Rain, rain, rain… the summer has been one for the record books as the lakes and rivers, streams and gullys fill up and overflow. Plans are ruined, local summer establishments loose money and tans fade.

"Blame it on Mother Nature" we are told, but is that really who's to blame?I say blame it on China and the Olympic Games! China's pollution and poor air quality has caused lots of concern and attempts to clean up their mess so that the best athletes from around the globe can run and jump, swim and dive without smog obscuring the end result.

Thus lots of effort has been made to remedy the horrible air and some of the ideas seem like good ones. Millions of trees were planted, factories were closed (maybe not good for the workers!), and cars were banned from certain areas. When this failed to produce sufficient results, even clouds were seeded over and over again to create rain that would remove pollution and particulate from the air. But is that a good thing?

When weather is controlled by man and rain is caused to fall in certain areas, can this affect other weather in different parts of the world? I think it can and I think it has. We like to forget that everything on this planet is connected to everything else (including ourselves) and weather in China has a direct relationship to weather in Maine.

In considering the impact of the Olympics I cannot also help think of the time, effort and money that has been put into these events. Yes, it's fun to watch the best of the best compete and strive for perfection. But is it really worth all the money that has been poured into this two week extravaganza? What about the million Chinese people that have displaced and left homeless so that their towns could become the Olympic stadium? How much has been spent over the years training and creating these practically mythical athletes? And for what? To see who is the fastest?

My question is - how will this make the world a better place? Will there be more love and peace in the world? Will more children be educated or loved or given decent living conditions? Will people help each other more or are we creating an atmosphere of 'might always wins' and 'strong is always best'? Yes perhaps a handful of children from China and Russia and other imperial countries will have improved nutrition and housing, but at what cost? For a childhood spent practicing and obsessing for a sport that will give millions of people a few minutes of adrenalin rush? What happens when they loose and what happens to the rest of their lives? Many are forgotten and ill trained to face the rest of their lives. Is that worth it?

So this summer I won't be watching the Games. I'll pick blackberries with my three year old neighbor and tell her where the Monarch butterflies come from. I'll teach her to swim for the sheer joy of it. And wait for the sun to come out again.

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