In spite of the chill this morning, many of us are still looking for signs of the coming spring, a time when our earth comes back to life. Birds swirl about the feeders in the early morning, seeking the nourishment they need. It’s also the time when water starts flowing again in rural areas, but in some rural communities the water is not life-giving because it has been tainted with arsenic and other chemicals from fracking.
Among the programs halted are those to give clean drinking water to such communities, many of which voted for the man who now is cutting off their access to funding those programs in the name of so-called “efficiency.” The funding freeze is affecting the North Carolina communities hard hit last year by Hurricane Helene.
Texans, who also voted for the new regime, are facing the same freeze in funding their environmental projects, designed to help them withstand the effects of hurricanes and tornados. They’re not even getting the paper towels thrown to others for the cleanups that still need to be done.
Prayer for the Day
Wanting to be in the right, we are frustrated in our daily lives,
For we seek solutions on our terms rather than yours;
Looking for an easy way out, we squirm with your demands,
For we cannot envision what the future might hold.
Enable us to be open to the needs we want to avoid seeing,
So that we reflect your call to life in our everyday actions.
In the name of the One who broadens our vision,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Organizations are going under. Farmers are losing jobs, low-income communities are losing critical access to food, and businesses are waiting on invoices that must be paid.
Jillian Blanchard, Lawyers for Good Government, North Carolina
The problem is, as a practical matter, it’s very hard for the courts to catch up. And the impact on these communities is immediate. The place is closed down, the services aren’t provided for these communities. So the impact can be immediate and devastating, and the practical remedy may be illusory.
Richard Lazarus, Harvard Law School, environmental law professor
To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may her?
See, their ears are closed; they cannot listen.
The word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
Jeremiah 6: 10