Water

Water in the creek in 2003

On Christmas morning I awoke with a glad heart, hearing the words:

She's here!

I sat up in bed and came fully awake, alone, listening... to the morning songs of birds and insects. I puzzled over this traveller of dreams, she who moves between worlds, she who made me awake so glad to know: “She's here!”

Jerry was already up and had finished preparing a pot of coffee by the time I wandered into the kitchen. We spent the day basking in one another's good company, enjoying a morning walk before the heat of the day. In the afternoon we received welcome rain, 30 mm (over one inch), breaking the very long dry spell we've been enduring. That made our hearts sing. The Wet Season brings new life and the first rain gives us hope that our creek (which provides our household water) will start running again before too long. And we pray that proposed mining activities near the headwaters do not contaminate it.

Life depends on water. Drought reminds us of that essential relationship. Jerry and I have chosen to live within a limited water supply and we pay close attention to our water usage. We also pay close attention to the condition of local waterways. What could be more important than uncontaminated water? Around the world, this awareness is awakening.

Late on Christmas Day, while online via satellite internet access, I read about:

Attiwapiskat Chief Theresa Spence 

who began a hunger strike on 11 December on behalf of all Aboriginal people in Canada, indeed, all first nations people and those who care about basic human rights like clean water and housing as well as protection of land and waterways. 

I read about the recent Canadian legislation that removes thousands of streams and lakes from environmental protection. 

I recall that the recently elected Queensland government withdrew a $97000 grant from the Queensland Environmental Defenders' Office. As the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland wrote: 

"The state government is undermining the community's capacity and capability to protect its environment and well being."

What kind of skewed values determine that the most important priority is to make it easy to access and extract natural resources as quickly as possible, using methods that all too often leave behind contaminated water and land since it can be more profitable to pay a fine than to take measures to prevent contamination?

My values tell me there is nothing more important than protecting the land and the water, for ourselves, for our children and future generations, for the plants, the animals and small creatures, for the planet itself, Mother Earth.

Chief Theresa Spence, thank you for your courageous work.

Our water supply, 2003

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM