In the course of our recent travels in the West, my wife and I spent a few days in Yellowstone National Park.  Perhaps you have heard of the flooding that devastated the Park (and the town of Gardiner, immediately to its north) in June, obliterating, among other things, the north entrance and the road that leads from it to the Park. News reports do not do justice to the full extend of the damage these floods brought upon the Park.  It's tragic.

    It's tragic in itself, but it's also tragic because, big picture, this flooding was not a natural occurrence.  Unlike a heavy snowpack that damages a forest in spring or a lightning caused wildfire that scorches acres of mountain terrain, both organic events that arise out of the natural rhythms of the land, these floods were caused solely by human induced climate change.  As the planet, almost solely through human agency, has warmed, rainfall amounts have become distorted and snow is melting earlier.  Put together, this spells disaster for many national parks.  Yellowstone, the oldest national park (established in 1872), is no exception.

    How bright and selfish we humans are!  We suppose that the world is ours to master, exploit, and tame, when in fact it is not.  It is for us to respect and enjoy.  It is a gift, a gift of God.

    Do we really want to misuse a divine gift?

    Check this video:  https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/flood-recovery.htm