Saving the Ichetucknee
Why Bother?
by Lucinda Faulkner Merritt
| SCIENTISTS TELL US that of all the spring run systems in Florida, the Ichetucknee may be the easiest to restore to health.
To do that, however, we humans need to create a new relationship with water. If we are going to save the Ichetucknee, we are all going to have to make sacrifices and change our behavior. These changes will be difficult.
We must begin to make water-related decisions conservatively, the way we would manage a trust fund for our children, because that is what our water is—a public trust.
Given the pain that personal sacrifice and change may bring, should we even bother to save the Ichetucknee?
Inspiration for this article came in part from the book Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, edited by Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2010.
We cannot continue to believe in the myth of infinite freshwater and that everyone can have as much water as they want. We cannot continue to believe that “out of sight, out of mind” is a pollution prevention strategy. We cannot continue to believe that water should always be free. We cannot continue to engage in short-term thinking at the expense of long-term vision and goals. We cannot continue to value special interest profits over common interests such as the health of the Floridan aquifer. These are some of the hard truths we must face.
Given the pain that personal sacrifice and change may bring, should we even bother to save the Ichetucknee?
Yes, because if we save the Ichetucknee, we also save the Floridan aquifer and our drinking water. Our flourishing and the Ichetucknee’s flourishing are mutual; our survival, our health, and our economy all depend upon a stable source of clean drinking water.
Yes, for the sake of future generations—because we want our children and grandchildren to have clean drinking water and to have the same kinds of fun, rejuvenating and inspiring experiences that we’ve had in the springs and on the Ichetucknee River.
Yes, as a way to say “Thank you” to the Ichetucknee for all it has given us, to honor the reciprocal relationship we have with this beloved natural system.
Yes, because we have compassion for the many different animal and plant species that depend upon the Ichetucknee for their existence.
Yes, because saving the Ichetucknee is good stewardship of Mother Earth.
Yes, because saving the Ichetucknee is the right thing to do, morally and ethically.
Yes, because saving the Ichetucknee enables us to demonstrate the full extent of human goodness.
Yes, because the Ichetucknee is beautiful.
Yes, because the Ichetucknee has existed for thousands of years and has its own right to exist and to thrive.
Yes, because we love it; the Ichetucknee is our beloved blue river.