I read two very interesting stories in the local paper. The first story announced that the Army Corp of Engineers was readying new releases of fresh water into the Saint Lucie River from Lake Okeechobee. The second had to do with the annual rebuilding of Bathtub Beach and having the next door tony community of Sailfish Point contribute financially to the effort. These two acts only illustrate how powerless we really are in the face of the natural world and how we refuse to recognize it.

Hutchinson Island, like every barrier island, was naturally formed to protect the actual shoreline from the impact of the ocean. These islands are of huge importance for the creation of wetlands by controlling the impact of waves on the mainland side of the islands. Coastal ecosystem could not exist without them.  While man may covet the view, nature never meant for these protective barriers to be sites for expensive homes or any permanent structures.

If we did not permit building on these islands then man could enjoy these wonders in their intended state. There would be no roads to protect. We could stop the subsidization of insurance on homes and condos that weren’t meant to be built. We, in our mistaken belief that man knows best, disregard common sense to think we can hold back the forces of the sea.  When King Canute couldn’t hold back the waves crashing on shore by his command, he stated, “let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings.”  Our government is not as smart. We continue to believe that these homes will be spared from the next hurricane or just natural erosion. Instead of seeing that the beach is the entire island, we focus on rebuilding a narrow strip extending into the water. There is no ebb and flow. No matter who contributes funds to this insanity, eventually the ocean will win.

Lake Okeechobee, while one of the largest lakes in the United States, is also one of the shallowest.  Nature meant the lake to overflow its banks periodically sending fresh water to replenish the ecosystem to the south. Again man through the Army Corp of Engineers, wanted to protect those who had foolishly settled by the Lake’s edge. Their mandate was and is to dredge the swamps and allow agriculture and home builders to tame the frontier. By seeking to change the natural environment we have only succeeded in the decimation of the Saint Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon while providing for subsidized sugar and unneeded subdivisions.

From the smallest atom to the most complex eco system there is sanctity and holiness of purpose in the natural world. There is no denying that everything on the earth is interconnected. When man alone (or collectively through government) changes anything, then there are consequences.  One cannot truly believe in a Deity and then treat His creation with such arrogance. Even if one does not believe in a supreme being, does not the divinity of the natural world speak for itself?  The continued disregard for natural law will only prove how idiotic man really is. To quote Mark Twain, “Every civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction”.