As a druid I work closely with the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. So what have we done to or with these elements on our planet? Water is the easiest to look at first. We have oceans, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, small streams and so we have a lot of water on our planet. We have ruined the oceans because lots of our litter goes in there as it is washed down from the rivers and streams. Phosphates from agricultural land and other poisons from factories, as well as sewage run off into the streams and rivers and then into the oceans. This kills ocean life and makes it impossible for us to enjoy the rivers and oceans as we used to.
We have mined and quarried our earth for stones, clay and minerals to use to heat our homes, build our homes and make items for our homes. Some quarries are absolutely huge and the land around them is damaged by the heavy trucks and machinery that works a quarry. Rare earths are mined because we want mobile phones and electric cars. The name rare earths should tell you something, they are rare and so far not recyclable. Old quarries which are no longer used have become nature reserves in many places. Plants are choosy about their soil and some will only grow in certain places like old quarries. But modern quarries are a different thing and are so large you can't imagine them ever reverting to a good landscape where wild life can flourish.
Where air is concerned we have polluted this too. Smoke, fumes from power plants, cars and other engines have polluted our atmosphere until some areas are so bad that it is difficult to breathe. I was born in the Potteries area and remember the smoke from the bottle ovens. You only put your washing on the line outside when the wind was blowing the smoke away from you. Now the air is much cleaner since an act of Parliament came into place. But where I live now, there is so much traffic that I have to keep my windows closed because of the dirty air outside as well as the noise.
So what about the element of fire? There are various ways of looking at this. Burning things produces smoke which pollutes. Fire itself cleanses the land and allows regrowth but it does harm the life that lives on the earth.
Complicated issues whichever way you look at them all. Would love to read you comments on this.
No comments:
Post a Comment