The word "evangelist" means someone who spreads good news. Studying the impacts of climate change as I do, it's hard to come up with good news. In many ways I feel more like a Cassandra or a Jeremiah than a good-news evangelist.

It is certainly true that conservative Christians are much more likely to doubt the reality of climate change than mainline Christians or the unaffiliated. But when we control for political affiliation and for the important role of thought leaders in determining our opinions on social issues such as climate change, most of the faith-related bias disappears.

For many of us, our values come from our faith.

There has been a concerted effort to frame caring about climate change and the environment as an alternate religion - one that worships the creation rather than the creator, so to speak.

We must also suffer the consequences of our past decisions. And for that, we must open our hearts to those in need.

Huge advances in clean energy technology are happening all the time. Solar and wind are booming. New ways to generate energy from our windows, the paint on our walls, and even our bike paths are being invented all the time. Technology is moving forward, but it needs to be moving forward faster.

I don't have to change the world all by myself, I just need to partner in the work God wants us to do.