Tom Suozzi

Pope Francis, Long Island and water

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Pope Francis issued an encyclical last month that focuses on our responsibility for and connections to the environment and the poor. I’ve only read the first half of “Laudato Si’,” but I’m already excited that the pope is calling attention to the need to protect and preserve “our common home,” and to the connection between the poor and the fragility of the Earth.

The more I read the pope’s words, the more topics from recent years and days came to mind.

About a year ago, I heard a congressman speak about a Department of Defense report that focused on the threats the U.S. will face in 2030. The world will probably have about 1.2 billion more people. The middle class will grow — not in the U.S., but in Brazil, China, India and Russia. People will live longer, but there will be less money available to take care of them.

There will be more technology and robots. A much higher percentage of people will be living in urban areas. Most important, the greatest source of conflict will not be land, energy or any of the other traditional sources. Battles will be fought over water. This isn’t to scare you, but rather to assess our future potential problems and act.

Water is the most basic source of life. More than half of our body weight is water. Pope Francis wrote that “our very bodies are made up of [Earth’s] elements.” He covered dozens of issues, but described water as a “basic, human right” and noted the “grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water.”

He went on to discuss our oceans, lakes and rivers, and disturbing climate events. Think about all the water-related issues we hear about day after day, month after month. Water affects everyone, and the people of Long Island have an intimate connection with it.

During Hurricane Sandy, our friend the ocean wreaked havoc. Climate change-related events all over the world are devastating coastal areas. Remember the suffering our friends and families felt here, and then imagine the places in the world that are far worse off than we are.

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