This past Tuesday the Council on Environmental Quality, originally created in1969 as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), announced that it would require federal agencies to scrutinize the climate pact of major infrastructure projects, such as the approval of oil and gas pipelines. According to big business, the sky just fell down.
Examining the climate impact also means looking at how such projects affect the communities where such projects are placed. In other words, poor communities cannot be dumping grounds for projects that many of us don’t want in our back yards. Just as important, the restored rules will protect people as well as endangered species.
Climate action has been stalled thanks to Joe Manchin who worries more about his Maserati than the people he’s supposed to serve, but the restoration of the rules under NEPA may help blunt his stonewalling. I have to admit, there are times that I wish God were more like the Zeus in Walt Disney and would crash in on him to wake him up.
Prayer for the Day
Following a steady spring rain, the sky bursts forth with sunshine,
Helping us to remember the power of your creation;
We know, O God, that the world you have given us is fragile,
Not as resilient as we imagine when we desecrate it.
Buds on branches remind us of fragility and strength,
As we acknowledge your lordship over it all.
In the name of the One who gives us strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
- Henry David Thoreau, from Familiar Letters (1817-1862)
We often talk of saving the planet, but the truth is that we must do these things to save ourselves.
- David Attenborough, environmentalist, film maker
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre.
God covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth,
Makes grasses grow on the hills.
God gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry.
God’s delight is not in the strength of the horse nor in the speed of a runner,
But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear God,
In those whose hope is God’s steadfast love.
Psalm 147: 7-11