A Priest, Rabbi & Minister Walk Into an Organic Coffee Shop…

Religious leaders are going green. Or at least a number of them, which a good start in any environmentalist’s book. Those of us involved in environmentalism recognize the dedication of Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Begley Jr and Daryl Hannah, but what does your minister or rabbi have to say about the green movement? Religious leaders across the United States are jumping on the hybrid wagon. Find out about the top 15 to make the list by clicking here.

Here are a few of the favorites:

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.”

Pope Benedict XVI
In addition to using an electric Popemobile on the grounds of solar-power-friendly Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI has been increasingly vocal about the suffering that climate change will cause for the world’s poor. “The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit,” he has said. “Rather, it is part of God’s good plan.” He has said that humans must listen to “the voice of the earth,” supported the celebration of a “day for the safeguarding of Creation,” spoken out on the need to protect the Amazon, and denounced factory farming. In his recent Sacramentum Caritatis, he endorsed the need for environmental stewardship guided by Catholic faith: “The justified concern about threats to the environment present in so many parts of the world is reinforced by Christian hope, which commits us to working responsibly for the protection of Creation.”

Rabbi Warren Stone
As rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Md., Warren Stone has brought a religious element to discussions of the environment and politics in the Washington, D.C., metro area since 1988. Stone has long been active in efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and combat climate change, and he is founder and chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Committee on the Environment, co-chair of the Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation, and member of the Carbonfund advisory board. In 1997, the self-declared “environmentalist rabbi” was a United Nations delegate at the U.N. Conference on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan, where the Kyoto Protocol was forged.

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.

Take a look at the top 15 and runners up. It’s inspiring… Almost spiritual.