Image - "Drop" by dan
For
quite some time now, I have been noting my feelings regarding the potential behaviours
of waterways, such as lakes, rivers, and sea, including my feelings about
unusual tidal events, disturbed seas, and beaching of live and dead sea/lake
life.
As we
have all witnessed till now, there have been many of these water disturbances
happening all over the planet. And,
seemingly happening at an curious rate and number.
The
Earth is a living entity, and man as he lives on this planet is at the mercy of
nature. But the planet is also at the mercy of the choices of mankind.
So what
do we see?
From
small fish to larger creatures abandoning their usual preferred life giving
environments and washing up on shores; deep sea creatures leaving the sanctity
of their unseen environs to languishing in shallow waters or ending their existence
on beaches and lake/river banks, totally displaced from where nature intended
them to be.
From
lakes, once maintaining a natural balance and only altering such when Mother
Nature decided to redesign their composition and volume; to rivers which once
flowed freely as nature intended, to some being forever strangled by being poisoned
or parched dry, as their flows are dammed, diverted or polluted almost beyond
repair.
The
direction of the flow of water can be changed by man or by nature. But the
consequences by the former can be catastrophic to nature as the natural
balances necessary for flora and fauna to thrive and survive can be tipped almost
irreparably. Species migrate or die off; the environment can degenerate to a
wasteland; opportunistic bacteria and weather events (including fire, flood and
famine) can further erode what is left struggling to hang on to an existence.
Even other wildlife, perhaps considered a ‘pest’ or not usual inhabitants to a
region, can venture into these realms to further disrupt the natural order of
things.
Sea
water can encroach on fresh waterways when either man or nature creates an
event where land waters are deprived of volume or subterranean structures are
damaged. Takeaway the natural flow of fresh water from the land, which may
normally flow from the lands to the sea, and the sea will naturally fill the
void, causing all sorts of issues with salination in regions dependent on fresh
water. To remove such, to restabilise
the environs which rely on fresh water may be a major challenge. Flooding rains
can create fresh flows to flush the contaminated system and create the outflow
volume needed to keep at bay the unwanted inflow of sea water.
Underwater
volcanic activity has warmed parts of the seas, possibly causing die-offs and
migrations of some sea life. When ones environment becomes toxic with natural
gases (products of undersea activity) and disturbed by the rumblings of
earthquakes, it becomes apparent that another less disturbing environment or
even the relinquishing of one’s ability to survive may be the only option.
"Grizzly Hunting For Salmon"
by Rosemary Ratcliff
The
polluting of waterways has a similar effect on the biology/ecology of not only the
waterway, but the lands adjacent to such. Pollution can take away vital
elements which sustain the life of the flora and fauna (and people) which
depend on its sustenance. The positive
chemical composition, which sustains a natural balance, can be challenged,
altered or destroyed by ‘negative’ contraindicated chemicals (naturally or unnaturally
created) which encroach on it.
Denuding
the landscape exposes the soils to erosion, and when flooding rains occur, can
wash away vital nutrients and volume of the soils we depend upon to grow crops;
animal habitats and so on.
Once
freshwater supplies are contaminated, as humans, we need to search out other
sources of fresh water to survive and try to repair the damage. The rest of nature has to learn to adapt,
migrate or die off. Alternatively, man has to then derive fresh water (usually
diverted from another naturally occurring flow of water or ship it in from
somewhere) from another source to regenerate or maintain that environment and
sustain their own needs. This, too, can then have a negative effect on the
environment from which the water was drawn.
Another
consequence of water ‘pollution’ (natural or manmade) is the poorer health
(sometimes poisoning) of the food supply we depend on. The toxicity of the
flesh (which we want to consume) of many fish has decreased our usual food
source. When you think about it, when we may find our sea food sources are
compromised, that natural order of the food chain in the oceans may be altered
to.
Of
course, through drought, water can be scarce and impact negatively on many
communities as well as the natural environment. Lakes and rivers used as fresh
water sources can become less acceptable for drinking water as the composition
of the water itself is less palatable or affected by opportunistic (or
naturally occurring) increased bacteria.
Nature,
allowed through its own ways of repair, can right its self-created imbalances.
Man, on the other hand, battles with nature to right ‘his’ own wrongs.
On
another train of thought, the sea currents, heating and cooling cycles and
earthly activity (earthquakes, cyclones etc.) have impacted, and will continue
to do so, many communities and coastlines. Extreme tides, tsunamis (of varying
degrees) and other water disturbances are causing various issues currently. The
devastation and shock of the Japanese tsunami, for example, has left many,
around the world, on edge about potential sea changes.
The
many earthquakes in sea beds and on or near coastlines have many looking out
for potential sea changes. Undersea and ‘coastal’ volcanic activity has many
more ‘tuned in’ to potential sea level disturbances too. More and more
reporting of possible hazards, such as potential sea shelf, underwater volcanic
and plate subduction, strike/slip (and so on) activity has aroused much
curiosity, interest and obviously concern for many communities who may be living
near the sea or on islands.
So I
hope that we, as caretakers of our beautiful planet and guardians of its living
creatures, can maintain all we can and are doing to protect and preserve this
source vital to our existence – water. Its purity is imperative, as is its
importance to the cycle of life.
I hope
that ‘we’ can correct the errors of some of our ways to ensure we don’t ‘damage’
that is such beyond repair.
I hope
that lessons learnt can be the catalyst to new ideas as to how we manage this
precious resource and not ignorantly cause an issue which, after the fact, we
see we have made a tremendous mistake for humanity and nature.
As for
the sea, mostly what ‘she’ delivers to us is out of our control. When nature has its
way, we can only be aware, pre-warned and prepare for what may be. Sometimes we are left with disasters to recover from and sometimes we are left in awe of her power and ability to transform our lives. What we remove from the sea to subsist, we must be grateful for and respect what is left.
This post is not meant to be a 'sermon' ;) Just a conversation.
I hope for peace and safety for all.
