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6.13 billion. Approximately. That’s how many individuals worldwide identify with a particular religion, according to 2009 data from the CIA World Factbook. That’s about 88.54% of the total world population. It’s more than the combined populations of the world’s top ten most populous countries (that's China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, and Japan).

In the United States, it seems that religious perspectives on climate change issues have long been underrepresented. Religious perspectives on science and science reporting tend to be presented narrowly (if presented at all).  Mainstream media punditry generally provides us access to the scientists arguing the science, or religious leaders and institutions arguing their opposition to the science.

Science and religion, however, are more than just institutions–they are perspectives. And a little perspective can go a long way, especially when it comes to addressing global challenges (like climate change) that not only affect religious and scientific communities, but the entire world.

But how can a grouping so broad and diverse maintain a singular perspective…on anything? Where is the voice of religious communities who do accept climate change and are taking action? In the U.S. alone it can be difficult to try and figure out how many religious and spiritual organizations are working toward climate change action or interfaith conversations addressing climate change issues. But let’s take a stab at it.

Here’s a slice, a mere sample, of some local (U.S.) religious, spiritual, and interfaith organization efforts from around the country...

Perhaps the most recent sampling of religious action in environmental and climate change issues is the 2008 documentary RENEWAL. The film follows eight different religious-environmental activist groups in the United States who are “re-examining what it means to be human and how we live on this planet,” according to their website. The film project provides Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist perspectives on climate change and environmental issues through the work of the featured organizations. 

One of the organizations featured in RENEWAL, GreenFaith, is an interfaith group based in New Jersey that’s into practicing environmental stewardship in areas like renewable energy and water conservation. GreenFaith’s AP Solar 2012 Residential Solar Campaign is one cool example of the organization’s commitment to climate change action. The program allows New Jersey residents to have their roofs screened to find out whether they qualify for a solar installation. If so, the household will then receive the installation at no cost. The homeowners will also be able to buy solar power at discounted prices.

Cultural changes (like the gradual shift toward a sustainable energy economy) often begin at a local level, and organizations like GreenFaith are certainly helping that transition along. But they aren't the only ones.....

A small college established in Unity, Maine in the 1960’s due to economic necessity has evolved into an unlikely success story and a haven for environmental education. Established on what was once a chicken hatchery, Unity College has grown from humble and precipitous origins into Unity’s largest employer and an example of sustainability and non-traditional education.

Located in the scenic mid-Coast county of Waldo, Maine, Unity College proudly applies the title of “America’s Environmental College,” a moniker earned through years of financial insecurity, perseverance, and a growing dedication to environmental activism and education. Established in 1965 by a group of local businessmen, Unity College has since become a welcoming environment for students looking for an education that centers on ecology, sustainability and global change. Students who graduate from Unity College are poised to become productive leaders in the spheres of environmental activism, business and political policy. Hands-on courses get students out of the classroom and interacting with nature, while intercollegiate and club sports including soccer, ice hockey and ultimate Frisbee cultivate an active and competitive community.

Recently, Unity College appeared in Detroit Public TV’s documentary Beyond the Light Switch for their role in reigniting a national dialogue on renewable energy. This debate has its origins in the presidency of Jimmy Carter, who in 1979 put 32 solar panels atop the White House in a symbolic statement on the future of energy. President Carter predicted, accurately, that the solar panels might possibly come to symbolize “a road not taken,” which is exactly what happened when they were removed during the Reagan administration and stored in a cavernous government warehouse to collect dust. Unity College enters the story in the early ‘90s when then-development director Peter Marbach (now a fine arts photographer living in Oregon) asked the US government if he could take the unused panels for use at Unity College. The General Services Administration assented and Marbach personally picked up the unused solar panels from the federal warehouse. 16 of the 32 panels then went to heating Unity College’s cafeteria [pictured] for over a decade. Since then, many of the solar panels have been loaned out, donated, or put in storage. Last year Unity College earned some press for donating one of Jimmy Carter’s solar panels to the Himin Solar Energy Group of China, to be put on display at the Solar Science and Technology Museum in Dezhou....

It's a professorial paradox to be sure. Naturally, there's a lot of ground to cover. To be "sustainable" is to possess the capacity to endure. Sort of broad-sounding, no? For clarity, if we look to the secondary definition of the term, Wiktionary lists the meaning as "able to be sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment, or without depleting a resource; renewable."

This modern definition of the term certainly narrows things down for us, yet 'sustainability' remains a dense subject matter. And a sticky one. When talking about issues related to the topics of energy, environment and economy, there are many differing viewpoints out there. For the topic of energy in particular, unraveling the knot of policy roadblocks, technological limitations, and environmental issues only complicates things further. In today's hyper-polarized media climate, sorting out the issues– and deciding where you stand– is a challenge for most people.

And if sustainability is hard to learn about, just imagine what it's like to teach people– young people, at that– how to better understand and develop a sustainable economic infrastructure in world with so many highly unsustainable systems in place. How do you tell them what they need to know when so much of the information that contextualizes each issue is either inaccessibly technical or under-informed and biased?

One man is offering solutions, and Beyond the Light Switch is helping to animate his commendable efforts in public education. Professor Greg Möller, Ph.D.  teaches a course called Principals of Sustainability at the University of Idaho, and he's using footage from Beyond the Light Switch to help disseminate information on sustainable energy use. Dr. Möller's using what he calls "an experimental pedagogy" and incorporating new technologies in order to teach his students about what it's going to take in order to turn our current energy economy into something that's sustainable on a global scale.

To that end, Dr. Möller has created a 10-chapter, multi-part series of 'doculectures' on all things related to sustainability– everything from waste management to electric generation. Anything that can and should be made sustainable, really. The series is still a work in progress, with the doculecture chapters falling under the umbrella of Dr. Möller's online course. Each doculecture is available for viewing on Vimeo now. 

For Chapter 6 in his series, titled Energy Sustainability, Dr. Möller  drew upon footage from BTLS to help put our current use of fossil fuels, alternative energies, and the power grid into perspective for his students. BTLS and the Braintrust are incredibly pleased to be part of a growing curriculum committed to energy education. Here are some additional doculectures from the series that Dr. Möller  picked out as especially interesting to fans and followers of Beyond the Light Switch: 

DETROIT, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Comprehensive and timely, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH adds a much-needed and balanced perspective to a national energy debate that will surely become more heated and more critical than anything since health care.

Premieres nationally on PBS stations in April, May, June 2011 (check local listings) www.beyondthelightswitch.com

By 2050 America must completely transform its entire electrical infrastructure, a challenge equal to the mobilization efforts for World War II.

To do this, we must rebuild most of our existing electric power plant infrastructure, cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80%, and completely update our power grid – while simultaneously accommodating an expected thirty percent increase in demand. Our modern lives depend upon electricity. But what is the answer?  Renewables?  Coal?  Natural gas?  Nuclear?  A super grid? It's a complicated and confusing issue for almost everyone.

Hosted by Scientific American Magazine's David Biello, and guided by an independent advisory panel, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH, a new special from Detroit Public Television, lays out the energy facts and conundrums facing all of us.

Shot on location throughout the US, and featuring interviews with government leaders, industry experts, researchers, innovators, environmentalists, utilities, journalists and authors, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH thoughtfully explores the trade-offs of carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a nuclear renaissance, the costs of solar power, the sprawl of wind power and the feasibility of a super grid.