Photo Credit: Nikolaos Manginas
The recent visit of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has sparked interest among environmentalists in the United States. Also known as the Green Patriarch, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is an advocate of environmental stewardship and has demonstrated special concern for the conservation and maintenance of global water resources.
In 1994, Patriarch Bartholomew created the international Religious and Scientific Committee. Thus far, this organization has hosted eight international symposia to reflect on the fate of the rivers and seas. Most recently, Symposium VIII: The Great Mississippi River: Restoring Balance was held on October 18-25, 2009. At 3778 kilometers, the Mississippi River is one of the world’s longest natural inland waterways. One look at the river and the casual observer will realize that the quality of water is damaged by pollution. For nearly two hundred years, urbanization along its banks has caused the river to become a dumping ground for sewage, commercial and industrial waste and litter. It is almost undisputed that the Mississippi River has become one of Earth’s most endangered bodies of water.
In his opening address of the 8th RSE Symposium, Patriarch Bartholomew made the following statement:
“Irrigation for agriculture takes 70% of global demand for water, and – almost unimaginably – some of the world’s greatest rivers are so depleted by the influence of humans that they no longer flow to the sea; and those that do, carry in their waters all the chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and waste materials they have collected along their course. Desertification is increasing on land at the same time that the fish stocks of the oceans are depleted by over exploitation; and those that remain are being poisoned by toxic materials dumped carelessly in their habitat. Instead of living on income, or the available surplus of the earth, we are consuming environmental capital and destroying its sources as if there is no tomorrow.”
A factor that is not mentioned in the preceding excerpt for the Patriarch’s address is the seasonal flooding that occurs along certain areas of the Mississippi River. These floods inundate inland areas with contaminants that seep into the water table and can adversely affect municipal water sources, aquifers and private wells. After these floods, many residents are directed to not drink, bathe in or use local tap water for cooking for extended periods of time until officials determine that water contamination has returned to “safe” levels. While certain regions of the world are experiencing drought, the Mississippi River Delta is sometimes plagued with too much water – albeit contaminated water.
It is our sincere hope that the participants and attendees of these meetings will take the information discussed back into their communities and promote it in such a way that will compel lawmakers, corporations and individual citizens to make an impact in reducing further contamination of the Mississippi River and work collectively toward restoring this great aquatic treasure to its former health and beauty for future generations.
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