15 Top Environmental Religious Leaders

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
"Crime against the natural world is a sin," says Bartholomew I, leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. "The Green Patriarch" has thrown his weight behind various international environmental causes, and urges leaders of other faiths to raise environmental awareness among their believers. The winner of both the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the Sophie Prize for leadership in environmental protection and sustainable development, Bartholomew I takes his "fisher of men" duty seriously: In 2003, he brought together 200 scientists, political leaders, and journalists on a cruise ship in the Baltic Sea to discuss marine preservation and the hazards of overfishing. "To protect the oceans is to do God's work," he says. "To harm them, even if we are ignorant of the harm we cause, is to diminish His divine creation."

The Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet has been talking up environmental protection since he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. He has said that he considers environmental issues to be among the key challenges facing humanity today -- and as an exile whose homeland is under occupation, he's a man who knows challenges. The U.K. Environment Agency named him one of the top 100 green campaigners of all time last year. This year, the Dalai Lama is offsetting emissions generated by his world tour, and at many of the stops he's stressing the importance of kindness to the planet. He has been outspoken about protecting forests and wildlife and controlling the spread of nuclear power. He calls a clean environment a basic human right, and declares, "It is therefore part of our responsibility towards others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than we found it."

Rev. Sally Bingham
Sally Bingham -- an Episcopal priest and the environmental minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Calif. -- brings light to congregations in more ways than one. Via the Interfaith Power & Light campaign, she's been a leader in encouraging religious groups to purchase green power and conserve energy by, among other things, replacing old-style light bulbs with compact fluorescents. The Regeneration Project, which she heads, recently united leaders from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith groups to ask the U.S. Congress and the White House to act on global warming. Bingham previously served on the board of Environmental Defense and San Francisco's Commission on the Environment, and has earned many accolades for her work, including the Green Power Leadership Pilot Award and the 2002 Energy Globe Award.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Use organic bread and wine for Holy Communion. Sell fairly traded products at church events. Carpool. Recycle. All of these were among the recommendations of Rowan Williams, senior clergyman of the Church of England, in "Sharing God's Planet," his 2005 report to the General Synod meeting. Williams says Christians have a moral duty to practice "sustainable consumption" and "celebrate and care for every part of God's creation." He launched a church-wide national environmental campaign, and, most recently, endorsed a booklet encouraging Christians to play their part in protecting the environment: "How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change a Christian?"

Richard Cizik
As vice president of governmental affairs for the U.S. National Association of Evangelicals, Richard Cizik uses his significant political sway to raise awareness about climate change and other environmental maladies. Evangelicals should "return to being people known for our love and care of the earth and our fellow human beings," says Cizik, who travels the U.S. spreading the doctrine of "creation care," a Bible-based understanding of why Christians have a duty to be environmental stewards. He's faced criticism from other evangelicals for stealing attention away from homosexuality and abortion, but Cizik remains steadfast in his earth evangelizing. "There are still plenty who wonder, does advocating this agenda mean we have to become liberal weirdos?" he says. "And I say to them, certainly not. It's in the scripture. Read the Bible."

For the rest of the list