Kingsolver on Water

Today is Earth Day.  In honor of this day, National Geographic dedicated its April issue to "Water."  In this issue, Barbara Kingsolver observed...

"...Water is life.  It's the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world, a precarious molecular edge on which we survive.  It makes up two-thirds of our bodies, just like the map of the world;  our vital fluids are saline, like the ocean.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"Even while we take Mother Water for granted, humans understand in our bones that she is the boss.  We stake our civilizations on the coasts and mighty rivers.  Our deepest dread is the threat of having too little moisture — or too much....

"Civilization has been ... slow to give up our myth of the Earth's infinite generosity.  Declining to look for evidence to the contrary, we just knew it was there.  We pumped aquifers and diverted rivers, trusting the twin lucky stars of unrestrained human expansion and endless supply.  How water tables plummet in countries harboring half the world's population.  Rather grandly we have overdrawn our accounts....

"Our trust in Earth's infinite generosity was half right, as every raindrop will run to the ocean, and the ocean will rise into the firmament.  And half wrong, because we are not important to water.  It's the other way around.  Our task is to work out reasonable ways to survive inside its boundaries.  We'd be wise to fix our sights on some new stars.  The gentle nudge of evidence, the guidance of science, and a heart for protecting the commons.  These are tools for a new century.  Taking a wide-eyed look at a watery planet is our way of knowing the stakes, the better to know our place."

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