Eastertide — a time of seeing candidates and babies immersed in the Baptismal Waters, and of sprinkling rites. What a Precious time. Also, we have the Precious Blood and Water of Jesus mentioned in the Scriptures. All of this has me reflecting all the more on our most precious resource of water.
What would life be like if we had no good water available? I was privileged to attend two workshops with Dr. Bessheen Baker of our Naturopathic Institute here in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. She spoke at length to us about preserving our water and keeping it pure enough to drink and use with our animals and crops, and of many dangers we face from those who seek profit, and not peaceful living. Toxins do accumulate, so the better the drinking water and the water put on crops, the less the build-up in our bodies.
There is much information about chemicals and toxins more commonly found in our waters today, chemicals which can build up in a number of body organs known to have caused cancer and other diseases. I have witnessed the spraying of Roundup on cornfields in our county in the Central Michigan area.
Later, upon studying the issue further, I found that Roundup and other glyphosate based herbicides, are chemicals used on GMO plants to supposedly prevent weeds from growing. I saw a film from Argentina showing fields being sprayed the same way without warning. Roundup is a very toxic substance for humans according to several sources.
A related issue here in Isabella County is ‘Fracking.’ We live on the biggest oil field in Michigan and the northeast section of our county has many oil wells. Some people are very fearful because so many kinds of undisclosed chemicals are washed deep into the earth with lots of water, and new compounds are being formed. How will the use of the water and toxic effects of the chemicals impact us? Some are even proposing that fracking can cause earthquakes.
So, what to do? As individuals we can keep abreast of groups such as Organic Consumers. Letter writing takes time, but to create good laws and to stop hurtful legislation they are necessary; chemical and oil company lobbies are very big and wealthy. One email newsletter tells of a person in Ohio who sold her farm after a well just five miles away created an oily film on her water which made her too sick to keep up her horse farm.
Another route is to invest in a water purification system. I use an RO unit (Reverse Osmosis). I found that water from my RO unit had PPM’s (Particles Per Million) within the safe range of 1 to 10 PPM’s, and my tap water from our city had a PPM of 370. A friend had water from her Brita filter tested with a PPM of 200, so that did some good. There are numerous water companies who will help you out. The Owens Company has offices nationwide. Water testing is also available through your local health department and state departments.
– Story by Sister Marie Kopin