In the spirit of your “I believe that our mission is to do whatever we can to preserve the planet,” [My non-rational beliefs, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, July 29] I submit the following:
Northwest Passage: A Meltdown
(Might be sung to the tune of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”)
Sought for in vain over centuries,
the Northwest Passage was a dream,
but warm waters have loosened up the ice
in the frozen Arctic stream.
Arctic shipping is now a possibility,
going from the west or the east.
Prez and Vlad applaud the melting,
and block efforts to slow down the heat.
He obstructs the use of alternative fuels,
wants to stop the wind-power gains.
Is this solely to support his big oil friends
or to open those cold shipping lanes?
He wants to own all of Greenland;
It has shipping lanes off both shores.
Trump’s war with Iran slows shipping of oil;
northern routes would enable much more.
He needs a solution for Mideast blockades,
without admitting defeat.
Prez is buying icebreakers from Finland;
they say he’s bought a whole fleet.
Seems the ice isn’t melting fast enough,
yet smoke through our streets still churns;
the war over oil goes on and on
and the world continues to burn.
O the Northern Passage is no longer a dream;
It might be bought for a price.
And oil would stay less expensive to those,
those few who will remember the ice.
David DeMarais
Oak Park