In more and more countries, the weather is more than small talk. Only in the United States is the pattern of catastrophic climate change either a minor news story or disputed by shills. It's healthy for all of us to re-evaluate our personal priorities and the priorities of our leaders on this vital issue.

We need to put the pieces together and to recognize trends. If we take no action and the science shill minority is wrong, then we might have disaster.

Okay, it's not that New York will disappear into the ocean. It'll just have to be dyked like Amsterdam. The winters will be much colder, the weather more erratic. It'll be pretty hard for people to look the other way at that point.

It's easy for some to avert their eyes, because the hardest hit will be those in far away poor countries. Christian Aid, development agency for Britain's churches, says that up to three-quarters of the world's population may face drought or floods in the next 20 years. This year, storms and drought wreaked havoc on five continents. Of course, the problem has already hit home in Britain where rising tides have destroyed key wetlands and estuaries.

Some of the news is closer to home. The first quarter of 2000 was the warmest first quarter ever recorded in America. Twenty-one states have droughts (serious ones in 13 states).

Personally, I like ice stories. Between March 25 and May 6, six giant icebergs broke off from Antarctica ice shelves, including the largest berg ever recorded. Moving north and slowly melting, the icebergs will pour millions of gallons of fresh water into the southern ocean. Like ice cubes in a cocktail, the ice won't make sea levels rise, but it will change the ocean's chemical content and mess with our ocean currents that help determine our own weather. Unfortunately, if enough bergs break off, the glaciers they hold back will slide into the ocean and that will raise sea levels. Want more ice stories? In northern Alaska, natives are endangered because the ice has thinned out and they can't hunt traditional animals and fish.

On the brighter side, for the first time ever, ships can now sail from the Bering Strait and the Pacific through the Arctic Ocean all the way to Norway throughout the year. Most of the ice is gone.

The whole world is tiring and starting to raise its hackles at Americans who, to them, don't seem willing to make even the slightest changes in their lifestyles. It's time for us to take stock. Stock in ourselves, in our beliefs and in our leaders who avoid or deny what may be happening.