The Book of Genesis tells us that God gave humanity dominion over “all the Earth;” the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and the animals on land. It is our spiritual and earthly responsibility to protect our planet and pass on a clean, safe and healthy environment to our children and grandchildren. And we can do that.

Our nation’s energy crisis is not just about securing energy independence so that we can stop sending billions of dollars overseas to buy oil and gas from governments that hate America. It is also the negative impact that burning fossil fuels has on our health and environment. We now know that the use of fossil fuels helps cause global warming.

Climate change (or global warming) has a disproportionate negative impact on the health and economics of African-Americans as has been documented by Redefining Progress and its Environmental Justice and Climate Change (EJCC) Initiative. This negative impact has also been documented by PolicyLink. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy has acknowledged the importance of addressing climate change and making the transition from a fossil fuel to a clean energy economy. That acknowledgment is contained in its plan “Blueprint for Securing America’s Energy Future.”

African-Americans across the board need to get more actively involved in pushing for more energy efficient cars, better enforcement of clean air laws and using more wind, solar and nuclear power to generate electricity.

We must stand up for cleaning up our communities polluted air to help reduce asthma among our children, respiratory problems among our seniors, and to improve our environment and quality of life in order to attract more businesses and jobs to where we live.

Being an environmentalist doesn’t just mean fighting to protect trees and animals, it also means fighting to protect the health, safety and welfare of people and balancing it with responsible and sustainable economic growth.

Protecting our environment, our health and growing our economy are not opposing ideas. They are, in fact, complimentary efforts.

As Al Gore has said, “the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy . . . , escap e the trap of ever-rising energy prices . . . [and] guarantee our national security . . . .”

Together, with a commitment to common sense, technologically sound and cost effective solutions, we can protect our environment, grow our economy, ensure social justice and protect our national security. We can live up to our spiritual and human responsibility to protect the Earth.