Hell and high water

Climate Progress: (hat tip)

“We are used to floods and droughts and know how to coexist with them, but we are not used to them happening so swiftly and lasting so long and causing so much damage,” said schoolteacher Gleicimeire Freire, who distributes aid with the Roman Catholic Church. “This is what is scaring us.”

In southern Rio Grande do Sul state, bordering Argentina and Uruguay, many farmers say the driest weather in 80 years has withered their corn and alfalfa. Winter grass for cattle couldn’t be planted, and milk production has suffered, said Darcisio Perondo, a congressman who represents the state.

“In some villages there wasn’t enough water for people to drink, and in some towns they had to get water from the large rivers and tote it by truck for the cattle,” Mr. Perondo said.

He called the situation a calamity, but isn’t sure whether global warming is to blame.

“Anyone who reads the Bible knows that floods and droughts are cyclical,” he said. “I just don’t know if global warming is causing this.” [sic]

Yep. I'm cherry picking here - the bulk of the blog post is a pat on the back to AP and the normally conservative (but Moonie-climatist-influenced) Washington Times for covering stories on global warming. Couple thoughts:

- We must be ready to respond to environmental changes. Even the "liberal Beeb" gets that Joseph's 7-year drought was bad enough to completely transform global economics and put all the world's wealth under Pharoh's authority. That concentration of wealth sustained the rapid growth of the Jewish people until the Exodus. Joseph was used by God in this way despite great personal hardship. Are we ready to let God do this with us too?

- There's certainly a history of earth-shattering climate changes. Check out Professor Will Alexander's interesting paper on "The Joseph Effect" that lays out one explanation for flood/drought periods.

- How much people are influencing the climate this time around is an understandable question, given what we are learning about how our atmosphere works. I respect Christians with whom I don't agree, but wonder why they lack my interest in how God could be involved now as He was then. *shrug*

By the way, I'm on Navy Reserve training in the D.C. area for the next couple weeks so posting from me will be light. Thanks for understanding. And do keep the home appliances in your prayers...