Thousands of academic and religious organizations across the country have planned events for “Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America,” a week dedicated to drawing national attention to climate change. In New York, for instance, Syracuse University, in collaboration with the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, will hold a teach-in on global warming today, and Le Moyne College, a Jesuit school also in Syracuse, held a teach-trek yesterday (with students walking and bicycling through downtown Syracuse to raise awareness of the issue) and has a series of presentations and discussions planned for today. Other area religious groups, including the May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society and St. James Episcopal Church, joined the effort by organizing their own events last Sunday. —Stephen Mapes

Do different religions—with their differing views on the role and place of humans in nature—shape the role their followers take in protecting the environment?

As the global warming debate continues to heat up, “green sermons”—in which religious leaders call for environmental activism—are beginning to sweep the Southeast, thanks to movements like the Interfaith Power and Light campaign. These messages from the pulpit are raising awareness of key environmental issues, such as energy conservation and the reduction of carbon footprints, among a large demographic of American society. Advocates hope to see the trend spread to congregations throughout the country. —Stephen Mapes

Mary Tucker and John Grim, coordinators of the international Forum on Religion and Ecology, have been granted five-year appointments at Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. The environmental ethicists will work closely with the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, the Divinity School, the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and the department of religious studies to develop a program of study relating religion and ecology. —Stephen Mapes