Radical Joy for the Ohio River: People Binding the Earth, the 2018 Global Earth Exchange

 

It’s time for some Radical Joy for the Ohio River, part of People Binding the Earth, the 2018 Global Earth Exchange.

The Ohio River is the most polluted river in the United States. The Ohio River, which has given us so much life, needs and deserves our love and acknowledgment of a deeper connection, more now than ever.

During this 2018 Global Earth Exchange, we will gather at noon at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington,West Virginia, to be in solidarity with the Ohio River. We will meet near the boat ramp to tell stories about our connection to and concerns for the river, sing songs to the river, do readings, and make art as a gift to honor the Ohio River.

For decades, our river, which serves as a water source for three to five million people, has suffered due atmospheric deposition, and pollution run-off and waste disposal from power plants, coal mining, chemical manufacturing, and agricultural industries.

The latest threat comes from the oil and gas industries’ fracking of the Marcellus, Utica and other deep shale formations. Additionally, the oil and gas industry disposes of its radioactive wastes both underground and in landfills adjacent to the Ohio River, threatening drinking water supplies both now and into the future.

Construction of pipelines under the Ohio River for the transportation of gas and liquid gas products are also underway or in the planning phase.

Fish advisories are numerous on many segments of the Ohio River. We know our river is in dire straits when we cannot eat the fish!

This Global Earth Exchange 2018 is co-sponsored by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC), Marshall University Native American Student Organization, Four-pole Creek Watershed Association, and other member groups of the Tri-State Water Defense Network. 

On June 16, the Tri-State Water Defense Network will also take part in the Ohio River Sweep and the 2nd Annual Huntington Pride Picnic.

If you want to help spread word of the event via fliers, e-mail [email protected] and we will send you a pdf of the image below that you can print. You could also make arrangements to stop by the office in West Huntington to pick up some already printed fliers.

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An organizer of the global event sent this note to OVEC and MU NASO: 

Thank you for joining People Binding the Earth, the 2018 Global Earth Exchange, and bringing attention and beauty to the Ohio River. You’ll be joining people around the world who refuse to give up on the places they love just because those places are going through hard times!

It is an honor that this august coalition of groups—OVEC, Marshall University Native American Student Organization, Fourpole Creek Watershed Association, and Tri-State Water Defense—is coming together to make gifts and stories for a river that has given so much to so many.

See a list of the events taking place worldwide here.

From Radical Joy for Hard Times:

We can’t wait any longer to love the places we’re losing!

Every day the places we love are disappearing because of human and climactic forces!
Even as we work to protect and restore them, we must live with them and love them as they are,  just as we do with a dear friend who’s suffering hard times.

Now is the time to show our love for these places with bold acts of beauty!

START SPREADING THE GOLD ON JUNE 16
Starting with this year’s Global Earth Exchange on June 16, we’ll use golden yarn and found materials to declare our refusal to abandon the places we love just because they’re polluted, cut down, paved, or damaged! When you register on our website, you’ll receive 8 feet of organic yarn that you can weave into your gift of beauty for the place.  

JOIN PEOPLE BINDING THE EARTH!
Following the Global Earth Exchange, you can continue to join others around the world to call attention to damaged places wherever you find them! With your golden yarn, you can mend cracks… bind what’s broken… bundle stray bits… and of course make the RadJoy Bird that is our symbol. Every time you make an act of beauty, we’ll put your photo and story on our website and social media. Together we’ll let the world know that the bond between people and their places cannot be broken!

You can register your Global Earth Exchange on our website anytime between now and June 15.

Let’s bring the orphaned places of the Earth back into the web of life with gifts of gold!

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