Below is an e-mail I received through the ONE campaign from Richard Cizik.

Dear ONE Member,

I'm a ONE member, an evangelical minister, and a strong believer in protecting this world and all its inhabitants. In 2007 and 2008, I had the honor of working with Rabbi David Saperstein and a bipartisan group of senators to make sure the first ever comprehensive climate change legislation included provisions to help the world´s poorest people overcome the terrible suffering threatened by a changing global climate.

The legislation we helped with did not become law, but what we fought for is back in the spotlight again as a new climate bill works its way through Congress. Unfortunately, the House version, which passed earlier this summer, falls far short of meeting the needs of those most vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change. That's why I'm taking action and adding my name to ONE's petition calling on our senators to correct this injustice.

Click the link below to add your name to ONE's petition:

http://www.one.org/r?r=211&id=1136-3310651-I2bxl.x&t=2

Petition text:

Please ask your leadership to make sure this year’s Senate climate change legislation meets the standard set by last year’s bipartisan Lieberman-Warner climate bill, and allocates 5% of any revenue to begin helping the world’s poorest people overcome the threats posed by climate change.

I grew up on a farm in the Pacific Northwest, and as the old saying goes, you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy. I've often joked about how I learned the hard way that climate can seriously impact a farm family's income—on more than one occasion rainstorms destroyed our cherry crops. But for countless small-scale farmers in the developing world, more and more intense storms, increased droughts and floods, and the expansion of deserts are no laughing matter. These climate-driven changes threaten livelihoods and lives, and demand a response from us and our leaders.

We can convince our senators to commit 5% of any potential revenue from their climate change legislation as an important first step towards investing in the infrastructure and development needs—the dams, sea walls and upgraded agricultural practices—that will allow the world's poorest people to not only weather this very literal climate storm, but even continue to make progress against poverty and disease.

Please take action and join me in making sure our senators hear from us right now, while they're writing this climate change bill:

http://www.one.org/r?r=211&id=1136-3310651-I2bxl.x&t=3

Climate change is a phenomenon of biblical proportions, and its first victims will be those who can least afford to face more suffering. A challenge this big will take all of us: students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, moms, dads, activists, and yes, even evangelical ministers, working together as ONE. That is the strength of our movement, the ability to come together as people of all different faiths, ideologies, and from all walks of life to compel our senators to take action and make sure the world's poor have the resources they need to meet this climate challenge.

I hope you'll join us and send a message to your senators that their climate bill must include 5% for the world's most vulnerable people:

http://www.one.org/r?r=211&id=1136-3310651-I2bxl.x&t=4

Thank you,

Rev. Richard Cizik
ONE member and President of The New Evangelicals