Saturday, January 30, 2021

Praying for US Climate Leadership

 


When President DT took office a thousand years ago he seemed to delight in signing documents in the Oval Office, as though he was playing to the cameras -- look at me, I'm very powerful. Comedians quipped that there wasn't anything on the pages, he just like signing his name for an audience.

On the day he became president Joe Biden signed more executive orders than any president in memory, and he's continued to do so with breath-taking speed. These orders on a wide range of issues will all require legislative support and plans for funding trillions of dollars. 

A number of these orders are related to the climate crisis and signal a dramatic turn away from decisions made by the previous administration. 

Biden has already announced that the United States will rejoin the Paris climate agreement. Other orders include reviewing oil and gas leases on federal public lands, including on land considered sacred to Indigenous peoples. He is also committed to creating jobs in the clean energy sector. 

While there is a lot of work to do, President Biden has assembled an impressive team to undertake this bold program, including appointing an Indigenous person, Deb Haaland, as Secretary of the Interior, a department whose jurisdiction covers tribal lands and vast tracts of protected American wilderness, including jewels such as Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks, Can you imagine, a member of what Canadians call a First Nation giving the role of preserving what we term crown lands and national parks! We might learn something.

The Biden plan calls for two trillion dollars over a number of years to address the climate crisis and a return to US leadership on a global scale. It does seem that the administration grasps that ecology and economy are intertwined rather than opposed, 

 A number of faith organizations which advocate for Creation Care are heartened by this commitment and as Canadians we can pray that President Biden will be successful and receive the legislative support which will make those executive orders a reality. The future of our planet requires American leadership. When Biden attends worship tomorrow lets hope he's praying for the resolve to make this happen,








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