Friday, January 27, 2023

In the midst of stories about mass shootings, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and climate catastrophe comes good news.  This week, two major areas had their environmental protections restored.  Today the destruction caused by roads and old growth timber logging in the Tongass National Forest ends.  Moneyed interests had opened the Alaskan wilderness to logging in 2017. Trees more than 500 years old and as high as a 17-story building, will be allowed to stand.

And in Minnesota, the Boundary Waters will be protected from mining for at least the next 20 years.  It is the most visited wilderness area in the U.S. and is a major watershed area.  The previous mining leases had sidestepped environmental review.

Why is this important? Tongass alone absorbs 8% of the carbon from the lower 48; Boundary Waters protects clean water down into the heartland. These decisions are important for our future, more important than money or greed, for what does it profit us if we gain immediate satisfaction but lose our souls?

Prayer for the Day

Although we may not hear trees fall or waters being polluted,
   We know, O God, that your creation must be protected;
You have given us this earth to be its stewards,
   But we have continued to ravage it without limit.
Grant, O great Creator, that we consider the effect of our actions
   Beyond our limited short lives against the expanse of creation.
In the name of the One who shows us how to live,
   Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Thoughts for the Day

The old-growth timber is a carbon sink, one of the best in the world. It’s important to our way of life — the streams, salmon, deer, and all the forest animals and plants.
     - Joel Jackson, President of organized village of Kake, Alaska

Acid pollution from sulfide mines as far away as 100 miles threaten the park’s waters and all who visit. Even small amounts of this pollution is detrimental to public health. Banning mining activities in the region’s prized Boundary Waters will protect the broader park ecosystem now and for years to come.
      - Christine R. Goepfert, National Parks Conservation Association

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
    1 Timothy 6:10

Tongass Wilderness Area