We are gathering signatures from individuals and organizations all over the country, in a true Call to Care about wildlife in a warming world. When you sign, we will deliver the Call to Care to your members of Congress. We also will present the final letter to key decision-makers, urging them to consider the plight of these plants and animals seriously––and start taking action to save them. Will you join us?
-----A CALL TO CARE-----
Dear Members of Congress:
The diversity of life on this earth is awe-inspiring and beautiful. But it is also at risk.
Mounting evidence indicates that climate change will be a major cause of extinctions, and many plants and animals are being affected already. This is an ethical, ecological, and economic problem that must be addressed - both by stemming global warming and by helping the most imperiled species.
We care about habitat, plants, and animals injured by climate change for various reasons. Some of us approach this crucial issue from an ecological standpoint, others from a firm belief that our faith calls us to care about creation and the web of life, and others for economic, aesthetic, moral, or recreational reasons. Some are compelled by all these concerns.
Regardless of our motivations, we all are troubled about species such as polar bears losing their habitat as sea ice disappears; Pacific salmon facing the dual threat of rising sea temperatures and diminished stream flows; moose and lobsters more vulnerable to disease in warming weather and waters; whooping cranes struggling as key food sources and suitable habitat disappear; and many species, including the American pika, sugar maple, and monarch butterfly, dealing with shifting habitat due to climate change.
We are part of this web of life and the natural systems that support it. Ecosystems and their diverse species provide clean air and water, healthy soil, food, medicines, and economic benefits. Moreover, we are not immune to the effects of climate change - such as rising seas, destructive storms, spreading disease, and diminishing fresh water and food supplies.
We have a choice to protect species, to raise our voices for the voiceless. In so doing, we have the opportunity to fulfill our responsibility to safeguard future generations and much of the wonder of this world.
Therefore, we call on our policymakers to work together to ensure that species imperiled by climate change are protected. If we join together, we can take action, grounded in science and fueled by moral imperatives, to help irreplaceable plants and wildlife.
Thank you for considering our concerns.
Sincerely,*
[Your name]
[Your address]
* Affiliations are for identification purposes only.
