ITALY: OIL SPILL THREATENS ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

OIL SPILL BY SABOTEURS IN ITALY
FLOWS INTO PO RIVER, SAYS WWF

ROME (ANSA) - An oil spill that fouled a small river in northern Italy reached the Po River on Wednesday, with officials warning of an ecological disaster as they scrambled to contain the sludge before it contaminated Italy's longest and most important river. This oil spill began early on Tuesday when someone broke into the plant near Monza, now an oil depot, and opened the taps, Italian news reports said. Milan regional officials said the cause was certainly sabotage at a former refinery turned oil depot, since the cisterns were opened and the oil allowed to flow unimpeded into a tributary, the Lambro River near Monza. The cisterns "were opened by someone who was familiar with the plant and knew how to operate them," said authorities. Officials believed 2.5 million liters (660,000 gallons) had poured out. Barriers were set up in the Lambro in an effort to stop the slick from spreading, but they were overcome by a “tide of unstoppable oil”, according to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Lombardy officials insisted that there was no risk to people or to drinking water, but said agriculture was at risk, with farmers relying on the Po to irrigate their crops, this Po river crosses the country from Piedmont in the west, across Turin and Ferrara before emptying into the Adriatic sea. Environmentalists warned that several water and bird species were at risk from the spill, since the area is rich in bird and other wildlife. But even after the spill is cleaned up the impact will last as the Po river valley is the most important agricultural region in Italy, and the Po is used extensively for irrigation, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature noted.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Our present environmental crisis is in essence a spiritual crisis. ... Inhibitions to the exploitation of nature vanished as the Church took the “spirits” out of the trees, mountains, and seas. ... It made nature man's monopoly. This materialist paradigm has dominated the modern world for last few centuries. The current deplorable condition demands a spiritual response. ... One of the measures that could help a great deal to fulfill this need is to regenerate and rejuvenate basic values of Hindu culture and propagate them.

Śrīla Bhakti Vedanta Tripurari Mahārāja :
“Ancient Wisdom for Modern Ignorance”
Published in 1994 by Clarion Call Pub.
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Nature_Worship.htm