As we gather here in this loving and peaceful place, let us remember that in Paris, leaders from approximately 200 nations of the world have gathered in that city of light which was so recently wracked by terrorist violence, to do something which has never happened before in the history of the planet but which may be necessary for preventing catastrophic climate change around the world.
Our thoughts, our hearts, and our prayers go out to those negotiators engaged in with some called last best hope for humanity.
This time we are not talking about nuclear weapons but about the need for the nations, led by the United States and China, to craft a treaty for the enforceable reductions of greenhouse gas emissions that are already melting the ice caps and threatening to make much of the earth uninhabitable, such as our great coastal cities they will be flooded within the lifetimes of our children if not our own, and — as Pope Francis has reminded us — which threaten the poorest people and the poorest nations with disaster.
We are encouraged by Pres. Obama’s leadership in the face of strident deniers whom we must embrace and work to convince them of the collective needs of all humanity for success in Paris and in our daily lives.
-Bill Potter, Environmental Protection Task Force, Chair
Follow the events in Paris at http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/