Pope Francis, arguably the most influential religious leader in the western world, has the potential to sway the masses to care more about our singular, unique home — Mother Earth. With his recent statements on climate change and the impact humans have had on our planet’s environment, religious United States politicians, which typically swing toward climate change denial, find themselves stuck in ice. 

As students at a research institution, we must take action into our own hands by educating naysayers and convincing policymakers to preserve our home and reverse the damage done so far. Remember that “little ice age” discussed in your European history class? If not, just take into consideration all of the famine and poverty that a 2-degree drop in temperature caused in medieval Europe. 

In the last hundred years, we have raised the average global temperature by about 1.6 degrees, with the majority of the increase occurring in the past 20 years — and it’s only getting warmer. With the United Nations Paris Climate Talks in December quickly approaching, we can no longer solely count on religious leaders like Pope Francis to urge action regarding climate. It is time for us to stick up for our future too, and demand a response from our world leaders.