Legislation is introduced on the first-year anniversary of Pope Francis’s historic environmental encyclical “Laudato Si”
Washington (June 17, 2016) – As the world marks the first anniversary this weekend of the release of Pope Francis’s historic environmental encyclical “Laudato Si”, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) this week introduced legislation to help educate America’s young people on climate change. The “Climate Change Education Act” (S.3074) directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a climate change education program focused on formal and informal learning for all age levels. The program would explore solutions to climate change, the dangers we face in a warming world, and relatively small changes in daily routines that can have a profound global impact. The legislation also establishes a grant program to support public outreach programs that improve access to clean energy jobs and research funds so local communities can address climate mitigation and adaptation issues.
Last summer, Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical subtitled “On Care For Our Common Home” of the grave implications of climate change and how it is “one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.” He called for environmental education, and the need for “ecological citizenship.”
“As we celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s vital message on taking action to address climate change, his call for a global conversation on our environmental challenges continues to resonate,” said Senator Markey, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of the Senate Climate Clearinghouse. “Not only must we act here at home to directly address the carbon pollution causing climate change, but we must encourage a national discussion, especially with our youth, about how we can reduce our carbon footprint and serve as stewards of our environment.”
A copy of the legislation can be found HERE.
Other senators co-sponsoring the legislation are: Al Franken (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
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