Creation Care Corner

I AM SHOCKED! After writing these notes on climate change for quite a long time, I am shocked at how severe the climate disasters have become, and how quickly. I suppose I shouldn’t be, because scientists have been warning us for forty years, and more recently the computer climate models have said that the change is occurring much faster than was anticipated.
The term “flood” seems totally inadequate to describe the deluge in Texas recently, and also in the flash floods in the Carolinas in December 2023. Epic disaster seems more fitting to describe them and the many others which have occurred in the past few years. “Epic” could also describe the fires occurring all over the globe as temperatures rise, and rain is re-distributed , causing flooding in some places and droughts in others.
Larry and I stayed at Canyon Lake in the Texas hill country in March of this year. The lake was formed by damming the Guadalupe River. When we were there, it was down to about one-half of its normal size due to prolonged drought in the area. The boat launches were so far above the water that no boats could be launched or removed from the lake. Their floating marina had been moved far out from the normal shoreline. We couldn’t see the water from our condo, which was supposed to be located right on the shore. Now the level of this huge (8,230 acre) lake has gone up 22 feet in just a few days, and there has been an enormous loss of life and property, as you know.
In the same week, an out-of-control wildfire destroyed the lodge at the Grand Canyon, and we’ve been having days of smoky haze and high particulate matter in the air here in Rhinelander, again due to fires in Canada. It’s summer, and we are being advised not to plan outdoor activities.
We can’t afford to put our heads in the sand any longer. Climate change is here, with all of its extreme weather effects. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with flooding killing hundreds in Spain and drought in 48 of America’s states. As I shared with you last month, it’s not too late to prevent it from getting even worse. We already have all of the tools we need to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy; we just need to use them. If politicians want to ignore the dangers of climate change, we can still make our own choices to use clean energy and support its use with our dollars and our voices and votes in local, state, and national elections. Sandy McKitrick, Climate Care Team