Histories & Mysteries

- Did downtown Traverse City once have a trolley car?

- What are the most haunted sites in northern Michigan?

- Why did Manistee catch fire in October 1871?

All of Us Everywhere

Imagine that we’re all living right here, in nicely seasonal northern Michigan. Things have been pretty much the same for decades—things like the weather, crops, jobs, travel, etc. It’s a scramble for some folks, but by and large things are okay.

Now imagine that people south of us in the tropics are much more resource-rich— lots of fertile land, clean water, abundant coal, oil, and gas—and live in great comfort and style. But somehow, on this imaginary planet, living like that—high on the hog—is slowly but surely lowering temperatures all over the earth. (In fact, on this imaginary planet, some folks everywhere live that way.)

And this cooling influences ocean currents and shifts the jet streams—factors determining climate in northern Michigan and theirs down south. Our winters are very noticeably becoming longer and more severe—nastier blizzards, ferociously strong winds off the bay—changes that are good for ski resorts and folks who fancy ice-skating to Petoskey (or Milwaukee), but disabling to our economy and terrible for the growing season. Too much like Siberia for cherries, grapes, and practically everything else we grow here now.

Most people decide to leave, head south, and try for a decent life. But folks in the tropics are beginning to notice the changes in their seasons, the slight cooling of their higher-to-begin-with temperatures, and they don’t like the sense that things are shifting, unpredictable. They don’t want the added burden of taking in all us cold, hungry people.

What should they do with us, the crowd at their northern border?

And what will it take for all of us everywhere on this imaginary planet to begin to live lives that keep Mother Earth the Mother Earth we love?

Ron Tschudy | Echo Township

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