We are now past the dog days of summer, the time when summer is supposed to be at its hottest and most humid, but don’t bet on it. The phrase comes from the rising of the constellation Sirius, the dog, the brightest star in the heavens seen by the ancients. It was always connected with drought, lethargy, and the heat that could drive dogs mad.
In the Southern Hemisphere of course, it is the deep winter, not as cold as it used to be as the planet continues on its warming spree. In the midst of this, the wealthy who have McMansions on Sea Girt, Ocean City, and Avalon, to name a few, are stoking up opposition to wind farms. It’s not about whales or birds; it’s about their view.
Funded by the fossil fuel lobby, this opposition doesn’t care whether we poorer ones will bake in the future as long as they have their “view.” Considering the wind farms are 15 miles off the coast, they would only be faintly visible. They are the same ones who oppose speed limits on their pleasure boats that crash into whales and dolphins.
Prayer for the Day
Afraid of what we may discover about ourselves,
We are reluctant to enter the darkness of our souls;
Protect us from the silence of soul and the despair of doubt.
Forgive our weakness of will, languidness of heart, and fear of faith
Moving us beyond our preoccupation with self, opening us to others.
In your mercy, O God, hold us fast to what we say we believe.
In the name of the One who embodies your spirit,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
New Jersey is an example for the entire country. If we are not able to build this, it will make it harder for other wind projects to succeed.
- Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter director
People really need to know where the information is coming from. It may be coming out of the mouths of local people, but a lot of it is being generated by the movement to stop the transition away from fossil fuels.
- J. Timmons Roberts, Environmental studies, Brown University
Great are our judgments and hard to describe;
Therefore uninstructed souls have gone astray.
For when lawless people supposed that they held the holy nation in their power,
They themselves lay as captives of darkness and prisoners of long nights,
Shut in under their roofs, exiles form eternal providence.
Wisdom of Solomon 17: 1-2