Editor,
Did anyone wake up in the morning and see the yellow brown haze over the land and wonder…? Did you smell the smoke and say…? Did anyone look at the Canada Wildfire map and see how much of the continent was covered with smoke? Did you dare scan the wildfire map for the USA or Europe? Did you think it might be bad for you to breathe outside today? Did you think the same for the plants? Did you wonder if it would be difficult for them to grow? Would it curtail our source of food? What about the birds and insects and animals? What about the life we can’t see, in Georgian Bay and other waters? Is life underground affected or immune from the smoke? And what about the dairy industry? Do cows milk poorly when oxygen is less accessible? Did it feel cooler this morning because the sun couldn’t get through to warm us? How will all these fires affect the forest industry? Will there be fewer trees to cut? Will the forest industry continue to harvest from a reduced inventory? What is the real cost of those paper containers for fast food? How many trees will be left to support carbon capture and oxygen production? Will money or wisdom talk?
P.S. I woke up this morning and had to write this prayer for the earth and all our relations. There is still love in the world to give and take and share. How else can we go on?
Caryn Joy Colman, Meaford
