Corn is high

A corn field in Dover, Massachusetts

The corn is high now and last night's full moon was called the Green Corn Moon by American Indians. It was also called the Full Sturgeon Moon by fishing tribes, since sturgeon were most readily caught in August.

According to National Geographic, "Once abundant in North America's Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River, lake sturgeon populations have plummeted. These freshwater monsters, the continent's largest fish, are extremely long-lived. Scientists determined that a six-and-a-half-foot (two-meter) specimen caught in Canada in 1953 was 152 years old."

New England has been blessed with wonderful weather this summer; not too many hot days and enough rain in between to keep things lush and green. I am well aware that severe and historic drought has stricken many other areas of the country. Some are comparing it to the Dust Bowl weather event that occurred in the 1930s. Then and now this kind of drought has caused terrible suffering for every living being.

The drastic climate change events we are experiencing in 2011 will only get worse if we don't act now. It seems that mankind is in deep denial. What will it take to spur global action? As we prepare for a Presidential election here in the U.S., I would like to think that candidates will place high importance on our environmental stewardship responsibilities, but I fear that jobs and economic recovery will block any real progress.

Our economic recovery is imperative, but as Al Gore pointed out in "An Inconvenient Truth," deciding between bars of gold and turning around our climate change future is a decision too many people hesitate to make. Yes, gold is very tempting, but if we can't live on our own planet what good is it?

Sadly, at present all eyes are on gold. The great irony is that while gold may provide "shelter from the storm" in uncertain financial times like these, it has no power to protect us from environmental storms.