Virtual Speaker Series – Climate Change

Old Mission Santa Barbara presents Climate Change: Caring for Our Common Home, a free virtual speaker series.

You’ll hear from scientists, Franciscan friars, and spiritual leaders, as they discuss climate science, the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, ecospirituality, climate justice, and how faith affects one’s responsibility to take action.

This speaker series is in support of addressing one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today: the declining health of our planet. Through these talks, we hope to illuminate ways we can come together as a community to listen to and learn from one another while working toward the goal of caring for our common home—Earth—and its inhabitants.

Wednesday, September 28 – 6 pm, Zoom

Climate Change: Listening to the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor

Speaker: Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, UCSD

As the discoverer of the greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons, Dr. Ramanathan will discuss climate change from scientific and humanitarian perspectives.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Ramanathan is the Frieman endowed presidential chair Emeritus professor for climate sustainability at the University of California at San Diego and Cornell Climate Solutions Scholar, Cornell University. He served as the science advisor for Pope Francis’ Holy See delegation to the UN’s 2015 Paris climate summit. He leads University of California’s Bending the Curve: Climate solutions education protocol. He now leads the Climate Resilience project at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican. He is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Blue Planet Prize.

Wednesday, October 5 – 6 pm, Zoom

Ecospirituality: Journey into Greater Ecological Consciousness

Speaker: Br. Keith Douglass Warner, ofm

Moderator: Fr. Ryan Thornton, ofm

Franciscan Friar Br. Keith will explore the spiritual connection between humans and the environment through the lens of Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ call for humanity to act in response to climate change and climate justice.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Brother Keith Douglass Warner OFM is director of the Franciscan Renewal Project at the Franciscan School of Theology, University of San Diego. He serves as Special Assistant for Renewal Initiatives for the US Franciscan Friars. Br. Keith has a PhD in environmental studies from University of California at Santa Cruz. He has worked extensively with social enterprises and Catholic religious orders in Africa to advance the UN sustainability development goals in the spirit of Laudato Si.

Wednesday, October 12 – 6 pm, Zoom

Environmentalism: Responses Across Faiths

Panelists: Local spiritual leaders

Moderator: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment

Moderator Cassandra Carmichael will lead a panel discussion with spiritual leaders of different faiths about how their faith views the environment, their responsibility toward it, and what they see as their faith’s call to environmental action.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Cassandra Carmichael is the Executive Director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, an alliance of independent faith groups—representing a broad spectrum of religions, including Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant, and Jewish—that are responding to environmental challenges through faith-based actions.