I was looking at some pictures of birds I have taken, the other day. One of my favourites is of a kingfisher (see above). They are incredibly quick in flight, so normally all you will see is an orange and blue blur. To see one sitting, looking for breakfast, is incredible. It’s when you realise what it really means to have your breath taken away.

Who Cares?

With pollution flowing down our rivers faster than bungs and donations passing through the hands of Tory MP’s, the kingfisher is in big danger. It might not know it just yet, but instinctively, it must realise something ain’t quite right. A bit like the aisles of a British supermarket, fresh food is becoming scarce for the kingfisher. The fish that are left for it to eat, are rotting inside out. They are full of disease and bereft of natural river food that has been killed off by sewage, chemical spills and intensive farming.

Not many people care. Well, that’s a lie actually. A lot of people care but the balance is still in favour of those who don’t. Who really cares about a kingfisher when they have just had a £300 gas bill? If those who don’t care, looked further, they would see a link. High bills, inflation, and the ruination of health and education services are all linked to a poisoned environment. Unfortunately, I am shit at Venn diagrams and don’t really get them. If I did, inflation, education, health and the environment would all fit into one.

Education, Inflation and Scraping By

If children aren’t properly educated about the environment, it’s not a good start. Then, when they go into the working world where scraping a living is the exception rather than the norm, a kingfisher is the last thing they are worried about. This becomes more apparent when poor diet and health sets in. Meanwhile, those profiting from pollution and pushing health services towards privatisation, get richer, more or less unchallenged.

The rivers of a country are its veins. When veins are full of poison, if they go untreated, the body dies. Once that happens, the situation is irreversible and it won’t just be the kingfisher that is dead. Every bird, fish and mammal will be rotting inside out. The natural food chain will be in tatters, supermarkets will be empty and fresh water will be like liquid gold.

The only species left will be humans in castles. The ones who ruled the country, then killed and robbed, the fucking lot, whilst standing next to a Union Jack.

True patriots.
https://saveourrivers.org/