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“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink”
Reflections on the Scarcity of Fresh Water in Our Times
and Thoughts from Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Dennis Kucinich and
Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
A personal Perspective
-Cynthia Marek Lundeen
.jpg) “Water,
water everywhere, nor any drop to drink,” lines from the 18th
century poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, bemoan the irony of
being surrounded by water, which is none-the-less undrinkable, due
to the salinity of the sea. Over two centuries later, these words
may sound a cautionary warning for another reason entirely: the
pollution of our fresh bodies of water.
Addressing this serious issue at the Townhall Restaurant in
Cleveland on April 26th were Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Dennis
Kucinich and his running mate Tara Samples (Democrat), supported in
this endeavor by the well-known environmentalist, Robert F. Kennedy,
Jr.
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Warm and welcoming, the trio
easily conversed with the attendees prior to the presentation.
Passionate about clean water, Mr. Kucinich aptly refers to Lake
Erie, one of the Great Lakes, as a precious resource. Precious
indeed, for the Great Lakes are the world’s largest supply of fresh
water. More precious still, when viewed in context of these
statistics provided by National Geographic:
-Of the 70% of the earth which is covered with water, only 2.5% is
fresh water
-Approximately 1.5% of the fresh water is trapped in glaciers and
snowfield, and thus is inaccessible, leaving only a minute fraction
of fresh water to sustain the life which depends upon it.
-The world’s population has more than doubled in the last forty
years, creating a genuine crisis of sufficient safe water for all
-Approximately 60% of the human body is comprised of water.
Listening to the presentation, I suddenly remembered having
written a paper on the pollution of Lake Erie for a high school
science class over four decades ago. For this project, I had
interviewed the head of a sewage treatment plant and took photos,
two of which are included with this article, one showing foaming,
polluted water, the other a “No Swimming” sign, due to the health
hazard of pollution. 下接P05
As humans seem to have been unable over the past many decades to
agree as to how to face this enormous challenge, I could not help
but recall the rhetorical question posed by the late historian
William Durant, whether history teaches us nothing “and that the
immense past was only a weary rehearsal of the mistakes that the
future is destined to make on a larger stage and scale?”
I certainly hope not, and fresh water, so vital for life, is
an issue which should bring together people of all backgrounds and
walks of life. To promote conversation, perhaps science fairs for
young people focusing on water conversation… and perhaps even sea
water desalination, for which to date no cost-effective method has
been developed, could be a start, as the events would also be
attended by their parents, who would have the opportunity to
exchange view with others of perhaps differing opinions.
As the crisis is real, what is crucial is for the issue of safe
water and environmentalism to be not divisive, but to promote
collaboration for effective results. I certainly don’t claim to have
all the answers; if anyone has any thoughts and ideas on this topic,
I welcome you to send them to me at ecj@cynthiascenturies.net.
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