I am once again confronted with another clear example of how we have ruined our Planet.

I have mention my youth and the beautiful surroundings I was blessed to grow up in. The Adirondack park in upstate NY encompasses 6 million acres of some of the most pristine old growth forests in all America. It is dotted with hundreds of streams and lakes, all of which were teaming with a wide variety of edible game fish. (many varities of trout, Northern pike, pickerel, bass, perch, catfish and others) My home sat a mere feet from one of those post card picture lakes. (Lake Algonquin)

I would fish all year round and our freezer was always over flowing with fish caught within feet of our house. The Adirondack Park is the largest state park in the country and was designated "forever wild" by Theodore Roosevelt, who frequently hunted there. In fact most people don't know that the "Teddy bear" was named after him, after a picture of him holding a bear cub in the park was seen in the NY Times.

The Park comes alive in the summers with dozens of large campsites lining the shores of it's many lakes. Families escape the heat and hustle of the cities and enjoy one of the families last activities that has something for everyone. One of the most common scenes would be that of a family sitting down at picnic table for dinner under the shade of towering White Pines. The smokey smell of pine browse filling the air and the sound of the sap popping in the wood thats burning in the camp fires. Dinner most surely consisted of some type of fish caught that day, then pan fried on the open fire. It doesn't get any better than this....Other than the look it now gives you as it stares up at you from the plate, it is as if it was prepared in heaven by Gods personal chef.

Skip forward just a few years to now and you wont see those fish on the plates. The Health department of NewYork has put out a warning for all to read and those that enter the Park this summer will be reminded. Pregnant women and children under 12 are not to eat ANY, yes I said ANY, fish caught in those pristine lakes and rivers. Adults are to restrict eating fish to one meal a week. Why,? METHYL MERCURY! It falls from the sky after being emitted from factory exhaust stacks in the mid west. It increases it's toxicity as it builds up in fish. Small fish are eaten by larger ones and the lead/mercury is compounded along the way. Fishermen's lead weights left behind in the waters also play a role.

The single most recognized sound that lets you know you are no longer in the city, is the song of the Adirondack Loon. A sound, a kin to the howl of the wolf, is disappearing because of that Methyl Mercury. The fish are their primary food source. As the Adirondack Loon vanishes so does a way of life.

So, as the temperature in the cities rise due to CO2 and those families head for the mountains, will someone tell them to leave the fishing gear at home and add a couple more packages of processed meat to eat.