This Movement
By Steve Fleischli, Waterkeeper Alliance President

As the Waterkeeper movement grows we face major cultural differences: language, customs, religion, politics, diet — to name but a few. The Waterkeeper movement is as diverse as our 172 local Waterkeepers themselves. Yet, our differences, our diversity, are among our greatest strengths.

Culturally speaking, a local Waterkeeper in Alabama can seem as different to a Waterkeeper in New York as a Waterkeeper in Bolivia can seem to one in the Czech Republic. This creates challenges for a movement that’s unlike any other in the world. But when our diverse group gathers together each June for our annual conference, a collective energy fills the air — an excitement beyond anything I have ever witnessed.

Despite our differences, we come together each year to celebrate our shared vision for the future. We share a common set of values. We support our communities the same. We believe in the rule of law and in democratic processes. And we share a commitment to the very basis of all known life: water.

We have come to learn that we also share many of the same environmental problems.

The Yamuna River in the heart of Delhi, India, is so polluted with sewage that it literally bubbles with methane. Yet, raw sewage in rivers and lakes is as wrong in Delhi as it is in Vancouver, Milwaukee or Cartagena. Nutrient and other toxic pollution are as much a threat to fisheries in Chesapeake Bay and Casco Bay as they are in the Caspian Sea and Hann Bay. And mercury from coal-fired power plants harms children the same in Beijing, China as it does in Vinita, Oklahoma or Walpole Island, Ontario.

While local problems may vary, the root causes of pollution — ignorance, apathy and greed — tend to be universal. So do the solutions — recognition of human rights, enforcement of environmental rights and the action of an informed and empowered citizenry.

Waterkeeper Alliance’s challenge is to help local Waterkeepers combat environmental problems, while recognizing and embracing the uniqueness of each community and of each culture. In fact, it is this uniqueness — our cultural and ecological diversity — that is our greatest asset. Recognizing and elevating the strength of communities is where we find our greatest success, for it is the people who live there — who understand their own community better than anyone else — who will best find the answers.

We often say we cannot have strong communities without clean water. Similarly, we cannot have clean water without strong communities — communities in which individuals are empowered to participate in decision making and are allowed to pursue a better life.

As a global movement we have an enormous opportunity to support and learn from one another.

None of us has the golden ticket or a silver bullet, but collectively — by sharing the best each community has to offer — we can solve environmental problems.

The U.S. could learn a lot from Baja California Sur, Mexico, where nearly every remote fishing shack, home and restaurant uses high-efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs. We could both learn from Europe where those same bulbs are manufactured with only a fraction of the amount of toxic mercury.

In Melbourne, Australia, laws have been on the books since the 1980s requiring dual-flush toilets for new homes — one button for liquid waste and a more robust flush for solid waste. This water saving system from the driest continent on earth would make a lot of sense today in the southwestern U.S. or in Atlanta, where prolonged droughts and mismanagement of water are a serious threat.

The City of Moscow, Russia, currently treats or infiltrates 62 percent of its stormwater runoff with a goal of 85 percent by 2010. This far exceeds the performance of any major U.S. city, where stormwater runoff typically is the number one source of water pollution.

Certainly, all solutions are not technological. Equally important, if not more so, are those involving access to legal protection. In the U.S., more than two dozen federal statutes allow individuals to file civil “citizen suits” to enforce the law. Unfortunately, some states — and some judges — are less accepting of this notion than others.

In Canada, citizens can lay criminal charges for private prosecution of offences under the Fisheries Act. In India, a citizen can petition the Supreme Court to enforce the Constitution’s “Right to Life,” which guarantees clean water and air for all.

Of course, in all of these contexts, whether relief is granted is a whole other matter. Securing environmental rights is a constant struggle for our movement. In all cases, it is costly to pursue a legal remedy. Polluters know they have an advantage here and they use it to their full advantage. Local Waterkeepers work together to neutralize that advantage.

We know that when a local Waterkeeper is denied proper access to the legal or political system, we are all denied that access. When a Waterkeeper is physically threatened for speaking out, we are all threatened. When the commons are privatized for profit, we all lose something of value.

Where a voice is silenced or a disproportionate burden is borne, we must all speak out for justice. Where industry prays upon corrupt government to gain an unfair advantage, we must fight back. Where power is abused and tyranny reigns we must all demand change.

As a movement, we still have long way to go in terms of truly understanding and embracing diversity. We can do much more to appreciate the complexity of the human race and embrace all that our local communities offer. We can do more to speak out against injustice. We can do more to empower one another. These are our common struggles.

What gives me the greatest hope for our future, though, is that all of the places mentioned above have local Waterkeepers working hard in their own communities. That local action, and the growing network that links local Waterkeepers with others all over the world, is what truly will solve our environmental problems. I am honored and excited to consider us one big family — coming together for clean water and strong communities everywhere. w