Drought! by gimleteye

It's been raining in Miami, a little here and a little there. Just enough to make you wonder what the fuss is all about: drought.

Has anyone noticed how quiet the Atlantic has been, this hurricane season? Just two years ago, hurricanes criss-crossed South Florida as though we were in the gunsight of a malicious God.

There was also much huffing and puffing about whether or not to blame global warming on what was happening.

In 2004 and 2005, Lake Okeechobee was at such high levels that the floodgates were opened and both coasts of Florida were coated with toxic goop.

Today we are experiencing a reversal of fortune. Lake Okeechobee is nearly fifty percent below its average level for this time of year.

Georgia is so dry, that it has petitioned the federal government and Florida to sharply curtail water release from Georgia through rivers that nourishes vast areas in the northern part of our state.

Atlanta only 90 days of fresh water supply left.

Three months from now, we may witness the second climate catastrophe to hit the continental United States.

As far as global warming is concerned, most of us thought the really big changes would be well past our lifetime. Let our kids worry about it.

But changes are happening to our climate so quickly--most easily observed in the melting polar ice cap and Greenland ice sheet-- that science is simply not able to keep up.

In the meantime, consider voting for candidates in 2008 who will act dramatically to protect the climate and reverse CO2 rise. And locally, insist that candidates take a stand, especially on water issues and watersheds and the Urban Development Boundary.

And pray that what is happening in Georgia, doesn't happen here.