Loading...A note from the Rector…
“April Showers Bring May Flowers.”
I’m sure many of you have heard this saying, along with others reminding us of typical weather patterns where we live. March is supposed to be very windy, followed by the rains of April and the blooming spring in May.
Recently, however, I’ve been reading a lot about changing weather patterns. This year our weather was affected by the El Nino current, a warm current in the Pacific, particularly from Peru and Ecuador. This current shifts our weather patterns, causing lots of rain and snow in some places and drought in other places. Coupled with increasing carbon warming in our atmosphere, we have had significant weather shifts.
The New York Times regularly publishes articles on this phenomenon. A recent series focused on how individual people have had to change their lives. For instance, in a part of India, there is now drought. Most of the people in the region rely upon farming for their livelihood. In many cases, the drought is so severe they haven’t been able to plant any crops. They hope for work through a government program to try to sustain themselves during this time.
Another recent article discussed some controversial new research, saying that climate change will affect us sooner than we thought. This research claims that in 50 years the coastal cities will most likely disappear, because the polar ice sheets will have melted. This research states that what was agreed between nations in Paris last December is too little, too late.
Sometimes I try to ignore these stories, because I figure it’s not really my problem. Then I think about my grandchildren and I feel very sad. Imagine drought and lack of food. While I haven’t read as much about it, there’s real belief that the lack of water will ultimately drive wars in the future.
