Water

A Series of six articles on water for the St. Francis Forum 

(2013 December - 2014 January)   (Plus, in addition "The Sequel" for February 2014)

These address the significance of water to those of us who reside in Michigan (as well as our brothers and sisters across our entire planet) and how Catholic Social Teaching relates to the issue of protecting our water resources.  

The first article deals with the significance of water to Michiganians in general; the second includes statements by Pope Francis on our responsibility for protecting the environment; the third reviews the special characteristics of water that are so important for our health and well being; the fourth deals with the impact of industrial and agricultural pollution on our water resources; the fifth discusses fracking and the risk that it presents for our water quality; and the sixth presents ways in which we as a Parish or as individuals may be able to help address risks from fracking to the integrity of our water resources.

As is obvious from reading the articles, the issue of protecting our water quality can be seen as an essential part of being pro-life and being faithful to Catholic Social Teaching.

Members of the P&J Committee (Dick Brown, Kelly Gauthier, Steve Lavender, Mary Wakefeld, Paul Schwankl, MaryCarol Conroy.)

~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~

Article I:  WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(How we perceive water)

The parish Peace and Justice Committee plans a series of articles to articulate why and how WATER is important to those of us who reside in Michigan and also to our brothers and sisters throughout our entire planet.  We will discuss our Church’s view on this very precious resource including why it is so integral to Catholic Social Teaching.

Like everyone else in the world, we shower in water, we drink it, we use it to clean our clothes, we swim in it, we play in it, we irrigate our crops with it, we provide drinking water to our livestock, we use it for our industrial processes,  etc.

But we in Michigan tend to view water in a most special manner.  We are surrounded by water—our state is literally defined by it.  On all sides (with a few small exceptions) our borders are those freshwater inland seas we call The Great Lakes.  When asked where we live, we point to our palm to demonstrate the location of our home.

We think in terms of water when we plan our vacations and when we advertise our state to the world (Pure Michigan).  Our state rock, the Petoskey Stone, originated as a coral reef in some ancient sea.  We canoe in water, we ski on it, we wade in it, and we put our vacation homes within sight of water.  In addition to the Great Lakes we have thousands of smaller, inland lakes as well as rivers and streams.  And, below it all, we have freshwater aquifers in the sand and gravel laid down by the ancient glaciers.

If some politician from California, or Arizona or New Mexico pushes for a pipeline project to take Great Lakes water, our reaction leaves no doubt that they will have a fight on their hands.  Yes, the respect that we in Michigan have for our WATER is an integral part of our psyche.

The next article in the series includes comments by Pope Francis that protecting the environment is mandatory if we are to protect the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace and Justice Committee

St. Francis of Assisi Sustainability Committee

Article II:  WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(Comments by Pope Francis)

This the second article in the series dealing with the Catholic perspective of WATER and, specifically, threats to the quality of our water in Michigan. 

As part of this series on protection of our water resources, it is pertinent that we note comments of the Holy Father regarding environmental protection, which builds on the Church’s significant teachings on the topic of sustainability.  In his Homily given during his Inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis noted:

“Please, I would like to ask those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political, and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be ‘protectors’ of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”

Further in the Homily, Pope Francis urged:

“The vocation of being a ‘protector’, however, is not something involving us as Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone.

It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis showed us. 

It means respecting each of God’s Creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

 It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. 

….In the end, everything is entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it.  Be protectors of God’s gifts!”

As we will show, WATER is a critical part of our ecosystem.  If it is contaminated, the health of our brothers and sisters, including the pregnant woman, the young infant, and the elderly will be severely impacted.  Stewardship of God’s Creation, a key part of Catholic Social Teaching, requires that we protect the environment (and, in this case, our water resources) if we are to show our respect for the Creator.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace & Justice and Sustainability Committees

Article III:  Water – A Most Precious Gift

(The function of clean water)

This is the third of a series of articles on WATER and the importance that our Church places on this resource.  The first article dealt with how we in Michigan perceive ourselves in terms of the water surrounding us, while the second illustrated the importance that Pope Francis, like previous Popes, places on respect for the environment.

Water is crucial to our health and wellbeing.  For example, our bodies use water to regulate temperature, to help deliver oxygen to every organ and extremity, to provide for digestion, and to flush waste from the body.  More than 75% of a newborn infant’s body is water.

Water covers approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and is why we see a “blue planet” when looking at photos taken from the Moon.  However, only 3% of the water on earth is freshwater that we can drink; the remainder is salt water.  Of the Earth’s freshwater, less than 1% is in the form of streams, rivers, and lakes, with approximately 30% underground (i.e., aquifers) and the remainder in the form of icecaps and glaciers.

In order to be safe, water must be clean and free of contaminates—such as heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and other chemicals—and free from harmful bacteria and viruses, parasites, and similar threats.

While these are a threat to all life on earth, they pose a special risk to pregnant women and nursing infants because both the fetus and the young infant are in such early stages of development.  Protecting both is an essential part to being pro-life.

In Michigan, as well as most of the developed world, when we turn on the faucet we expect (and receive) a steady stream of clean, drinkable water.  However, in less developed countries, access to adequate supplies of clean water is a great concern.  Too often the poor and disenfranchised of our human family suffer the consequences. 

One of the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching, the Option for the Poor deals with how society treats its most vulnerable members.  As Catholics we are to work for the common good—by which we mean that all, regardless of economic status, have the right to access to clean water.   In fact, the Vatican was a leader in getting the United Nations to declare access to clean water a human right.  The next article deals with contamination that impacts the cleanliness of our water and threatens our health.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace &Justice and Sustainability Committees

Article IV:  WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(Threats to our water)

This is the fourth in a series of articles on WATER and how it impacts the health and well-being of all God’s children.  In the previous three articles, we discussed the perception we in Michigan have of water, statements by Pope Francis about the environment, and the importance of water to our bodies.  

An essential part of Catholic Social Teaching stresses the right to human dignity.  This applies equally, regardless whether one is an elderly grandfather on a Native American reservation in North Dakota, a young child in a mining town in West Virginia, or an employee in the New York financial district.

The Native American’s threat to clean water might come from oil or processing water spills during the development of oil wells in his community.  The young child’s clean water may be threatened by the runoff from coal mines.  While the financial services employee’s clean water may be at risk because of an aging water transport infrastructure.   Whether the threat comes in the form of hydrocarbons or heavy metals or a bacterium or a virus, the health risk is very real.

Here in Michigan, some examples of contamination that are having serious impact on the groundwater we drink: the Gelman site in Ann Arbor that was contaminated by 1,4-Dioxane and another is the Trichloroethylene contamination of the aquifer in the Mancelona area (just north of Kalkaska).  Another threat, which has become a greater concern in recent years, is leaks / seepages of waste from factory farms (a/k/a/ Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, in which thousands of animals are crowded together). 

Another threat comes from so-called non-point source contamination.  This may be runoff from farm fields (e.g., nitrates, pesticides) or from local communities (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides).  Like contamination from industrial and mining sites, this contamination may show itself in the form of increased cancer rates. 

Too often, in the past we have not paid sufficient attention to the risks that may result from industrial or other operations, which can result in serious health impacts.  

Our next article will deal with a process that we are just encountering in the past few years here in Michigan that may have long-term implications for all of us – FRACKING in the deep shale to release the tightly held natural gas.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace & Justice and Sustainability Committees

Article V:  WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(Shale Gas and Fracking – a new threat)

This the fifth article in the series dealing with the Catholic perspective of WATER and why it is an essential part of our efforts to be pro-life.  Too often, our brothers and sisters in this world who are among the poor and disenfranchised suffer from a contaminated and non-dependable water supply.

In this series we have noted a number of threats that have arisen over the years.  Now a new potential threat presents itself in our efforts to gain access to natural gas from underground that has, until recently, been beyond the reach of our technology. 

The new drilling process is different in key ways from what we used to think of as oil and/or gas drilling.  In normal oil / gas drilling, the well is drilled vertically through impermeable rock into a reservoir that traps the oil / gas that came from the rock.  As we deplete oil and gas fields, more effort is going into accessing oil / gas from the source rock in which it is very tightly held. 

It has only been in the last 10 years that we have used horizontal drilling and slickwater hydraulic fracturing (a/k/a/ FRACKING).  This allows oil / gas to be obtained economically from the deeper source strata, but it also poses a greater threat to our freshwater.

Slickwater fracking uses anywhere from 5 million to 21 million gallons of water (and lots of chemicals and sand) for EACH WELL.  After a well has been fracked, a significant portion of the fracking fluid (along with brine and normally occurring radioactive material) is returned to the surface.   Because it is contaminated, it must be disposed of in deep injection wells.  In the past, fracking used shallow vertical wells that only needed a few thousand gallons of water and far less chemicals.  So our new way of fracking uses far more freshwater, and spills or leaks can devastate our water quality.

Because we deplete the wells so quickly, we have to drill more and more new wells.  This requires millions more gallons of water and poses a further risk to our local aquifers.  (And because this is expensive to do, companies may ship the gas overseas to get higher prices, rather than keeping it in the U.S.)

In the next article of this series, we will discuss ways in which we as Catholics can help protect our WATER, and all the bounties of the earth that God has given us, from harm.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace & Justice and Sustainability Committees

Article VI:  WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(The next steps….)

This is the sixth and last article in the series dealing with the Catholic perspective of WATER and, specifically, threats to water quality and the health of Michigan children.

As noted in the fifth article, we are just becoming aware of the potential health risks from the new process of FRACKING for gas / oil.   Many in the health and environmental communities stress the need for stronger regulation because of:

·         the potential for fracking to do irreparable harm to our water resources,

·         the limitations of the current regulations covering fracking here in Michigan,

·         the staffing limitations of our Michigan regulatory agency to adequately monitor these operations.

We as Catholics have an obligation to make certain that our government takes adequate steps to protect our families.  We must minimize the very real risk to our drinking water posed by the millions of gallons of dangerously contaminated water that result from fracking.  Here are some ways that you can take action:

(1)  Contact Governor Snyder (517-373-3400) and the State Dept. of Environmental Quality (517-284-6827) and ask that regulations pertaining to the unconventional oil and gas industry be strengthened, specifically with respect to:

·         Full disclosure of the fracking chemicals PRIOR to fracking taking place.

·         Strong baseline testing of water quality PRIOR to fracking and followed by regular monitoring for contamination.

·         Updating the assessment of the impact and cumulative effects of the large water withdrawals needed for fracking.

·         Monitoring the toxicity and management of wastewater.

(2)  Ask the Chair of the State House Energy and Technology Committee (Aric Nesbitt, AricNesbitt@house.mi.gov) to hold hearings on the “Frac Pack” legislation (HB 4899–4906)

·         These cover:   public participation in the permitting process; disclosure of chemical additives; allows counties and townships to have a say in regulating fracking operations; prohibits spraying of contaminated water on roads for dust or snowmelt; requires assessment of water withdrawal / potential impacts on our lakes, streams, and well water)

·         Tell your legislator that you support this legislation.

(3)  Ask your city council, township board, and county commission:

·         About the preparedness of first responders to address spills and /or other releases that can occur with fracking.

St. Francis of Assisi Peace & Justice and Sustainability Committees

You must treat the earth well.  It was not given to you by your parents.  It is loaned to you by your children.

~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the 2014 February St. Francis Parish bulletin Forum.

WATER – A Most Precious Gift

(The Sequel)

The St. Francis Peace & Justice and Sustainability Committees recently prepared six articles in which we stressed the importance of water to the health and welfare of our brothers and sisters on our little blue planet.  We gave examples from Catholic Social Teaching and from Papal homilies to illustrate the importance that the Church places on the protection of our water.  

It is ironic that on the weekend that the sixth article was published, news media was reporting the massive chemical spill in West Virginia’s Elk River.

·         The water supply of 300,000 people in nine counties was contaminated by 4-methylcyclohexane methanol  (MCMH).  (The chemical is used for washing coal to help separate burnable fuel from rock, dirt, and other impurities.) 

·         Persons exposed to MCMH can experience nausea, skin irritation, and burning sensation.  There is only very limited data as to what long-term effects of exposure may be.

·         Evidence of the spill was first noted on Thursday morning (January 9^th ) by local residents who observed the licorice odor (that is typical of MCMH).

·         Residents were advised not to drink, cook with, bathe, or wash with the local water.

As more and more information about the causes of the spill as well as the devastating impact on the people of Charleston, W.Va. became available, it was determined that:

·         The tank from which the chemical leaked was just 1.5 miles upstream of the intake pipes of the regional water company (the largest in the state).

·         Up to 7500 gallons of the chemical was estimated to have leaked from the tank.

·         The tanks have not been subject to State or Federal inspection since 1991.

·         Little public information is available as to how hazardous MCMH is or what is a safe limit.

·         As of Sunday (January 12^th ), ten people had been admitted to hospitals and another 169 had been treated and released while nearly 800 people reported symptoms.

·         Many local businesses were forced to close because of lack of clean water.

·         The company responsible for the spill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 17^th.

In our six-article series, we spoke of the importance of good comprehensive regulations and the conscientious enforcement of these regulations in order to protect our water supply.

The Elk River spill, as bad as it was, will soon recede into our memory to be replaced by some other environmental “incident”.   The time has come for us to envision a different future for our children and grandchildren – one in which society understands clean water is a basic human right and in which all of us realize our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s Creation. 

St. Francis of Assisi Peace & Justice and Sustainability CommitteesAll articles in this series are posted at:
www.service4justice.blogspot.com/2013/11/water.html

~~~~~~  ~~~~~~  ~~~~~~  ~~~~~~