WATER IS A WATER IS A RIGHTRIGHT

for all for all

of Creationof Creation

A power point project created by the

Water Committeea sub-committee of the

SNJM Justice & Peace Network

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Dorothy GuhaEmma BezaireEugenia MasheaneHelen GarveyMargaret AmesMary Annette DworshakMaureen MaloneyYvonne Massicotte

for distribution and reflection throughout the SNJM congregation

March 2012

O Creator of Living Water, send us out with a daring love for all creation.

Challenge us to offer the water of life freely.

Give water to all who are thirsty anda thirst for justice for all who are quenched.

Immerse us in the water of new life, as you did for Jesus, and send to us

the Holy Spirit of peace, justice and love. Amen

Excerpt from Water: A Sacred Gift, produced by Kairos, a Canadian ecumenical group04/18/23 3

PrayePrayerr

PrayePrayerr

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• Corporate Stand slide

5

• Water Committee slide 12

• Fracking slide 21

• Tar sands slide 29

• Lesotho slide 38

• Chapter Acts - Challenge slide

45

• Our responses slide 47

ContenContentsts ContenContentsts

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SNJM Corporate Stand SNJM Corporate Stand voted October 2008voted October 2008

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Water isWater isa Human Right a Human Right and Public Goodand Public Good

The Sisters and Associates of the Congregation of the Holy

Names of Jesus and Mary affirm that:

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1.1. Water is a sacred gift that connects all lifeWater is a sacred gift that connects all life..

2. 2. Access to clean water is a basic human rightAccess to clean water is a basic human right.

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3. The value of the earth’s freshwater to The value of the earth’s freshwater to the common good takes prioritythe common good takes priority

over any possible commercial value.over any possible commercial value.

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4. Freshwater is a shared legacy, a public 4. Freshwater is a shared legacy, a public trust and a collective responsibilitytrust and a collective responsibility.

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Why not go back Why not go back to our water to our water

booklet?booklet?

THE THE

WATER COMMITTEEWATER COMMITTEE

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has reported has reported on SNJM on SNJM effortsefforts

SNJMs have taken a stand and maintain that just as…

Women and children are

WATER is not for sale.

Overconsumption, environmental degradation, natural disasters, an increasing world population

are “squeezing” our world’s freshwater supply.

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Two years ago, the Water Committee put out the challenge to

and suggested one issue …trans-boundary environmental trans-boundary environmental governance. governance.

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Are there ways that we could network and advocate for water as a right for all life

across many borders?

Last year, the Water Committee proposed

a three-part reflection: a three-part reflection:

Water is LIFEWater is LIFE

Water is PEACE Water is PEACE

Water is JUSTICEWater is JUSTICE

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• Water is Life …Water is Life …

We will raise water literacy through education, with an emphasis on future generations.

Reflection:

Who regulates the distribution and cost of your water supply?

• Water is Peace …Water is Peace …

We must not allow water to become the valued commodity that is an excuse for war.

Reflection:

What is happening in your region to defend and protect water and water systems?

How can you be involved?

• Water is Justice …Water is Justice …

People must control their own sources of water and it must remain in the commons. 

 

Reflection:

Is your city water-rich or water-poor? How can we all be in solidarity on the question

of “sharing water”?

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This year,the Water Committee

suggestslooking into mining, especially “fracking” &

“tar sands”.

FRACKINGFRACKING

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A new threat A new threat ??

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Fracking - a process to extract natural gas

below aquifers & ground water.

from

SHALE PLAYS

that lie deep

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A mixture of water & chemicals is introduced into the shale deposit under pressure …… it breaks up the sand and rocks releasing the gas which is then brought to the surface along with the water mixture.

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BUT with “fracking” …•a large amount of water is used andcannot be purified,

•there is a possibility of leaks in underground water and aquifers.

Natural gas burns significantly cleaner than oil, coal or gasoline.

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“… residents near natural gas wells have not only reported that their well water smells bad, but also experience health problems, including allergic reactions,

gastrointestinal disorders ...”

In fact, there are reports

of tap water that burns if you

put a match to it.

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Fracking “wastewater”

destroys plant life,threatens clean

water sources and all wild life. AND …

•companies are not required to report what chemicals are used nor on how the process impacts the water supply.Why isn’t “fracking” subject to

government regulation?

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World shale gas resources

(in white = assessment areas)

Who is at risk?

… … companies need companies need

to be held accountableto be held accountable

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Find out what is happening in your area.

Find out what is happening in your area.

Tar sandsTar sands

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The Alberta oil sands

- the world’s

largest remaining reserve

of oil outside of Saudi Arabia.

The product is not oil but bitumen, a dirty, viscous, ultra-heavy,

hydrocarbonthat needs extensive and expensive

processing.

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Refining and tailings ponds

in background

Surface mining

in foregroundEffluent pipe & tailings ponds

Well padWell pad

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- destroys immense areas of the boreal forest for surface mining, pipelines and well-pads

- requires enormous amounts of energy & up to 4 barrels of fresh water to produce 1 barrel of crude oil

Extracting bitumen from the sand

- puts the biodiversity & hydrology of the region at risk.

Athabasca River water

allocations - 2005

Oil sands

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The impacts of further development of the oil sands:

• Scarcity of potable water• Toxicity• Pollution• Acid rain• Increase in global warming

due to GHG emissions

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Oil sand production Oil sand production forecastsforecasts

To question: pipeline projects presently being negotiated to transport & export the crude oil.

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Enbridge Northern Gateway

Keystone XL

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It is in these oil sandsIt is in these oil sands

- where the boreal forest is being clear cut, where rivers and lakes are being poisoned, where the livelihoods of our First Nations people are day by day being put at greater risk -

that our federal government is that our federal government is telling us that the future prosperity telling us that the future prosperity

of our nation lies.of our nation lies.

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IT IS IT IS BEYOND BEYOND BELIEF!BELIEF!

LESOTHOLESOTHO

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selling water not water not all benefitall benefit

Lesotho Lesotho Highlands Highlands Water ProjectWater Project

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• Katse Dam - 1996• Mohale Dam - 2004

An agreement to build the next phase was signed in mid-2011. The Polihali Dam will displace 17 villages, reduce agricultural lands for an additional 71 villages, and reduce water quality and quantity for many more living downstream.

LHWP will have 5 dams

& about 200km of tunnels and water transfer

works.

• At the beginning, the Water Project generated 14% of Lesotho’s export earnings, but the percentage has been steadily decreasing since then!

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Katse Dam

Mohale Dam• Some 150,000 river-dwellers have

had their livelihoods damaged - they who relied on the river ecosystem for food, medicinal plants, fuel sources, and sources of additional income.

• The dams have submerged some of Lesotho’s most fertile land, which had previously supported several thousand agricultural families.

"I realize that we will be plagued by hunger … we find that we are lost because the money we had been promised has not been given to us …

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There are some painful things about resettlement.”

A villager resettled

The Matala community is one of those affected ... After 12 years of resettlement, this community of 22 households has not yet received their communal compensation.

Access to clean water is one of their most urgent problems.

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Malethibela Lits’esane and her husband were forced out of their highland village. During the drought season, she has to walk for four to five hours to bring water back home.

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TRC educating & mobilizing people to speak for their

rights

How can we stand in solidarity?

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2011 CHAPTER 2011 CHAPTER ACTSACTSchallenge us to

« hold as a common ministry our corporate stands in evolving situations »

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How can

« we recommit ourselves « we recommit ourselves to bolder action »? to bolder action »?

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Our Reponses

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PraPrayy PraPrayy Oh compassionate God,

Creator who breathed over the waters, we join with UNANIMA members and all

peoples, to seek forgiveness for our mindless use of water.

We beg for wisdom to know how to conserve and cherish water.

We ask healing for the ways that we disrespect and contaminate our sister.

In a drought time we wait and watch for the gift of rain upon the earth. We watch and wait for the rain of grace into our souls.

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ConsultConsult

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ConsultConsult

Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center

and others …

see handout

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• Research water issues in your region–What is the source of your water?–How safe is your water for drinking, cooking?

• Educate about church eco-justice teachings.

• Prepare for World Water Day March 22.

Act

• Contact legislators/governments about water issues.e.g. Great Lakes, waters of Lesotho, Keystone XL & Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline projects

• Research gender equity issues in terms of access to water and control of water.

• Read up on Jessica Ernst, activist against fracking.

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Act

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But we must all But we must all do our part. do our part.

Even small daily actions will add up in the fight to protect water resources and to guarantee life now and tomorrow.Pilato Pereira OFM Cap Water and Dignity for All, A Challenge for All Nations, In: World Poverty – Franciscan Reflections, 2007.

We should call on governments and institutions to do their part.