June 24, 2026
Wildfires crop up daily all over Arizona forests, caused by decades-long dryness, extraordinary heat, and human carelessness. The Colorado River and its lakes are critically low due to lack of snowpack and drought. I feel frustrated by the political divisiveness, self-interest, and rejection of science that make the climate situation worse. Crops suffer, people are at risk due to deadly heat, now even in Europe. Warfare is rampant as the world’s burgeoning population causes resources, including fossil fuels, to become scarcer. Rising sea level, lethal heat, and economic distress cause people to migrate, seeking safety and economic security. The news seems persistently gloomy.
In 2000 I added my own technical report about sea level rise to scientists’ global climate warnings. Of 26 government offices that I sent mine to, only one replied. A quarter-century later, people have finally realized that climate change is not just in the future, it is already here. Governments at many levels, even industry, have finally, reluctantly, taken steps to address the issues. My little report and many letters had no apparent influence on officials who were supposed to deal with such huge global effects. I feel powerless as the climate changes around me.
The problem is so great that I cannot, nor can any of us, individually avoid what is coming. All I can do is pray that God will guide us and protect us from the worst changes. When I’ve done what I can, like using my hybrid car and voicing my opinions, I also can choose to give it to God. That seems like a last resort but should be seen as regular practice as I deal with life’s concerns. Letting it go and letting God. That may mean accepting hard, hard lessons in the natural world. Such as forest fires and loss of water from the Colorado River. But I am comforted by knowing that God still loves us despite our misuse of his creation.
