Will Our Children Ever Forgive Us?

I held off on this post until I actually finished this fascinating book.  "Living Downstream" by Sandra Steingraber was a phenomenal book that scared the hell out of me, made me cringe, made me angry, made me cry, and most of all made me stop and evaluate pretty well every part of my life.  In this book she beautifully intertwines the science behind the toxins in our world with her own personal story.  We hear how the chemicals we put on our land to control pests or weeds or any number of things, as well as the toxins and waste that are dumped in our landfills among other places effect us on a cellular level.  She talks about the research process and the legislation that has been passed.  She talks about the people that have been effected by it all.  Everything from the ground to our food to our air to our water has been effected.  It doesn't paint a pretty picture for our future.

I found myself asking time and time again about the cost of such practices. (The practices of growing only one government subsidized crop which requires the use of more and more fertilizers and pesticides, the practice of creating genetically engineered crops because the amount of pesticides and fertilizers needed is killing the strains we have, the practice of allowing even "low levels" of certain toxins in our water supply or air, the practice of burning our waste which releases newer and uglier toxins into the air etc, etc, etc.)  How will we recover from such damage?  Is it even possible to recover from the damage we've already done?  How have we so completely lost sight of our neighbors and children to allow for this?  Why is this information not more commonly known?  Will our children ever forgive us?

Maybe most importantly, this book has caused me to think of my children.  Granted I don't have any children, but one day I will and I worry about the world I will bring them into.  Not only is it the world I will bring them into but the world that will be effecting them before they are even born, that will be seeping into their blood and tissue and impacting their future development.  I feel helpless to this fact.  Simply by living and breathing and being in a place that has potential toxins lurking around every corner as well as having a body which could very well be full of those same toxins just ready to strike both myself or my unborn children is enough to make me weep.  And yet, I'm not powerless.  Changing all of this is a daunting task but it is possibly the only task worth pursuing other than for the sheer question: Will our children ever forgive us?