Gracious, loving Creator God,
you who have brought living creatures from primeval waters,
and have sustained these various forms of creation with food and water.
We thank you for the presence of your Son,
Jesus Christ,
who has graced our lives with the waters of baptism
and the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
and sustained all life through the waters of the earth.
Awaken and bring to life the seeds of your wisdom,
touch our minds and hearts,
that we may be open and receptive
to the teaching of this journey.
We ask this in the power of your name.
Amen.
“A World to Care For”
(Excerpts from Fr. Ed Ciuba’s
“Creation at the Crossroads”)
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“Creation at the Crossroads”)
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Pope Francis is concerned about the unsustainable level of consumption of finite natural resources. With respect to one vital resource, he writes, “Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic systems” (Laudato Si’, 28).
Though an increasing number of people are experiencing water shortages, those who are poor suffer most. Seven hundred fifty million people do not have access to clean water; 2.4 billion people do not have adequate sanitation. And yet, this resource continues to be wasted and poorly managed in the developed and developing worlds.
Agriculture, industry, and the health of people and eco-systems depend on water. More people die annually from exposure to unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially susceptible to water-borne disease. Forty-five thousand children (one child every 20 seconds) die every day from preventable water-borne deceases (U.N. Face Sheet on Water and Sanitation).
In many places, water resources are threatened by the pollution produced by inadequate sewage treatment and mining, farming, and industrial and agricultural waste are dumped into the world’s waters. Detergents and chemical products in households throughout the world also frequently end up in rivers, lakes, and streams.
At the same time that water pollution is growing, the demand for water is increasing. In addition to the needs of a growing population, some countries are experiencing a rise in the standard of living within some segments of society. For example, Christiana Peppard, in her book Just WaterI, shows the relationship between the increased demand for water and the growth of the middle class in China and India. Those in the middle class are more educated and have higher incomes. The increased income is changing their eating habits. Diets which once consisted of vegetables and chicken or fish now regularly include beef dinners. To produce a pour of beef requires 1, 799 gallons of water. Producing a pound of chicken requires 460 gallons of water.
Modern technology has also increased water usage at a massive scale. Producing one micro-chip requires roughly 32 gallons of water. That may not seem like much compared to a pound of beef. However, by 2013 there were nearly as many cell phones in the world (6.8 million) as there were people. Imagine the amount of water involved.
What habits and attitudes can you develop with regard to your use of water?
Millions of people lack access to clean water, and more than a billion lack access to sanitation facilities. Begin a campaign in your parish community to raise funds to support such a project.
