by Maureen Fiedler
I am currently in Western New York, not far from Buffalo. Weather-wise, this area is most famous for its deep winter snows. But it's also famous for mild summers. When I was growing up here in the 1950s and 1960s, summer temperatures in July and August were in the 70s most of the time, and anything above 85 degrees was considered "scorching." When air conditioning became common, Western New Yorkers usually thought the expense was not worth the few days they'd need it.
Now, for about a week, temperatures have been in the 90s, with a heat index yesterday that stretched into triple digits. When I asked folks who live around here, they said that summer temperatures had been rising for the last several years, and they are feeling it. And the local farmers are suffering from a drought.
Scorching heat is a nationwide phenomenon at the moment, with especially punishing temperatures across the southern plains states. So, I wonder why we don't hear more commentary about "climate change" in the media these days. Now, I do understand that one cannot legitimately link single weather events to climate change. But according to the Environmental Defense Fund:
So, maybe there's a message in this month's scorching temperatures -- something for "climate deniers" to ponder and something that will lead "climate believers" into new action. All of us who believe that we have a responsibility to care for God's creation need to take this seriously.
