Entitlement and Privilege

  Freshwater is the one essential resource that every living thing has to have. No matter what you are, what complexion, what you believe in, where you come from, who you voted for, what you do, how rich, how poor- we are all entitled to have freshwater. Industries are constantly buying land connected to the river, building silos, docks, conveyer belts and natural gas hubs and tapping into the approximately 1.5 trillion barge industry which is about 10 percent of our countries GDP. With more stress to our great waterway, the Mississippi River’s wild places are succumbing to economic growth, while the powers that be are trying to deregulate legislation put in place to protect and preserve our freshwater source that provides close to 18 million Americans with water daily. How could we be more careless? I know Americans are struggling financial dealing with corporations moving operations out of the country to take advantage of off-shore corporate tax incentives, but ending the regulations is not the way to go. No pun intended, but it’s like playing Russian roulette with our existence. This is matter can not be a political or profit driven, this is an issue for all people, and we must be unanimous on these decisions.

  It’s a privilege for me to explore wild places. These back channels, islands, wetlands, sandbars, swamps, oxbow lakes, blue holes, and floodplains sustain millions of species of fauna, wild flowers, edible greens, insects, arachnids, amphibians, reptiles, fish, , birds, and mammals. The rivers annual rise replenish their ecosystems and they flourish with new growth and offspring. These complex environments are what keeps animals and humans healthy and shouldn’t be put in danger by changing the Clean Water Rule , which protects all the tributaries and streams that empty into the Mississippi River. No one should have the power or privilege to do away with these essential regulations. United we stand or divided we will perish.

  It’s a privilege to have access to clean water provided by our great river, the Mississippi River. We must address our nutrient pollution problem. The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is our light bulb. I watch documentaries and it curdles my stomach to see some of the water resources people have to live with daily. We should learn from other countries, who have ruined their quality of life by not creating strict regulations on their water supply. It’s something that you can’t reverse. It’s a privilege to be able to eat the fish from the river. It’s a privilege to hunt trophy whitetail deer. It’s a privilege to camp in these beautiful places and breath its fresh air. It’s a privilege to  live as an advocate for the protection of this precious resource. Become a River Citizen today! Mark River