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Dealing with past mistakes and todays misgivings
By PAMELA SCHAEFFER
I dont think anyone is naive in terms of the complexity of
the Columbia River, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said in an
interview in Portland. Its a daunting challenge.
Skylstad, who grew up in Washington state near one of the
Columbias tributaries, heads the steering committee for the U.S. and
Canadian bishops pastoral letter on the Columbia River.
The environmental challenges are especially tough because the
Columbia is an international river, flowing across the Canadian border, and
because many of the decisions that affect the watersheds welfare today
were made years ago, he said.
The pastoral letter, in its first draft or reflection
stage, and scheduled for completion next year, is a careful attempt to
weigh all sides of the issues and to introduce principles into the
discussion, Skylstad said.
We are not into a blaming mode in the pastoral letter,
he said. Everyone recognizes the mistakes of the past. Still, he
said, there is an edge to the letter and real fear and concern on
the part of some people that well come out with something that will
harm their enterprises. Some people have said they wish we wouldnt write
this letter. Others, though, have encouraged the bishops to keep raising
the issues, he said.
The issues include the loss of old-growth evergreens to
clear-cutting, the decline of the salmon population and disappearance of some
species, violation of Native American treaty rights that promise access to the
river and its resources, the high price of cleaning up nuclear and industrial
waste that pollutes the rivers and land, and controversies raging in the region
about how the problems are best resolved. The logging industry and commercial
fisheries are important sources of employment. If dams along the river are
breached to make the environment more friendly to salmon, water for irrigation
and power will be reduced and barge transportation impeded.
The Hanford Reserve in Washington, building site for atomic,
nuclear and chemical weapons since World War II, is widely regarded as the most
polluted site in the nation. Skylstad said cleanup costs there are estimated at
$50 billion to $60 billion.
Despite the many areas of pristine and cultivated beauty in the
region, the bishops decry behavior that has resulted in ravaged
riverbanks, decimated forests, ... chemical and nuclear wastes oozing toward
the river. Further, they say, In Canada, extremes in river levels
that prevent the existence of both natural ecologies and human enterprises are
caused by dams built primarily to meet U.S. energy needs.
The letter also decries consolidation of resources into
fewer and fewer hands and injustices toward indigenous peoples of Canada
and the United States who continue to suffer from racism and violation of
treaty rights.
Using the biblical theme of Jubilee Year 2000 -- so proclaimed by
Pope John Paul II as in keeping with the biblical mandate in Leviticus 25 that
calls for periodic redistribution of resources -- and describing the earth as a
sacramental commons, the letter insists that respect for life
needs to include all creation.
This commons is not for humans alone, the bishops
write. It is intended by God to provide for all of Gods creatures
as they live in ecological relation. If the right ethical vision is
realized, people will recognize the inherent value of creation and the
dignity of all living beings as creatures of God, according to the
bishops.
While we, as other species, depend on the sacrifice of life
by other creatures to meet our needs, we should not take these sacrifices
lightly nor take advantage of them more than is necessary, the letter
says. We should be grateful for what other lives provide for our lives
and be respectful toward them and toward the Earth that is our common
home.
Specific proposals include taking measures to save salmon,
providing financial support for family farms, developing and adopting new
energy sources to reduce reliance on water and dams, ensuring justice for the
regions poor, promoting responsible forestry practices, and combining
conservation practices with restoration programs that provide new jobs.
We hope we can encourage a civil, collaborative
dialogue and help people to reflect in a spiritual way on the
problems of the river and to exert good stewardship, Skylstad said.
We are at a stage in the Northwest where we are not over the
line, where in many cases environmental renewal is possible.
National Catholic Reporter, June 4,
1999
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