This past week has been hot, really hot. Cooling centers are just a Band Aid to what is a serious problem: the heat created by climate changes. It is not just one climate change we are experiencing but a series of climate changes resulting in everything from the melting of the permafrost and fires in Siberia to droughts in Central America.
As a nation we are still digging and using coal. We think of West Virginia and Kentucky as the coal mining centers but 41 percent of our coal comes from mining operations in Wyoming. Miners are afraid of losing the only source of income they can imagine, and mine owners calling themselves “energy companies” play into that fear.
Our dependence on coal is destroying the planet we inhabit with heat. One writer suggested we call this “the heat season” because summer has a different image. Heat kills more people than any other related climate condition. We’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when we have cooler temperatures next week, but we cannot, should not forget we need long term solutions to what is happening around us.
Prayer for the Day
When the road seems endless, O God, empower us to be companions
And, inspire in us creative responses that move us beyond the barriers;
When the road before us divides, enable us to hear your voice for the way,
So we are able to choose the way we should travel.
Unblocked the roads before us so we have the strength to do your will
To work for a day when all will bask in the sunshine of your care.
In the name of him who walked many roads,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
God, it was hot! Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken.
Rachel Caine, American writer (1962-2020)
When it comes to global warming, coal is the gorilla in the room.
Jeff Goodell, American science/environmental writer
In the heavens, God set a tent for the sun which comes out like a bridegroom
From his wedding canopy and like the strong man runs its course with joy;
Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them,
And nothing is hid from its heat.
Psalm 19:4b-6