The Downstream Effects of our Work

I heard this story some years ago that has stuck in my mind. It was about a village that depended on a mountain stream for their water. For years, at the top of that stream, there was an old man who made it his work to keep the stream clear of debris, twigs and logs that could cause it to become polluted or stagnant. No one really paid any attention to this man, until one day he stopped doing this job. In short order, that pristine spring fed stream became muddy and gross. No one had valued...