It's not nice to trash your Mother

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is water. Did you know water covers 71 percent of the earth's surface? We haven't done a very good job of keeping those waters clean on our rare, habitable planet. But it's not a lost cause. There's still time to make it up to Mom.



*




Patricia McKillip is a lyrical writer of wondrous stories. In looking for water quotes, I found these lines from THE CHANGELING SEA.






The tide was low that afternoon as Peri walked home, so low that even the great jagged spires stood naked in the glistening sand, and all the starfish and anemones and urchins that clung to their battered flanks were exposed. It was a rare tide. Beyond the spires, the sea dreamed gently, a pale milky blue shot with sudden fires from the setting sun.





*
And here's another beautiful excerpt from Meredith Ann Pierce's short story collection, WATERS, Luminous & Deep.



One evening, Connor and Elspeth went down to the shore. Moonlight was combing the long, green sea with ravels of silver and winkings of fire.

*
*
While we love the reflected fires of moon and sun, we can not accept the man-made fires of oil drilling explosions. It's time to be aware, to speak up, to protect the waters that sustain life on this planet.

*
Here are some trashy facts and do-it-yourself remedies.



*
The Ocean Conservancy reports 17,000 pieces of plastic counted during four days at sea about 550 miles off the California coast. Among items adrift in the open ocean were shampoo bottles, laundry baskets and hard hats. Not only is this trashing Mother Earth, it chokes, poisons or otherwise injures and kills fish, birds and mammals.

Remedy? Use less plastic and recycle. Organize neighborhood cleanups to stop trash from washing into gutters. Urge manufacturers to make packaging biodegradable.

*
A single quart of motor oil can contaminate up to 250,000 gallons of drinking water, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Remedy? Repair motor leaks and never dispose of used oil in gutters or drains. Take any hazardous materials (antifreeze, batteries, bleach, tile cleaner, insecticides, herbicides, resins, paint) to a hazardous waste site. Hey, if you don't want to drink it out of the bottle, don't pour it into the drain where it makes its way to the groundwater or sea.
*
Burning fossil fuels not only puts carbon dioxide in the air but also in the water. For 20 million years, the pH of the oceans was stable, but in 250 years since we started heavily using fossil fuels, there has been a 30 percent increase in acidity. Just as osteoporosis weakens human bones, the acidified oceans make boney structures and shells weak. More than 60 percent of the world's coral reefs are sick or dying due to pollution, sedimentation and bleaching caused by rising water temperatures.

Remedy? Try to buy the most fuel-efficient car you can, and look into alternative fuel sources, such as solar power for homes. Walk and ride bicycles more often. Turn off non-essential electricity. Talk to town councils about what your community can do.

*
Chlorine used by paper mills to make your toilet paper white can cause dioxin to be discharged into waterways where it's toxic to fish, wildlife and humans.

Remedy? Use recycled paper goods made without chlorine. A few years ago, I saw a documentary about a river polluted by a mill, resulting in fish downstream with tumorous growths. I switched to non-chlorinated household paper and have never regretted the extra cost to me, knowing I'm not adding to the poisoning of our waters.

*
My remedies aren't revolutionary. Check out other blogs taking part in the event or any of many conservation organizations, which offer tips on keeping our planet clean. I hope this doesn't come across as preachy, but being silent won't serve us.