THE MAGNIFICENT ENGINES OF GAIA:
Prepared for Dr. Robert Muller, Chairman
United Nations Council on Global Water Resources
Santa Barbara, California, USA
28-31 August, 2003
by
Elliott Maynard, Ph.D., CPCM, President
Arcos Cielos Research Center, Sedona, Arizona USA
Water Sources
Throughout history, water sources have been sacred,
worthy of reverence and awe.
The advent of water taps and water bottles has made us forget
that before water flows through pipes,
and before it is sold to consumers in plastic,
it is a gift from Nature.
…Vandana Shiva, 2002 – Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit, p. 131
Introduction
Water is a Critical Planetary Resource for the sustenance and survival of all living things. Conceptually, Planet Earth can be divided into three main “Environmental Commons,” which include 1) The Atmosphere, 2) The Terrasphere (Land Masses, Lakes and Rivers), and 3) the Oceans, which include the Seven Seas and their interconnecting waterways. The Sun is the “Main Power Source,” which drives the great Ocean Gyres and Polar-to-Tropical Currents, as well as the Global Weather Systems which cycle life-giving Fresh Water from Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers into the Clouds, and back to the surface of the Earth again. When magnified to a Planetary Scale, Earth’s mighty Recycling Systems could well be compared to the Respiratory, Circulatory, and Digestive Systems of Humans…The Magnificent Engines of Gaia.
Three major external forces are responsible for driving and influencing these Engines of Gaia; The Sun, which radiates Solar Energies, The Moon, which creates Tidal Fluctuations within the ocean basins, and the Spin of Earth (Coriolis Force), that activates the counter-rotating Oceanic Gyres in Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Primary Driver is the Sun, which beams massive amounts of energy to the Earth, heating the Atmosphere, the surface of the Land Areas, and the upper layers of the Oceans. Since the Oceanic masses are liquid, they have the capability to store moderate, and transport tremendous amounts of Solar Energy…driving the Great “Ocean Conveyer Currents,” where cold water at the North and South Poles sinks at the polar shelves, drops to the nutrient-rich sea bottom, and is gradually returned to the surface at the Equatorial Regions where the heating effects of the Sun are the greatest. This cycle not only serves to “recycle” organic detritus from dead plankton and animals, but it also serves to bring nutrient-rich water from the ocean depths, causing massive plankton blooms in the upper 30 meters, where through photosynthesis, Carbon Dioxide and Water are transformed into Protoplasm…the “Stuff of Life,” and Oxygen is produced as a by product. Since the Oceans occupy roughly two thirds of the planetary surface, the conversion of Solar Energy into organic compounds in the seas is of significance to the major cycles for all life on Earth.
The Atmosphere is, in a sense, the Reflective Counterpart of Earth’s Oceans and Land Masses, since It forms an Interactive Envelope which protects life forms on the Land and Ocean Surfaces from hi-energy Ultraviolet Wavelengths of the Sun. The Atmosphere also stores and transports Water in vapor and droplet form. The interactions between the Atmosphere and the surfaces of the Seas and Land Masses function as titanic “Desalination Engines,” which convert the saline water of the Oceans into Fresh Water, and also draw water up from the land surfaces through the process of Evaporation. The water then returns to the planetary surface in the form of Rain, which is distributed throughout the land areas via networks of Lakes, Rivers, Streams, and Canals.
All animals and Plants…from Viruses and Nannoplankton to the Great Whales…carry their own “Internal Ocean” inside their bodies in the form of an internal fluid, which has an uncanny resemblance to the composition of the Seas, from which Primitive Life most likely began. Pure, Uncontaminated Water is thus a critical necessity for all living things on the Land, and in the Lakes, Rivers and Oceans of our Planet.
The Oceans are a great metaphor…
Everything we do on land
ends up in our coastal waters.
The Oceans mirror the health
of our Planet.
…Ted Danson, President, American Oceans Campaign
Polluting the Global Commons
Due to the increasing industrialization in Asia, tons of contaminants are discharged into the winds which travel across the Pacific Ocean. Contaminated Aerosols, already responsible for killing crops and causing disease in Asia, incredibly enough, are now polluting the waters of North America. Such “Clouds of Pollution” have also been observed to dramatically alter Global Climate Patterns.1 For instance, in April of 2001 a huge dust cloud, which originated in Mongolia, was photographed by satellites as it moved across the Pacific Ocean and over the West Coast of the North America. This massive cloud, extending for some 1200 miles, created a whitish haze from Phoenix, Arizona to Alberta, Canada, where levels of airborne particulate matter rose to three times the normal value.2 This incident provides a stark example of how polluting agents from sources thousands of miles away can poison the air and water of another Continent. The same is true of the world’s Lakes, Rivers, and the Oceans, where pollution can travel thousands of miles to contaminate living systems which are far removed from the source.
Even the rain, which falls from the atmosphere above the planetary surface, is no longer free of contaminates. For example in May of 2003 it was reported that rain falling over twelve eastern states in the U.S. contained levels of Mercury, which exceeded Federal Standards. National Wildlife Federation President, Mark Van Putten, referring to a recent scientific report stated, “We usually think of rain as pure and clean, but this report reveals that the rain falling over these states contains ominous levels of mercury and threatens the health of people and wildlife.” Since mercury attacks the brain and central nervous system, it can pose a serious threat to sport and subsistence fishermen. Incredibly, 44 states have already issued advisories which warn people to restrict, or avoid entirely, eating fish which are caught in thousands of lakes and streams.3
One of the major consequences of human activities on the environment, is that Global Water Resources have been subjected to increasing pressures…mainly from Human and Industrial Pollution…and especially from deplorably wasteful practices in Domestic, Industrial, and Agricultural Sectors of Global Society. According to the U.S. sponsored Third-World Water Forum, an impending Global Water Crisis could affect one out of every three people by the 2025! 4
Contaminated Drinking Water is the world’s single largest Environmental Killer! According to Berkeley Lawrence Laboratory Physicist, Ashok Gadgil, “Four million children die annually from waterborne diseases; more than 400 deaths per hour. It’s the kind of death toll we don’t jump up and down about, because it’s out of sight to us. 5
When enough people change the way they view things,
Then solutions become evident,
often in ways we couldn’t even imagine
before we looked with new eyes.
We have destroyed much of the world because of our culture;
we can save much of it by changing our culture.
Thom Hartmann, 1998 – The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, p. xxv.
Measuring Earth’s Metabolism
NASA Scientists claim that, for the first time in history, they are able to make a continuous recording of what they refer to as “Earth’s Metabolism.” Using information from two different Earth Observatory System Satellites the scientists are now able to update their data at frequent enough intervals to map the rate at which plant life absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. Using this approach, the scientists can now create calibrated, real-time measurements of various components of the Global Carbon Cycle, which can serve as a basis for eventually monitoring such environmental and water-related events such as the expansion of Deserts, effects of Droughts, Floods, and the impacts of global climate change on Plant Growth and Seasonal Variation. This same technology could also be used to monitor Global Water Resources, in conjunction with Floods, Droughts, and Global Weather Patterns, as well as selected biological parameters, such as Plankton Blooms in Lakes and Oceans, and the growth of Aquatic Vegetation in response to agricultural run-off of Nitrates and Phosphates. More importantly, this new application of Satellite Technology represents a way to coordinate our approach to studying Global Ecology in a much more wholistic way, using an Integrated Systems Approach, instead of assembling bits of isolated regional data. 6
As individuals and leaders, we must shift the world’s political system into a new state of equilibrium – an eco-librium – characterized by greater cooperation and by a focus on the future. The solutions we seek will be found in a new faith in the future of life on Earth after our own, a faith in the future that justifies sacrifices in the present, a new moral courage to choose higher values in the conduct of human affairs, and a new reverence for absolute principles that can serve as stars by which to map the future course of our species and our place within creation.
…Albert K. Bates, 1990 – Climate in Crisis: A Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do, p. ix.
A New Ecological Worldview for Global Society
A Transformative Revolution in Thinking on a Global Scale requires an entirely new set of guidelines for Thinking and Action. Such a Revolution must incorporate Sweeping Social Transformations, where every inhabitant of Planet Earth participates, by living within an inspired and self-imposed Global Constitution of Sustainable Limits…a Set of Guidelines which is environmentally synergistic with our planetary ecosystems. If we are truly committed to achieving such a transformation, and to blazing bold evolutionary pathways into the Future, a new, Environmentally Focused Planetary Mindset must be established and implemented at all levels of Human Society. In place of the traditional approach of studying the minute details of biological systems, a new integrated and systemic approach to Earth’s Major Ecosystems and their interrelationship must be taken.
Within this context, a concerted effort should be undertaken immediately to protect our precious Planetary Water Resources from the effects of Environmental Pollution, Destruction by Development, Commercial Exploitation, and Abuse by Overuse. Global standards must be established and implemented to protect these resources. Similar standards need to established to monitor and maintain water quality everywhere, and simple technologies should be put into place to conserve and distribute water efficiently. Concurrent global programs need to be implemented to clean up Pollution from human, animal, and industrial waste products, which can infiltrate to poison water supplies. Global Water Resources…especially Large Underground Aquifers…are Priceless Environmental Treasures. As such, they need to be adequately measured and mapped. Since most of these vast underground water stores take hundreds, or even thousands of years to recharge, they should be regarded (like petroleum) from a more Finite Resource-Oriented Viewpoint, so that they will not be mindlessly squandered at the expense of present and future generations. New Global Programs should be created to develop more energy efficient Desalination Plants, which use Renewable Power Sources, such as Solar, Wind, Wave, or Tidal Power. This program should be set into motion, in conjunction with grass-roots level Water Collection, Purification, Distribution, and Storage Technologies, which are simplistic, cheap, and available to everyone. Finally, Programs for Environmental Education should be set up as soon as possible, to educate all levels of Global Society, so that people everywhere understand the importance of Protection, Conservation, and Use of Water as a Precious and Strategic Life-Resource.
Suggested Strategies for the Protection, Conservation,
and Use of Global Water Resources
1. A Coordinated Global Program of Environmental Education should be implemented, to teach all levels of society the importance of Protecting and Conserving Environmental Resources for present and future generations. This Educational Program be taught from the earliest levels of School, and should also include a variety of Community Education Programs for Adults. This Program should make full use of Global Radio, Television, and Internet Broadcasting Media Technologies, combined with Children’s and Adult’s Environmental Books, Newspaper Articles, and Videos.
2. A Set of Universal Guidelines and Procedures should be Created and Implemented to Protect Strategic Water Resources from Contamination, Commercial Exploitation, and Overuse. Such “Strategic Resources” should include Springs, Lakes, Rivers, Streams, and Canals. This protection should be extended to include the protection and establishment of Natural Watersheds around these Water Resources.
3. Extensive Underground Aquifers should be mapped, and their volumes estimated. Since Aquifers often cross national boundaries, new Policies and Guidelines need to be created and implemented for protecting these precious resources from wanton or unregulated overexploitation by national or commercial interests.
4. Universal Standards need to be established for municipal drinking water. These Standards need to be implemented, and monitored on a continuous basis, to insure that everyone in the global community has access to clean drinking. Concurrently (especially in developing nations), hygiene and sanitation need to be improved for every level of society, to avoid the pollution of Strategic Water Sources by human and industrial waste.
5. A Coordinated Global Effort needs to be launched to promote the Conservation of Water Resources at all levels of Society in all cultures and regions of the world. Guidelines should be implemented for Household Usage, with emphasis on low-volume toilets and water-using household appliances. Major Focus should be placed on programs for Massive Reductions of Water Usage for Irrigation, replacing Antiquated Irrigation Systems with modern drip irrigation systems, which will use far less water more efficiently.
6. Concerted Efforts should be made to encourage as much as possible the use of appropriately designed Water Catchment and Storage Devices, and also to install Municipal Rainwater Catchment and Storage Devices wherever appropriate.
7. A Program should be established for developing, manufacturing, and distributing (at a reasonable cost), small portable Water Purification Devices, which use an inexpensive Ultraviolet Lamp. Such units can either be powered from conventional electrical grids, or can be adapted for use with standard auto batteries, or stationery bicycle power single such Unit can provide enough safe drinking water for a small village, and thus prevent the onslaught of waterborne diseases…especially in children.
8. Tremendous savings in Water Resources can be achieved by simply upgrading existing systems of Canals and Pipelines, to prevent them from leaking. This approach would effectively increase the amount of available water for drinking and irrigation in most parts of the world.
9. A Major Program should be implemented globally, to Develop Large-Scale Desalination Plants, which use the latest Evaporative Technology. Such Installations could be built on floating barges, so that they could be towed to seaside or riverside communities. This same technology could also be applied to purifying polluted river water, so that it might be suitable for drinking and household use.
10. Measures should be taken to encourage people everywhere to focus on upgrading and maintaining municipal water purification technology, so that it is not necessary to drink imported bottled water. The process of shipping bottled water…often halfway around the world…represents a significant and unnecessary use of Fossil Fuel Reserves, and creates additional air pollution. This practice also creates mountains of single-use plastic containers, which are difficult to recycle, and litter even the most remote shorelines of the planetary waters.
11. Most importantly, an Entirely New Program should be established to coordinate data from the hundreds of Environmental Sensing Satellites already positioned in the Space around Earth. These “Eyes of Gaia” when properly integrated into a new Global Supercomputer Program, would bring our capabilities for Environmental Monitoring, Protection, and Restoration into an entirely new Level of Understanding. A major objective of this Program would be to coordinate this data into a new “Self-Image” of Earth, so that the “Health” of the Planet could be monitored on a real-time basis. New Applications of Remote Sensing Technology, could also be developed to shift the focus from “Military Intelligence” to “Ecological Intelligence” relative to the status of the Global Biosphere. This shift would allow Scientists everywhere to gain entirely new insights into the nature of Life on our Planet, and the dynamic interactions of its Living Systems. Additional programs could be implemented by re-directing our bloated National Defense Budgets away from Destructive Activities, and into New Massive Programs for Monitoring and Enforcing Environmental Regulations, for Protecting and Restoring our precious Global Water Resources for the present and future generations of the Human Race and for the well-being of the other Life-Forms which inhabit our Global Biosphere.
Endnotes
1. Sylvia Wright - Trans-Pacific Pollution Worsens, August 1, 2000, MSNBC; http://www.msnbc.com/news
2. Environmental News Network, Mongolia Dust Cloud Moves across America, April 25, 2001; http://en.com/news/enn-stories
3. Environment News Service, High Mercury Levels Found in Rain, May 29, 2003; http://www.eurocbc.org
4. Reuters, World Water Crisis Will Threaten One in Three, August 13, 2003; http://enn.com/news/wire-stories
5. Emil Polk, Ultraviolet for Health, Whole Earth, Winter 2000, p. 39; http://www.waterhealth.com
6. http://www.climateark.org
