ILLINOIS, USA: We Need Rain

Hot and dry.

Words don’t grab it.  Roasty days, kids with sweaty foreheads and dirty nails.  Grass brown and parched enough to skewer a birthday balloon.  Sun, grand and proud and framed in abundant blue.  Pools become priceless, sprinklers work like heck.  Kids and land and plants are wildly thirsty.

School kids must bring water bottles, parents assured that at least: we won’t let them dehydrate.  A Midwestern parent says a prayer of thanks because even though it’s dry and hot, we’ve got access to water and our kids are safe.

Farmers worry on low yields.  What they worry on, so should you. Today, the average U.S. farmer feeds 155 people.* A scorching drought spells trouble for each of those folks and families.  High prices, high demand – it’s all a part of what happens when there isn’t enough.  (more…)

Jill Barth

Jill Barth lives in Illinois with her husband and three kids. She reminds you to breathe. She is a freelance writer and consultant. Also, she is the green content Team Leader and columnist at elephantjournal.com and reads fiction for Delmarva Review. Jill's writing can be found on her blog, Small Things Honored.

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