In the late 1990s, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment was searching American faith communities to find best examples of environmental justice work. Following on a few previous compilations, this collection of 35 example stories of projects from across the country was published in 1997. In a parallel effort, the local community leaders of these projects wrote letters highlighting their work to share with the Clinton administration in Washington, DC. Those letters were received by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Vice President Al Gore, who met with senior religious leaders in a series of meetings in DC to learn about the environmental justice work of faith communities.
