So far we in the East should count ourselves fortunate that our weather patterns and water levels are not as dire as they are out west. Yes, we in New Jersey have had terrible rain and wind storms – my side yard is proof of the power of a windstorm. Even 13 years ago when “Superstorm” Sandy hit, there was less damage, but the world has gotten warmer and we are now paying the price of reckless fossil fuel production. We’ve had these warnings for over 50 years, but fossil fuel companies with their money have blocked real meaningful change.
Yesterday the federal government issued a set of regulations for water use from the Colorado River and two major reservoirs, which have been losing water due to severe drought, exacerbated by a combination of the way water is used and the lack of green energy use. Some senior communities have taken to artificial turf but not golf courses.
And the El Niño weather pattern will not help either, even threatening the lush Amazon, called the lungs of the world. The weather pattern will have its greatest impact at the end of the dry season with little rain, drying up tributaries, which will only increase the heat. This summer is the hottest on record. And our air conditioners won’t save us.
Prayer for the Day
Gazing up at the heavens, the fox and deer with their young,
Seek your protection as we degrade their habitat, O God;
Moving north through the waters searching for food to sustain them,
Whales and seals face the melting ice with trepidation.
Shake us on the earth who feel the heat and smell wildfire smoke,
So we do more than little to readjust our living in this world.
In the name of the One who is our guide,
Even Christ Jesus out Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Much more needs to be done to protect biomes such as the Amazon, on which the world depends. Investing more in firefighters is a necessary short-term step, but it only deals with the consequences rather than the local and global causes. Unless deforestation is halted and fossils fuels are phased out, the atmosphere will continue to warm and amplify extreme weather
Jonathan Watts, author and journalist based in the Amazon
New Jersey was still drying out Friday after intense thunderstorms turned streets into rivers, trapped dozens of motorists in floodwaters and dumped nearly 5 inches of rain in parts of the state.
Star Ledger, Saturday 8/22/2026
Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools
Proverbs 16: 22