Praying For Rain

Spitzer may be in the local and national spotlight over his drivers license fiasco but at least New York doesn't have Sonny Perdue. The Georgia Governor is doing his best to help his drought-stricken state by....praying. He is also urging people to conserve water but that doesn't really help the towns that can only have access to water for three hours a day. What Perdue thinks he'll get from prayer, only the lord knows.

From The Boston Globe:

The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast.

"The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.

Perdue's office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.

Perdue has several times mentioned the need for prayer -- along with water conservation -- as the state's drought crisis has worsened. Over the summer, he participated in day of prayer for agriculture at a gathering of the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon, Ga.

This may score political points with his Christian conservative base, but what will it do for thirst of Georgians regardless of their faith or those that are atheist or agnostic? I'm all in favor of prayer, but practical solutions need to be looked at. Putting down the debate over climate change might be a good one to examined as well. Can Senator Inhofe and his doubting friends try to end their ignorance now?

Lord Bring Me Water

Alabama is one of many states across the country that are facing tremendous droughts (except for the Plains that is being flooded) this year. What is a Governor to do when he sees his state suffering? Pray to God we get some precipitation. Is that it Governor Riley? Yep.

From The Birmingham News:

With the state's weather forecasters not delivering much-needed rain, Gov. Bob Riley on Thursday turned to a higher power. The governor issued a proclamation calling for a week of prayer for rain, beginning Saturday.

Riley encouraged Alabamians to pray "individually and in their houses of worship."

"Throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for his blessings and to hold us steady during times of difficulty," Riley said. "This drought is without question a time of great difficulty."

Drought is a terrible thing, and prayer is a good thing to soothe the mind, but will it bring rain? Doubtful. Things that will help are calls to conserve water and for farmers to plant accordingly. Riley does not even bother addressing the issue of climate change either.

Computer models predict that growing regions will move north as the planet becomes hotter. The increasing amount of carbon dioxide will also (and already is) disrupt weather patterns, making conditions more erratic (See floods in the Plains, drought in the west and south). Governor Riley, faith without works is dead and if we do not do something collectively to face climate change, all the prayer in the world won't help us.