FINALLY RAIN

With a new month comes rain, much needed and welcome as we were suffering through a dry spell. The farmers had their crops in and were anxiously  waiting for that precious commodity rain. Two days of blustery weather dropped several inches of cool water over the countryside.

What a difference as corn fields looking dry and dusty became a green oasis almost overnight. In my back yard which was watered from our tap water was doing OK but with the rain everything sprang up and looked so good. Our trees were so water heavy that the branches drooped nearly to the ground.

It is difficult to imagine a Canada with a water problem but there are some sections in western Canada that are suffering water shortages. North America possess much of the clean fresh water but the sun belt will become a literal desert in years to come with climate change. Some states right now are so dependent on water from out of state that great concern is shown. Last winter and the year before saw the south east experiencing a drought and as we travelled by huge lakes that were dry you could see the problem first hand. There has been a huge shift in populations from the north to the south thus the direct demand for water is critical.

America has access to our water reserves through Lake Michigan and although there is an international treaty over water rights I suspect that our water is drained to the thirsty rivers flowing to the Mississippi to keep this vital waterway viable to water transportation of bulk commodities like coal and grains.

We are thankful for our water and realize that this product is as valuable as oil. I hope we put in place proper legislation for a sharing of this natural resource. So much of the world is needy and if we do not protect and share we could have a major problem in the near future.