March 28, 2012

Local focus – Worldwide scope

Going away is good. Coming home is even better. In March I was cruising the Rhine River along the French – German border, home of my ancestors. Today I am looking out my Belgrade Lakes office window at Long Pond in the Belgrade Lakes wondering how long it will be before the Rhine gets here.

As you know, everything is connected; as water runs from the mountains in the form of snow melt, it runs over the lands to the streams and rivers, creating larger and larger waterways until it reaches the bays and harbors leading to the oceans. It may slow periodically to rest in lakes before continuing its journey to the sea, but water is never still. Water continues to be in constant motion in the oceans. After it nourishes life all along it’s amazing journey, the fluid then rises to the skies where it moves and is blown around in the form of clouds to far distant places until conditions are right for the moisture to be released in the form of rain, sleet, or snow.

Whatever happens on one part of this planet , affects us all.  One of the very best examples is what happens to us as winds and clouds move moisture from the industrial smokestacks of the Midwest to the Northeast where it acidifies lakes and eventually destroys the natural flora that helps control oxygen content for fish and amphibians.

Without water there is nothing. It was the original marriage of Oxygen and Hydrogen that changed the Earth forever.  Water made it possible to create single-celled plants and animals, and as they say, the rest is history. Stop and think for a moment how it happens that one unseen molecule called H₂O could support enough life to allow the development of animals such as the dinosaurs.  While you’re thinking about that, consider how close we are to destroying that very lifeblood of the planet, starting right here in the Belgrades.

I want to clarify my opening statement regarding “the Rhine getting here”. I recently  returned from being on the Rhine River for an 8 day cruise. This was a trip anticipated ever since I knew my great-grandmother emigrated with her parents from the Alsace region along the French-German Rhine. We had spent weeks looking at vacation materials showing the castles and cathedrals that we would see along the river – a feast for the eyes.

The reality of what we encountered was different. The magnificent river was brown water, congested by enormous diesel-powered barges laden with raw chemicals for the factories that now line the banks of the Rhine. There were even paper mills along the river – we Mainers know about those and how they heat up the river waters. It was noisy day and night and when those magnificent ancient castles came into view overlooking the river, they had to be seen through the constant lens of smog and haze that hung low to the hills.

I think there was one other, less obvious factor that disturbed me as well. Our fellow passengers were from as close as Boston and as far away as Perth, Australia. I seemed to be the only one that commented about the hazy air, brown river, and constant noise pollution. When I mentioned it to tablemates over some select Rhine wines one evening, I heard, “Oh, yes, we have that too.” The Rhine has already reached those locations. We cannot allow it to reach Maine … we have work to do.

When we returned home, my husband went to the family archives and found slides of his parents’ European vacation in the early 1950’s, when they drove down the roadways next to the Rhine River. What we discovered was clear skies with white puffy clouds, shorter riverboats being propelled by people and small engines carrying smaller bundles of goods up and down the river. There were even tents along the river, where vacationers relaxed and fished. That was barely more than 50 years ago; a small blip in the timeline of human history on this planet.

So, if I went looking for lessons from my great grandmother, I think I found the major one …. That if this world is to be available for our great grandchildren, we had better get to work saving it. We need to get up every morning and do something – plant a blueberry bush – fertilize your lawn a little less - recycle your garbage – make a contribution to an organization that is preserving what we have. If every person did one small thing everyday, the work would soon be done ….. and the Rhine would never reach our state.