A new poll shows that Pope Francis' message on climate change, including his call for people to protect the planet, resonates strongly with Latino Americans.

During his historic visit to the U.S. last week, Pope Francis delivered a speech before President Barack Obama and a crowd of people at the White House that focused on combating global warming. The pontiff also praised Obama's effort to curb climate change.

"Mr. President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history," the Argentina-born Pope said, according to The New York Times.

Following the Pope's visit, a survey conducted by the advocacy group GreenLatinos and Earthjustice found that over three-quarters of Latino voters agree with the Pope's position on climate change. The data also revealed that 68 percent of the more than 54 million Hispanics that live in the U.S. are Catholic, says GreenLatinos' founder and CEO Mark Magana.

"And those are some significant numbers that, I believe, say that this is a community that is ready to respond to this visit," Magana said, reports Nuvo. "We need to do something about climate change - take action - and not just sit back and watch."

According to the study, most Latinos reject claims that protecting the environment would hurt economic growth. Instead, 60 percent of respondents said that stronger environmental laws would actually boost the economy and create jobs.

Meanwhile, almost 80 percent of Latino voters in the poll say they have been subjected to the effects of climate change, including droughts, heat waves, and frequent and intense storms or flooding.

Magana added that U.S. Latinos and especially low-income families "live in the areas that are hardest hit. We live -- overwhelmingly -- within 30 miles of a power plant, and have high asthma rates."

Because one Latino reaches voting age every 30 seconds in the U.S., Magana said that officials need to pay attention to how Latinos are reacting to the pontiff's call to act on climate change.