I’ve been driving cross-country on vacation. My husband and I had always wanted to see the sites of the U.S.A. We finally had the opportunity. Throughout the drive, we were struck by the unique beauty of each state, from prairies to rolling hills, from mountains to valley, not to mention animals like deer, cows, goats, horses, and so on. Our first stop today was in Badlands, South Dakota.

The Badland rocks formed over millions of years, and as a result of wind and water eroded to create amazing formations. An example is shown to the left.

Their beauty was awe inspiring, reminding me of the beauty of nature is and our planet.

I can only offer gratitude to Mother Earth and God for sculpting the land as it is.

With this appreciation of course, comes a call to responsibility.

In a recent podcast that I heard, the speaker stated that he did not like the phrase climate change or global warming because they did not convey the urgency of our need to heal our planet. He preferred the phrase global crisis or climate crisis, because it highlighted the state we are in.

We continue to hear about record-breaking temperatures , floods from unexpected deluges, tornados that pop up unexpectedly, and fires in Canada and elsewhere that destroy people’s homes, lives, and our forests. We’ve got to do something to improve our care of the planet. Many of us are already recycling and composting. Many are moving away from fossil fuels to solar energy and electric or hybrid cars. But, I believe we need to do so much more, given all that we are experiencing. If we don’t do more, especially moving away from anything that emits CO2, the lifetime of our planet is in doubt, if not in our lifetimes, certainly our grandchildren or theirs.

We are called to be caretakers of our planet, showing it as much love as we show our friends and family. I’ll get off my soap box now. Here’s another photo of the Badlands.

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