Destruction of Our Water Sources

When reading, Her Animals written by Emily Johnston, one of the quotes that I keep going back to was this one:

We’re Polluting our own house and our own land,” the mobster said.  “What are we going to drink?”

“You idiot,” the boss replied.  “We’ll drink mineral water.”

-Wiretapped Camorra Mobsters

New York Times, January 30, 2014

This quote stuck out to me because it covers an issue that many people in my community worry about.  Many of us worry about water pollution that is going on in our community because we are running out of clean usable water sources.  Water pollution not only effects our lake and rivers but also even some of our private wells.  This problem doesn’t just affect our community, but other communities and the world as well.

                Water pollution is a large problem within the world.  Every day within the world there is about 2 million tons of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste discharged into the world’s water which is the equivalent of the weight of the entire human population of 6.8 billion people (Pacific Institute).  From my understanding, we’re polluting water from our waste way more than what we should be.  Not everyone produces the same amount of waste and there are many people that produce less waste, however those who produce more waste make up for those who produce less causing the amount to be equivalent to the weight of the entire population.  It is estimated that the amount of wastewater produced annually is six times more water than exits in all the rivers of the world (Pacific Institute). If this much waste water is produced annually; it makes me wonder how much clean drinkable water, we may have left in this world. Now naturally a person may think that the waste may only effect water that is easily for such waste products to enter but water pollution not only affects rivers and lakes, but also can reach our groundwater sources. The naturally occurring arsenic pollution in groundwater now affects nearly 140 million people in 70 countries on all continents (Pacific Institute).  So, it is not only the contamination of our lakes and rivers that we should worry about, but also our groundwater.  We may not be able to stop the contamination of our water sources, however we slow this process down and treat the polluted water so that it can be used.

                It is possible to clean our water through water treatment to make water safe to drink, however the cost of treating our water can be quite high.  Point-of- use drinking water treatment through chlorine and safe storage of water could result in 122.2 million avoided DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years, a measure of morbidity), at a total cost of US $11.4 billion (Pacific Institute).  That is a lot of money for the US to use on cleaning our own water sources; money that could have been used on something else if we didn’t have as much contaminated water.  $11.4 billion is only about as much as the US spends on treating our water.  Now imagine how much it may coast the entire world, if other countries even had that amount of money to spend on treating their water.  Some may think that as technology grows we could find cheaper ways to treat our water but so far the prices only seem to have risen as we have more need for our water to be treated.  A case study in Texas in 1997 shown that for a three-year period for 12 water treatment plants had results that showed when regional raw water contamination is present, the chemical cost of water treatment is increased by $95 per million gallons from a base of $75 (Dearmont, McCarl and Tolman).  The prices of water treatment seem to be rising since then.  In 2000 the cost of treatment could range between $100 to $6,000 depending on the contaminant (Wellcare). Even though this is only estimating the coast of well water treatments, a person could imagine that the price of water treatment plants would have gone up greatly with the amounts of contaminants increasing within our water sources.  With the prices of water treatments not everyone can afford it; even many people in the US can’t so they are reduced to finding other ways to get clean water such as moving or buying their water from the store.

                Recently in my community there was a hearing about a concentrated animal feeding operation in the Town Hall of Forestville on march 2.  This hearing was to determine whether they should allow a dairy farm permit that would allow S&S Jerseyland Dairy LLC to increase its herd from 6,000 cows to more than 10,000 cows (Welter).  Now one may wonder what’s so wrong about increasing their herd size, but by increasing their size also increases the amount of pollution that adds to our rivers, lakes and groundwater. Many people who participated in this hearing were against the permit because of its endangerment to the water quality.  One participant said this, “I take my grandkids to the beach in summer and it’s closed because of E. Coli, and that didn’t used to be there years ago.” (Welter)  The E. Coli (bacteria) is from the large amount of manure that is spread on the farmers’ fields that is washed then into our rivers and into our lake.  While I grew up no one wanted to go swimming in the lake even in the months that they could because of the smell of the water or the scum that one could see floating on top; we just found the water completely disgusting.  Another person also made the comment, “I hope your water isn’t poisoned; mine is.” (Welter)  The use of both fertilizers and manure has affected many of the communities wells because there being so much of it spreading onto the fields and then soaking way to far into the ground and then contaminating the groundwater source.  There was one family I knew wanted to move because they had their groundwater contaminated from the farmers around them.  For the longest time, they had to purchase their water from the store.  What’s so bad about buying water from the store?  One is the coast, over all it cost quite a lot more to go buy your water from the store then it is to pay the electricity to have it pumped from the well.  Second, what happens if the water that you get from the store gets contaminated; granted I’m not talking about them selling contaminated water but if the source of that water they get that water gets contaminated.  This would mean there would be less water sources of clean water be attainable and the price would go up since the demand for water is also increase.

                Even though it may look hopeless or that we may not be able to do anything there are still little things we can help to maintain our water sources.  We can help by cutting down on the amount of waste we contribute to the world, to limit the amount of water we use within our daily life, and inform others about this problem we are facing so that they too can follow lead and contribute less waste.  With the spread of word and people wasting less perhaps then the water treatments we do have could have the chance to catch up on the amount of waste that is produced.  Perhaps in the future we will find more cost-efficient ways to treat water but until then it is important that we help to keep the clean drinkable water from being contaminated not only for our sakes but for the worlds.

Sources:

Dearmont, David, Bruce A. McCarl and Deborah A. Tolman. Costs of Water Treatment Due to Diminished Water Quality: A Case Study in Texas. 10 1997. 26 03 2017. <http://agecon2.tamu.edu/people/faculty/mccarl-bruce/papers/535.pdf>.

Johnston, Emily. Her Animals. Seattle: Hummingbird Press, 2015. 26 03 2017.

Pacific Institute. World Water Quality Facts and Statistics. 22 03 2010. 26 03 2017. <http://pacinst.org/app/uploads/2013/02/water_quality_facts_and_stats3.pdf>.

Wellcare. Well Water Treatment options and Costs. 10 2000. 26 03 2017. <https://www.watersystemscouncil.org/download/wellcare_information_sheets/well_water_testing_&_treatment_information_sheets/DrinkingWaterTreatmentsandCostsFINAL.pdf>.

Welter, Liz. "Residents: Enlarging CAFO pollutes water." Kewaunee County Star-News 11 04 2017: 5A.

Birds of Symbolism

In Terry Tempest Williams’ book Refuge, each chapter is titled with a different bird, and each of these birds either seen in the chapter or are mentioned in it by the characters.  Some of these birds even play a more important part then one might realize.  When looking at some of the chapters I questioned the symbolism behind the bird and whether it correlated with certain events that were taking place in that chapter.  For some of these chapters I then decided to then dive deeper into them to see how the bird used for the chapter relates to the story and I decided to go over three different birds from the book.

The first chapter I would like to discuss is Barn Swallows on pages fifty through fifty-three.  Barn swallows are a cobalt blue color with a tawny belly that are known to build cup-shaped mud nests on mainly human-made structures (Barn Swallow).  Within the end of this chapter Terry comes across a barn swallow that has gotten caught in some barbed-wire; she tries to save the bird even though she knows that it’s going to die.  She then comes to realize that, “Dying doesn’t cause suffering.  Resistance to dying does.” (Williams)  I believe this scene with the barn swallow relates back to Terry’s Mother.  Her mother ended up with cancer and had tried to resist the cancer, however even after trying to resist the cancer her mother still ends up dying.  Within this chapter the author includes quite a few scenes that show the connection between a mother and child which I believe can relate to the symbolism of the barn swallow.  Barn swallows are a symbol for protection and warmth for the home (Bird Animal Spirits).  A mother is often very protective of their child and as a mother they try to create a caring environment for their children.  Another thing about barn swallows that may relate to this chapter is the legend about the bird, “According to legend, the Barn Swallow got its forked tail because it stole fire from the gods to bring to people. An angry deity hurled a firebrand at the swallow, singeing away its middle tail feathers.” (Barn Swallow)  When reading this one of my first thoughts was that the barn swallow may have ended up suffering due to helping mankind; the bird didn’t end up dying, however it had to live on without its middle tail feathers which would cause problems for the swallow at first.  The suffering of the barn swallow losing its tail feathers could relate back to the line of dying not causing suffering.

Another chapter that I would like to discuss is the Western Tanager pages one fifty-three through one fifty-eight.  It isn’t until the end of the chapter that the western tanager is seen by Terry, “A western tanager, red, yellow, and black, flies to the low branch of a lodgepole.” (Williams)  The western tanager is an orange-red headed bird with a brilliant yellow body and coal-black wings, back, and tail; it is often described as looking like a flame (Western Tanager).  The colors of the bird can relate back to the sunset at the end of this chapter.  Sunsets can also be described as looking like a flame with its orange and red hues in the darkening sky.  A western tanager can symbolize a secure food-filled home (Bird Animal Spirits).  Within this chapter there are three main holidays mentioned, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July.  Holidays are a time were the family tends to get together and usually have a big meal.  Terry even goes through to cooking food to show that see could carry out the traditions.  Even though she is unsuccessful at making the food she states, “there was a warmth and closeness to the evening,” (Williams) showing how with her family she feels comfort and security. 

The last chapter that I want to go over is Screech Owls pages two seventy-one through two seventy-three.  Screech owls are superbly camouflaged birds with colors that can be grayish, brownish or reddish-brown with flecks of white on their upperparts, a breast and belly with pale dark, spidery streaks, a pale face outlined with dark arcs and bright yellow eyes (Western Screech-Owl).  Most of this chapter has owls in it.  At the beginning Mimi keeps expecting to see an owl starting a conversation between Mimi and Terry about the owls.  Terry then asks Mimi that when she dies if she can send a sign so that she will know Mimi is fine in the afterlife.  Perhaps this indicates that she wanted the owl to be this sign because later in the chapter she has what seems to be a dream like sequence that involves two screech owls.  Owls are creatures of the night who often go about unseen (Bird Animal Spirits) which allows me to believe there is a further connection between the owls and Mimi.  Owls are unseen and when Mimi passes away maybe this portrays that see may not be seen but she is still there with Terry. 

Though these three chapters the birds are not only seen or mentioned but they also can symbolize parts of the passage or share connections between the chapter and the bird.  I find it interesting to see how these birds are used throughout the book and have some sort of impact on her life.  It tends to remind me of the birds that are important in my own life such as the humming bird, great horned owl, and the bald eagle.  The humming bird is something that I enjoy with my grandmother and for me they symbolize spring.  Every year they come back around spring time and fly next to the window just to let my grandmother know that they are there so that she can put food out for them.  The great horned owl always reminds me of the summer nights by the campfire with my father since my father tended to imitate their calls to talk back to them when we heard their calls.  Bald eagles remind me of home since my father collects statues of them and our house is now filled with their presence.  Birds and other things in our environment can symbolize many things for a person in their life and I think it would be interesting to further consider why Terry Tempest Williams chose the birds she did for each chapter and what each of these birds meant to her life.

Sources:

"Barn Swallow." 2015. All About Birds. 08 03 2017. <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/lifehistory>.

"Bird Animal Spirits." 15 01 2017. Spirit Walk Ministry. 08 03 2017. <http://www.spiritwalkministry.com/spirit_guides/bird_animal_spirits>.

"Western Screech-Owl." 2015. All About Birds. 08 03 2017. <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Screech-Owl/lifehistory>.

"Western Tanager." 2015. All About Birds. 08 03 2017. <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Tanager/lifehistory>.

Williams, Terry Tempest. Refuge. New York: Vintage Books A Division of Random House, Inc., 1992.