Now its about Pancakes

Maple syrup, Maple sugar, maple creme. All the tasty delights of March recalled. Just drip a little syrup on some fresh white snow and it is better than ice cream.

But Wait. This is the wrong century. That snow might have air pollutants in it. And that snow might not even be there in March when the Maple trees should be finishing up their sap runs!

For centuries people have tapped into the sweet sugar maple trees, particularly in New England where crisp clear winters have been so common for so long. Since the early 1970's winter temperatures in the NorthEast have gone up about 2 degrees overall. This can hurt the maple syrup business. Good golly it can hurt the MAPLE TREES themselves!

As the climate changes, trees may no longer be able to live in these regions. Some scientists predict the weather in New England is likely to be more like Virginia in the not too distant future. We will have to get our maple syrup from CANADA if we still can. We get a lot of it from there now.

“You might be tempted to say, well that’s a bunch of baloney — global warming,” said Mr. Morse, drilling his first tap holes this season in mid-February, as snow hugged the maples and Vermont braced for a record snowfall. “But the way I feel, we get too much warm. How many winters are we going to go with Decembers turning into short-sleeve weather, before the maple trees say, ‘I don’t like it here any more?’ ”

With climate change affecting tree species like this, I wonder what kind of trees will live in VIrginia or Alabama. Maybe I will choose to retire somewhere else, if I still have a choice by then.

What does this have to do with P E A C E ? Well, among other things, climate change that influences habitats for plants and animals will also be affecting crops and people. The interest and need to migrate to cooler locations is likely to become another border issue. The Air around our planet has no civic boundaries. Likewise, the temperature is no respector of political interests. In our recent past, when humans and nature have clashed it has been human nature to conquer nature, to control the problems, exterminate the pests, and so on.

I wonder when we shall learn that living WITH nature is healthier for all of us. . . plants... animals... and even humans! Particularly humans who stive to live in harmony with each other.

Peace be with you dear friends in this season of Lent. There is a pancake supper somewhere today. Enjoy one if you can.