Last week Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction among other climate related books, looked at the question “Why is the sea so hot?” in The New Yorker newsletter. There are a number of factors, including a January 2022 South Pacific underwater volcanic eruption and solar cycle activity.
However, 2023 was also the warmest on land with many countries experiencing record-breaking heat waves and wildfires. We in the U.S. had at least 28 weather-related disasters with more than a billion dollars’ worth of damage. Heat, although a silent one, can be a major killer.
Right now, daffodils and periwinkles are in bloom, a full month ahead of schedule. The cool nights may soothe us but summer is coming, sure to follow the spring, and the heat index will rise. Again, the climate deniers shrug their shoulders, but we reap what we sow. And unless our political leaders take this issue seriously, it will only get worse.
Prayer for the Day
Giving us signs we do not want to read and have ignored,
Mother Earth cries out for respite from our lack of caring;
Gorging ourselves on our wastefulness, O God,
We turn a blind eye from the depth of our sin.
Hold us, O Lord, so we repent of the damage we have done,
And give us the fortitude to heal the earth you made.
In the name of the One who offers us life,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It’s not like we’re breaking records by a little bit now and then. It’s like the whole climate just fast-forwarded by fifty or a hundred years. That’s how strange this looks.
Brian McNoldy, University of Miami hurricane researcher
I think the real test will be what happens in the next twelve months. If temperatures remain very high, then I would say more people in the community will be really alarmed and say “O.K., this is outside of what we can explain.”
Susan Wjiffels, senior scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders,
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
The Lord makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire and shakes the wilderness
Psalm 29: 3-8
Last week Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction among other climate related books, looked at the question “Why is the sea so hot?” in The New Yorker newsletter. There are a number of factors, including a January 2022 South Pacific underwater volcanic eruption and solar cycle activity.
However, 2023 was also the warmest on land with many countries experiencing record-breaking heat waves and wildfires. We in the U.S. had at least 28 weather-related disasters with more than a billion dollars’ worth of damage. Heat, although a silent one, can be a major killer.
Right now, daffodils and periwinkles are in bloom, a full month ahead of schedule. The cool nights may soothe us but summer is coming, sure to follow the spring, and the heat index will rise. Again, the climate deniers shrug their shoulders, but we reap what we sow. And unless our political leaders take this issue seriously, it will only get worse.
Prayer for the Day
Giving us signs we do not want to read and have ignored,
Mother Earth cries out for respite from our lack of caring;
Gorging ourselves on our wastefulness, O God,
We turn a blind eye from the depth of our sin.
Hold us, O Lord, so we repent of the damage we have done,
And give us the fortitude to heal the earth you made.
In the name of the One who offers us life,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
It’s not like we’re breaking records by a little bit now and then. It’s like the whole climate just fast-forwarded by fifty or a hundred years. That’s how strange this looks.
Brian McNoldy, University of Miami hurricane researcher
I think the real test will be what happens in the next twelve months. If temperatures remain very high, then I would say more people in the community will be really alarmed and say “O.K., this is outside of what we can explain.”
Susan Wjiffels, senior scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders,
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
The Lord makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire and shakes the wilderness
Psalm 29: 3-8