An old law school professor of mine who had once worked for the radical lawyer Richard Kunstler, perhaps most known as the defense attorney for the Chicago Seven, arrested for their participation in the mayhem that accompanied the 1968 Democratic Convention, urged me to study tax law because, as he said, if you want to know who holds power in a nation, look at its tax code.
If we look at the tax laws structured to help the fossil fuel industry, you can see he was correct. Tax subsidies to oil, gas, and coal total about $20 billion a year. And that figure only includes direct subsidies. Then there are indirect subsidies, such as discounting the cost of leasing federal lands. They total much, much more, as much as $500 billion.
The costs to our Nation cannot be measured in money. Coal ash pollution probably accounts for over 13,000 deaths and is the largest source of airborne mercury, which moving through the food chain, infects the fish and produce we eat. And certain members of Congress squawk about the meager $5.1 billion spent on all forms of renewable energy in 2019. Of course, they don’t live near ash spewing power plants.
Prayer for the Day
The angels must cry as they look down upon us, O God,
For we continue to destroy so much of your creation;
Even the stars must choke behind the barely visible clouds
Of ash and soot released from power plants.
Grant us, O God, both the will and the way to renew ourselves
As we renew the earth and your creation.
In the name of the One who is the voice of renewal,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction.
Rachel Carson, environmentalist (1907-1964)
It is a call for a shift in priorities. On the policy level, we need to shift toward protecting and healing ecosystems on every level, especially the local. On a cultural level, we need to reintegrate human life with the rest of life, and bring ecological principles to bear on social healing.
Carl Eisenstein, from Climate: A New Story
The nations have sunk in the pit they have made,
Into the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
Psalm 9: 15