(BIRMINGHAM, AL)-- Scientists and religious leaders are working together to call for action when it comes to climate change.
Faith, Science and Climate Action is a speaking tour traveling to the cities across the Southeast. The group will host a talk this evening at Birmingham’s Daniel Payne Center. Their goal is to bring the science and faith-based communities together in a region they say is one of the most affected by climate change.
Reverend Michael Malcolm is the executive director of Alabama Interfaith Power and Light. He said the two communities have something to learn from one another.
"Both blend together to help us make a stronger impact and making a statement for calling truth to power, and saying we've got to have both policy and people to match up with what's happening with our planet, so that we can make it better," he said.
Malcolm said people in both the scientific and faith-based communities lose something when they refuse to acknowledge the other side.
"It's OK to accept science as being valid and helping to inform your faith, and the reverse as well. It's OK for your faith to not be in conflict with science," he said.
The speaking tour is focusing on the Southeast because organizers said it’s an underserved and under-resourced region. They said some of the biggest issues facing Alabama have to do with coal ash and the state’s landfills.
The Faith, Science and Climate Action talk will take place tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Daniel Payne Center in Birmingham.
The event is free and open to the public, but attendees are encouraged to register online, as seating is limited.