I've been reading a fascinating book entitled, When the Rivers Run Dry: Water - The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century. The writer looks at rivers around the world and notes that many of the world's river systems are in danger from overuse and pollution. One consistent theme is that rivers, which contain much of the available fresh water for the world, are very complex systems. Changing one part of the system has effects that can not be anticipated in other parts of the river system.
His writing reminded me of a speech I heard recently by the writer of the book, The Swamp, about the Everglades and how they have been acted upon in so many ways, with consequences that have been unanticipated. Like the rivers, the Everglades are a complex hydrological system that changes of one part have unanticipated, and usually desultory effects on others. The writer began his presentation by quoting Genesis 1 and the mandate given human beings to "subdue and rule" over creation. He argued that mandate was the philosophical underpinning of all the work that had been done that almost destroyed the Everglades.
What I found interesting is that while it is a common reading of Genesis 1 that ruling and subduing allows humans to do whatever we want to creation, it is a misreading. The text actually follows the creation of human beings in the "image" of God. As those created in God's image, we are to "subdue and rule". The key to understanding the text is in figuring out what it means to be created in "God's image". Here, the word used for image is helpful. It means a statue that a ruler would make and place in cities throughout his or her rule to represent that rule in places they could not be. Thus, to be created in God's image means to be God's representatives on the earth, to show forth God's rule on earth. Thus, we are to "subdue and rule" in ways that are in line with how God "subdues and rules", which we see most clearly in Jesus Christ.
Of course, this does not solve all the issues that arise around rivers, and the Everglades, nor suggest any simple solutions that take care of people who need water and the sources of that water. It does, however, suggest a different starting point for our actions that reflect the will of our Creator and the rivers' Creator.