Isn’t it amazing? Change the name of legislation and you’re left wondering, what does that mean? We now have “Inflation Reduction” to keep some Senators happy. Though we didn’t get everything we want, we did get some really important programs.
It includes protection and restoration of national parks and other public lands, including projects to help make public lands more resilient to climate change; more funding for more Park Rangers; investment in old-growth forest restoration and protection.
It also includes money to help coastal communities prepare for extreme storms and other climate change effects – that’s us on the Eastern Seaboard – and environmental justice programs, including air pollution monitoring; urban tree planting and coastal restoration; energy transition rebates and grants; and environmental and public health reviews on federal projects. And that’s just the beginning.
Prayer for the Day
Abiding God, grant us your presence this day,
As we seek to serve you in this world;
Move us from our gray-tinted spectacles
Into a multi-colored world of your realm.
Open our eyes beyond only what we see
Into a deeper understanding of your world.
In the name of the One who gives us vision,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The end of the forest is the end of our lives.
- Dorothy Stang, American Missionary in Brazil (1931-assassinated 2005)
Sadly, it’s much easier to create a desert than a forest.
- James Lovelock, British environmental writer (1919-2022)
You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe me and understand that I am God,
Before me, no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.
Isaiah 43: 10-11