Under the stewardship of right wingers, development has been relatively unchecked, pursued without sensible restrictions to keep growth in accord with a sustainable use of natural resources. As a result, immense reserves of natural resources are being used up.
The rivers of the world are an example. According to a report recently released by the World Wildlife Fund, many of the major rivers of the world are so overexploited by rampant development along their courses that they are running dry before they can reach the ocean. The report explains,
“Even the greatest of the world’s rivers can no longer be assured of reaching the sea unhindered. These days the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River, on the border of the U.S. and Mexico, often fails to reach the Gulf of Mexico, its strength sapped by dams and irrigation works diverting water to farmers’ fields and city water supplies. The Indus, the Nile, the Murray-Darling, the Colorado, these are but a few of the once mighty rivers that now struggle to touch the ocean.”
To right wing politicians, the withering away of many of the Earth’s rivers does not seem like a cause for concern. Progressives understand that when something so large as a river has been run dry by human development, it’s a sign that development has run out of control.
(Source: World’s Top 10 Rivers At Risk, World Wildlife Fund, March, 2007)
