The hot sun poured unrelentingly over South Texas. In the quiet corn fields the dry stalks whispered their stories. Heat, and lack of rain. Cracked dirt crunched under foot. Dying corn whimpered.
Collapse, by Jared Diamond, asks the question of why do societies collapse. He theorizes that every society that has fallen has some element that is environmental which has contributed. With Easter Island we know that the deforestation of the island led to the collapse of the society. Some societies it's easy to see. But what about Rome, and the Mayans?
Global warming, Carbon Footprint, vehicle emissions. We hear it on the news. It means nothing. It's a bunch of words that fill the broadcast.
There are some farmers in South Texas today. Their crop is dying. Where will the water come from? Why has it been dry for the past three years? And why is this year so much worse?
There are farmers in Montana. Land prices are sky rocketing because wealthy people keep gobbling up "wilderness" land for their second and third homes. How can they grow their dairy farm when there is no land to buy.
My son loves corn on the cob. My daughter is always making off with a glass of milk.
Are we tipping on the verge of collapse? Have we ignored the land, and it's carrying capacity?
I think I heard the quiet voice this weekend, in the dry crunch of the ground. In the rustling of dead leaves.
