Does anyone remember a time in the not so distant past when New England had regular seasons?

Ponds froze solid in the winter, foliage popped in October, summers were hot but mostly tolerable and once in a generation rain storms came, well, once in a generation.

Sure, the old adage “if you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a minute,” has always been a thing. But in the past decade, and certainly in the past few years, even our whacky, often times unpredictable weather patterns have started to feel almost completely random — and can sometimes change on a dime within the same day.

Just in the past couple of weeks, we have seen torrential downpours cause flooding across the state, which has interrupted a cycle of horrendously hot, humid weather that must make any Georgia natives living in Rhode Island feel nostalgic. Winds and temperatures fluctuate wildly throughout any given day.

Of course, the culprit for these natural phenomena is not a secret. We all know the mechanism, though you can find 100 different variations of opinions on whether or not it’s as bad as some say it is, or whether or not we can even do anything at this point to stop it.

One thing is abundantly clear, however. Our small state is one that relies on the somewhat predictable nature of weather. Our most crucial, fundamental industries that drive our economy rely on the sea and local bodies of water — the same bodies of water that are heating up and rising at unprecedented predictive levels, resulting in constant algae blooms, record low fishing production for certain species, and a looming existential threat to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people.

In present-day New England, ponds never freeze, sweaters stayed stored away until at least mid-November, and you better have a pool or a friend with one if you’re going to venture from the comforts of your air conditioning unit during the brief but intense summer months.

These weather patterns are no more normal than they are sustainable, and for whatever little the average person can do to stop it, we all must make sure that we don’t become complacent and accepting of the death of our natural world as we have always known it.