On the morning of September 24, about a dozen local Sierra Club members joined hundreds of other activists to support Pope Francis' environmental message during his visit to Washington, D.C. We began gathering on the Mall before daybreak on a cool, beautiful fall day. There we listened to the words of environmental and social justice leaders, interwoven with rousing music, building up to the Pope's 10 am address to Congress.

Speakers included leaders of Oxfam, EarthJustice, Oceana, our own Sierra Club, and many more, including Lise van Susteren of Moral Action on Climate Justice. Leaders like labor legend Dolores Huerta, the Rev. William Barber of the North Carolina Moral Mondays group, and Jay Winter Nightwolf of the Echota Cherokee Nation emphasized the outsized impact of fossil fuel pollution on people of color.

Representatives of diverse faith communities blessed and inspired the crowd. Many had joined in an all-night vigil beforehand; several members of the Franciscan Action Network had fasted for up to two weeks before the event. They were joined by Latina women who had marched many miles to highlight the plight of migrants to the United States. 

What could have been a long morning was made shorter by the inspired music of Moby, Sean Paul, Natasha Bedingfield, Christina Grimmie, Eric Paslay, Victoria Justice, Q'orianka Kilcher, and Toby Gad.

Pope Francis gave a truly remarkable talk. Subtle and wide-ranging, it stressed the need "to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity." But the Pope also confronted several other current crises, invoking a quartet of American icons.

First, he paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln, warning against ideological polarization, violence, and new forms of slavery (including "slavery to the economy and finance"). He recalled Martin Luther King's vision of the American dream in urging us to welcome refugees generously, not "discard whatever proves troublesome."

He praised Dorothy Day, a mid-20th century social justice organizer, as he reminded us to look to the causes and not just the effects of poverty. Perhaps conscious of accusations he is anticapitalist, Francis also reaffirmed the potential of business to be a faithful, even noble endeavor. And he lovingly recalled the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, a strong proponent of interfaith and intercultural dialogue--even between long-time enemies. Many listeners took this as an oblique reference to President Obama's rapprochements with Iran and Cuba.

After the Pope's talk, I had the opportunity to hear insights on the meaning of the event from two African priests and from some of the Franciscans participating in the fast--none of whom cared that I was not Catholic. I count myself lucky to have experienced this historic morning and to enjoy the company of so many Sierra Club friends in the fight for climate justice.

By Peg Hausman

The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club has recognized three Great Falls Group (GFG) leaders with Volunteer Awards for 2015. Many members deserve awards for the work they do on behalf of Virginia's environment. Our volunteers step up all the time to attend rallies, give testimony, write letters, and pressure local officials. These three awardees exemplify this indispensable volunteer spirit:

 

Photo Credit Paula Combs

Douglas Stewart has been active with the Virginia Department of Transporatation's Transform 66--Inside/ Outside the Beltway project in Northern Virginia, serving as both the Virginia Chapter and GFG Transportation Chair. Stewart guided the formation of the I-66 Corridor Coalition Steering Committee, organized numerous meetings and conference calls, and spread the word. As a result, the coalition shared their concerns about the project, suggested better solutions, and wrote letters to political leaders. While this project is far from complete, changes will be incorporated into the final design of the Transform 66--Inside/Outside the Beltway project as a direct result of I-66 Corridor Coalition Steering Committee activities.

 

Ross Shearer has worked with Sharon Bulova, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, to pressure the county to implement its CoolCounties initiative. He has arranged meetings with Bulova's office, where he criticized the county's green building policy and pointed out the omission of climate change from the county's comprehensive plan. Shearer has proposed a "Public Service Climate Hero" award to recognize local government employees who have effectively addressed climate change. He has also worked on public oversight of the Virginia Board of Housing and Community Development residential housing energy code, working to get the board to require blower door tests for all new houses.

 

Natalie Pien is active in GFG on the letters to the editor team and in 350 Loudoun as its chair. She has worked with both organizations in the Hands across the Sand/Hands across the Land event and as a bus captain for the People's Climate March. Pien testified at the EPA in support of carbon limits on new and existing power plants, testified at the Virginia State Corporation Commission opposing the Panda power plant in Leesburg, lobbied the Virginia General Assembly as part of the Virginia Conservation Network Environmental Lobby Day, and lobbied Congress with the Sierra Club and the Citizen's Climate Lobby.