It’s a beautiful sunny and cool morning here on the Eastern seaboard, and at least for the coming week we are promised more of the same. Dry and windy conditions are, of course, a spur to wildfires, but it’s the first dry weekend we’ve had in some time. On a lovely morning like today we would rather think about gardening and garage sales rather than toxic residues from old plants.
But here in New Jersey, a part of Keyport still is asking questions about a cancer cluster near an abandoned industrial site. And proposed regulations from the EPA, of all places, would eliminate monitoring of coal ash to protect groundwater, and this from an agency that’s supposed to protect the environment, not destroy it.
We may put our unwanted items up at a garage sale, hoping that someone will find a use of what we no longer need, but industrial waste is a different matter. Throughout our part of the country, there are numerous superfund sites that need to be cleaned up. The proposed changes in deregulating coal ash, toxic to drinking water, will, in the end, affect us all, whether in our back yards or further away.
Prayer for the Day
Saying we marvel in your creation, O Source of all life,
Our destructive actions belie our words;
For, in truth, we look to the earth only for what it can give us,
.As we ignore your warnings to our peril.
More than what we take of your precious resources,
We do not see that all life is connected through your hand,
In the name of One who sifts the sands at the seashore,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The Trump administration has jeopardized the nation’s drinking water supplies as a favor to polluters. It’s just not right.
Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice and a former EPA attorney
A suspected cancer cluster in our community is a sensitive matter that requires the full force of our public health and environmental protection agencies. I sincerely urge you and your agencies to collaborate, take meaningful action and inform the community of your work. The residents of Keyport are entitled to clarity, accountability, and protection from potential environmental harm.
U.S. Rep Frank Pallone to regional EPA authorities.
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
Do not forget the life of your poor forever.
Psalm 74: 19