The Morality of Water

            For a long time, the people of Charleston, West Virginia, where Rosie and I used to live have gone without usable water.  A chemical plant on the Elk River, located just above the intake valves of the West Virginia American Water company, began to leak chemicals into the river.  The chemical that leaked is used for cleaning coal, and has a strong licorice odor to it.  Water is restricted in nine counties around Charleston, schools are affected as are restaurants and certainly the day to day usage of the residents of the area.  No one can drink the water, bathe in it or use it for cleaning.  Bottled water has been made available, but this has a limit and is incredibly inconvenient for the residents. Many people from outside the area have contributed bottled water and other things to the affected residents. The economic effect on the area isn’t known, but it will certainly be substantial.  There is even talk of people leaving the area because of the tainted water.  The response to all of this from the people in charge has been less than helpful. 

            One of the reasons that there is an overwhelming problem is the vice-grip hold that the coal industry has on the politics of West Virginia.  When the Upper Big Branch mine disaster hit the state, there was an outcry for justice, but the coal company was held responsible only to a small extent in terms of their wealth.  Nothing much really happened, nor had it happened when the Sago disaster killed a number of miners.  There was, as there always is, substantial coverage by the media, but in the end, the problem faded from the public’s immediate concerns.  When mountain-top removal is done by the coal mine interests to quickly obtain coal from West Virginia’s beautiful mountains, it is always done out of sight of the interstate highways going through the state.  You have to fly over the state to see the incredible damage to the once beautiful landscape.  This has also been largely off the public’s radar, and when it is covered by the news media, it fades away in due time.

            This time, the issue is different.  The entire area is completely affected by this latest crisis.  The media is not relenting in their coverage of it, it is at the top of the agenda for most of the people, all of the time.  The coal industry won’t be able to get away with shoving this under the rug the way they have been able to do with the disasters that have preceded this one.  How those responsible will be held accountable is yet to be seen, but there will be no let up in the public’s outrage until something is done.  West Virginia’s lawmakers have made a number of comments that indicate that they take this problem seriously, but there has yet been no really concrete suggestion of what to do about it. 

            The book of Leviticus is not often read by us, but it is a wonderful source of the mind of God when the Ten Commandments were created and given to Moses.  It contains a great explanation of what is meant by God and by our Lord Jesus when we are told to love our neighbor as a person like ourselves.  For example, in Leviticus 19: 9, we read:

               When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall

                 not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather

                 the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip

                 your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of

                 your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor

                 and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

            I think that this verse applies to things like the removal of water from the taps of the people who live around the mines, and who depend not only on the coal, but certainly on the water that flows in their rivers for their lives.  Certainly polluting the river so that the water can’t be used is covered in this Levitical verse.  But the question is what are we going to do about it?  Those of us outside the bounds of the people who are affected certainly have a responsibility not only to help with the supply of bottled water, but also to make sure that our government leaders care enough to make this situation right and to call to account those who are responsible and to do it in a way that gives this area back its dignity and wholesome life.  May God bless the people of these nine counties and give them back what they so desperately need, which is the richness of their lives.