River of life or death?

He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul (Psalm 23:2,3)

Rivers are frequently mentioned in the Bible as a source of life (for example, Genesis 2:10). When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 3). Healing came via the Jordan for Syrian Naaman (2 Kings 5).
 
In 1957, the Natural History Museum, London, declared the River Thames biologically dead. It was a vast, foul-smelling drain. A moving, stinking, cesspit. However, the river recovered due to the efforts of many people, local authorities along its length and government laws. Our rivers, evidently, can recover if we give them the help they need.
 
According to the ‘Save Our Rivers’ campaign, many UK rivers, including our Thames, are being polluted by the frequent release of untreated sewage, agricultural waste and industrial effluent.
 
Paul Whitehouse recently presented some TV programmes showing the shocking extent of toxic river pollution across the UK. Lake Windermere, in the Lake District National Park, is becoming increasingly poisoned by polluted rivers running into it. Millions of people flood into this area annually to enjoy it, but there is the looming prospect that this iconic, stunning lake is being turned into a toxic cesspool for generations to come.
 
Christians in Richmond and throughout the UK need to be urging their local MPs and our national leaders to clean up our rivers before we ‘cross the Rubicon’ towards the disastrous death of our precious rivers.
 
‘The Environment’ is our living space but how can we, as individuals, heal our world? There are many environmental action organisations, like Tearfund , that are seeking to end plastic pollution in our rivers and throughout our environment. These organisations enable thousands of individuals, like you and me, to be part of the solution to the problems we human beings create.