The frequency of illness this year has continued to haunt me. So many otherwise healthy, hearty people, becoming susceptible to colds, infections, and strange feelings of fatigue and brain fog. Then, yesterday, I saw this article in the Trib that gave be pause.
“Between 2007 and 2010, records show, the agency in charge of Deep Tunnel dumped nearly 19 billion gallons of storm water teeming with disease-causing and fish-killing waste into the Great Lake, the source of drinking water for 7 million people in Chicago and its suburbs. By contrast, 12 billion gallons poured out between 1985 and 2006.” ~
I think we have all known for a while that our world has been getting increasingly more toxic, animal & plant species have been dying off at alarming rates. But, I have to admit I was lured into a delusion that the effects of our toxic world wouldn’t be hitting so close to home for quite some time. That we still had time to reverse this trajectory before it began affecting human lives. — let me correct that. Before it began affecting the lives of humans I know.
The thing is, I’m an optimist. I believe in my heart that people are good and that everything will work out eventually. I have been looking around at the rising ‘green movement’ in the States, and how we now see tips for conservation and living mindfully in mainstream magazines, and thinking that, while it’s not ideal, it is a step in the right direction, however tentative and slow it may be.
But I’ve also been around long enough to know that sometimes our most important opportunities for growth and evolution come during times of pain, disaster and despair. That part of me sees the posturing and greed behind a watered-down shadow of eco-consciousness turned into a marketing tactic. Even though there is some sincerity to this green movement, most of us are still too attached to our stuff and our comforts to really comprehend the reality that is hiding behind them. And I am as guilty of this as anyone. The fact remains, we just aren’t changing fast enough.
Perhaps the only way for the human race to take the next leap forward is for more of us, or every single one of us, to feel that affect of our toxic world at home. Not just on the news, or in a movie like Erin Brockovich, but see those effects hit our friends, our family, our children and ourselves and realize that we really do have the power to change.
In the meantime, Chicago, 2029 is not an acceptable completion date for the deep tunnel. You have to do better. WE have to do better. And, I’d like to add that Chicago isn’t the only offender. The article sites nine other cities in the Midwest alone who have settled with the EPA on similar issues. And, finally, I must add that the only reason the EPA has time to go after American municipalities on pollution infringements is because they’ve been paid NOT to go after the worst offenders hiding in plain sight in Corporate America.
All that said, I began a dietary cleanse on Wednesday March 9th that involves vegan, wheat-free foods that have not been processed or packaged. I’m also abstaining from alcohol and caffeine. I am feeling much stronger and resilient as a result. The way I see things going, the world is at a tipping point where there will soon be many more people in need of help than there are people capable of helping. I am committed to being one of the helpers for as long as I can in this life, so I see taking special care of myself a crucial step to fulfilling that commitment.
If you’d like to read the full article, here it is:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-0320-deep-tunnel-problems-20110319,0,1283119.story
And I would love to read your comments.
with love, kelly