Our planet’s waterworks
Saturday 16th June, 2007
I feel deep concern at the present time for our environment. I stood on the cliff tops at sunset one night recently and I could smell the dry – the sense of smell is truly incredible. The particular smell of the earth here and the salt of the ocean are so grounding and so revealing of what is to come. The tea tree and the indigenous grasses are pungent as the land dries out. Once more I am reminded of our climatic changes and the issue of water.
Much of Australia is experiencing serious drought. Here in the Otway Ranges, a cool temperate rainforest and major water catchment area, we normally enjoy the highest rainfall in the state. However, in keeping with greenhouse predictions we are now experiencing dryer winters. Many areas of Victoria are on major water restrictions, including our capitol, Melbourne.
At this time the world generally is the hottest it has been since before the last ice age.
I continue to be shocked by the blatant denial of the issues that we are facing. Recently on the news I saw an American senator say during an interview “...the greenhouse? I just don’t buy it.”
Oops!!! Recently 2,500 scientists signed off on a 1,200 page report agreeing that there is global warming as a result of human behaviour. Global warming is here and this combined with the effect of global dimming increases the Earth’s temperature even more than climatologists anticipated. It may be that we are in a naturally warmer period BUT even if this is true, the damage we have done in recent times makes for changes that cannot be ignored. Now we must do what we can, no matter how small – it will make a difference.
Global dimming is another aspect of the polluting of our environment that is just beginning to be acknowledged as an issue. It is pollution caused by all the particles in the atmosphere which are blocking the sun’s light from touching the ground. This is creating another phenomenon which is predicted to accelerate the global rise in temperature by double the greenhouse predictions. (Global Dimming is a documentary aired by the BBC).
If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, which is now available on DVD
Water, fresh or salty, is a huge issue and it is becoming increasingly more urgent. There is a wonderful book, the The Holy Order of Water
: Healing the Earth’s Waters and Ourselves by William E Marks, which gives a powerful overview of the story of water including it’s healing properties.
It is vital that we work conscientiously with our water and water resources. Water is a reflector and will reflect back the state of people and the environment around it!! One of the basic principles of the Celtic spiritual pathway is ‘as within so without, as above so below.’
Water is ancient and often comes from outer space! We have taken water for granted and now we must face the reality – that we cannot continue to blindly pollute our waterways and oceans.
It is important to embrace practices into our daily lives such as waste water management, being more aware of how we use our water resources ( how often do you run the tap and not save the water? ) AND having gratitude that we have water – especially if you have water that you can drink!!!
The current water situation in East Galway, Ireland serves as a grim reminder of the fragility of our drinking water. The storying of the land occupies an important place in Irish mythology and cultural heritage. Loch Corrib, once called Loch Oirbsen, or Oirbsiu’s Lake, is believed to be the original home of the Sea God Manannan mac Lir. Oirbsiu is an ancient title for Manannan, meaning “flood of water.” Now Loch Corrib, the largest lake in the republic of Ireland, some 200sq kilometers, paints a modern story for us to pay close attention to.
The polluting of Loch Corrib with cryptosporidium is creating enormous debate, political buck passing and not much action as far as dealing with the actual cause.
Back in 2004 a report was delivered by Heather Cannaby (Galway University) to Environ 2004 stating that pollution of lakes has become a world wide problem due to changes in farming practices and land use. She highlights the fact that both Loch Corrib and nearby Loch Mask were showing signs of eutrophication – caused by increase of chemical nutrients ( which can occur on land as well as in water ) pre 2004! This nutrient pollution is caused by the release of sewage effluent and nitrogen and phosphorus (common ingredients in super phosphate, ie: agricultural fertilizer). The warnings highlighted in this report appear to have been largely ignored. Eutrophication affects our ecology on many levels – polluting land and subsequently endangering our flora and fauna, it affects our oceans, even endangering our coral reefs. It is a common cause of pollution in lakes and reservoirs around the world. In Europe, for example 53% of lakes are eutrophic.
Now, in 2007, Galway is paying the price. The Irish Examiner quoted the Green Party Mayor of Galway City, Niall O Brolchain, on the 12th April 2007 saying that “water quality in Loch Corrib, which is the source of Galway City’s water supply, has been continuously and seriously degraded during the years the current government has been in office.”
An article on the water crisis posted on Galwayfirst on March 22nd 2007 states that cryptosporidium is being carried in to Loch Corrib from adjoining farmland. It is also common knowledge that human effluent is an issue. None of my research has revealed any sign of dealing with the actual cause, ie, farming practices that are not sustainable and outdated sewage systems.
How much longer can we continue this irresponsible behaviour in farming methods and our own waste disposal. Eco friendly composting toilets are on my list for a future article!
As ever with the environment, my attention turns to the ocean which is all too easy to ignore – toxic waste gets dumped there, for example, and we don’t know – we can’t see it until it is too late and we are confronted by big oil slicks or dead sea animals.
Spiritually the ocean is considered by many cultures to be the Grandmother energy of the Earth.
The ancient Irish revere the power and majesty of the ocean as the ultimate expression of the depths of feminine power. Irish mythology teaches us about the power of the Ninth Wave – the border between this world and the Otherworld. The ninth wave is the highest and strongest of all and the power of the Goddess is embodied in this wave. Known as Cliodna, she is the essence of feminine power, and the feminine principle is of nurturing.
Algae living in the ocean produce a huge amount of our oxygen, they are the foundation of the food web (collectively algae produces 75% of Earth’s oxygen and 80% of the world food supply), and vital in the formation of the coral reefs which are the rainforests of our ocean.
If you want to learn more about microbes in the sea and their vital role in Earth’s health, check out this link at MIT.
Penny Chisholm, professor of civil & environmental engineering & biology, sketches the history of phytoplanktons, which first emerged on earth 3.5 billion years ago, and created the oxygen in our atmosphere that made possible all other plant and animal life. “They can live perfectly well without us,” says Chisholm, “but we can’t live without them.” Energized by sunlight, phytoplankton are the ultimate recyclers. Chisholm’s research focus, Prochlorococcus, discovered in 1985, plays a supremely important role in climate control. The smallest and most abundant photosynthetic cell on the planet, it takes carbon from the atmosphere and deposits it safely to the ocean floor.
It seems as though our ancestors were very clear about the sustaining power and abundance of our Earth and her oceans.
Coral Reefs, the rainforests of the ocean, are also under enormous threat – some are already casualties of our environmental changes. Our friends at Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF ) have been working tirelessly for the vision of healthy coral reefs.
Please check out this link where you can view an excerpt of a video by PCRF, The Canary is Dead. Part of this documentary is used in Al Gore’s new movie, An Inconvenient Truth, and it is also being prepared to be shown on national TV in America. The excerpt lasts about 7 minutes and shows the shocking destruction of pristine coral reefs at the Phoenix Islands as a result of global warming.
Wim and I also experienced the frightening degradation of the coral reefs of the Bahamas during our recent visit, as local people shared the extent of the death of the reefs over the past few years.
You can find out more about PCRF at their website. Their vision is to stop the destruction of the world’s coral reefs by 2020 and restore their beauty, health and abundance within this century.
There are many changes occurring for Planet Earth. This is a great opportunity, seen by many as the chance for positive change. The best way that we can prepare for the changes, frightening though they may be, is to make the most of every moment and to be open to the challenges that come our way. To take care to look at every angle of these challenges and find the most positive way of seeing the situation. This is one of the teachings of the Dali Lama – to see the positive opportunity in everything.
In a recent interview I read with Earth Scientist Greg Braden ,regarding the current shifting of earth’s magnetic poles, he explains that if we choose to change the way we feel about things, and recognise the opportunities that cross our paths, if we choose to be more tolerant, to forgive, to reconcile our own judgment of what should or should not be in our world, if we consciously deal with these things in the moment, then we are changing the very chemistry in our bodies and this is the best way to prepare for whatever transitions the Earth is going through. At the same time we must be informed about the environmental crisis and find ways in which we can make a difference in how we live in our everyday life.
As within, so without, as above, so below. How in touch are you with your inner wildness? How often do you walk in nature, swim in the ocean or a river, watch the sun rise or set? How often do you make the time to be at one with all that is?