Power and Light to administrators, but the group has released statements on climate change each Earth Day for several years.

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