Choosing to drive in New York City is a form of mental instability best left to cab drivers, so we didn't while in the Big Apple this past weekend. Instead we walked, took taxis, and used the subway system. The subway lines can get you just about anywhere and they are the arteries in the heart of the transportation and economic engine of this city of 8.3 million people.
Today marks the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, the massive storm which literally washed over New York. There are still portions of the subway which have not been repaired and returned to even partial function. Other lines were saved by the ingenuity of the army of people who keep the system running from day to day. One major line was saved by a last minute plywood wall built as a dike at the entrance to the tunnel. Engineers estimated that with the tidal and storm surge it needed to be eight and a half feet tall. They were correct with three inches to spare.
This storm was unprecedented, as so many have been in the past couple of years. While our weather in New York was perfect, in Europe a massive storm, the biggest in more than a decade, has created havoc in several countries.
Isn't it astonishing that so many are unconvinced of the realities of climate change? What amazes me is that a substantial number of conservative Christians feel that it is impossible for humans to be agents in climate change because God is in charge. They often cite the story of Noah to support their conviction that the world will never be devastated again. I have pointed out more than once that this story says that God will not punish the planet, when what is happening in our time is self-inflicted. It is also disturbing that this is taken literally rather than as an important myth about human arrogance and denial. Aren't we being a tad arrogant when we will not see the "signs of the times?"
In New York there are regular reminders about the two great calamities of recent times, 911 and Sandy. Let's pray that there aren't more to come.
Thoughts?
3 comments:
It's too easy for politicians to tackle the problems that we "see", such as unemployment and crime. While those are very important, it means the biggie - the future of our planet - gets ignored. I'm sure we are paying, and will continue to pay, a big price for this.
By the way, good call on not driving in NYC. I drove through Manhattan on a Friday night, was suddenly surrounded in the middle of an intersection by seemingly hundreds of yellow cabs, at which point a police officer wanted me to do a u-turn in the middle of all that bedlam. Never again!
Climate change is really out there I used to poo poo the concept global warming feeling it was just a nautural cycle that the earth just went through every thousand years or so but the more i see the devastion of the earth via climate i think i may be wrong lol
we all need to wake up and care for the earth before its too late
I agree Roger that we seem to have wonky priorities. And yes John we all need to wake up.
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