This week it was very interesting to consider the physical ways in which the world is connected. Although some places may be very far from each other they are connected by the very fact that they are on this planet and therefore coexist, each affected in a different way by the ever changing climate.
This Netflix episode that I had watched before came to mind as it discusses the water crisis and how water is not treated with as much care as it should be, since access to it is decreasing and it is still priced low in comparison to its value. The water crisis in Cape Town in 2018 I thought was an interesting contrast to the readings for this week which involved the sea levels rising in Cape Town due to ice melting in Iceland. On the one hand, water is rising and on the other drinkable water is increasingly difficult to sustain for the whole planet.
An academic paper that I found to back up this water issue is by Leichenko & O'Brien (2008), where it is illustrated how the water supply is often artificially restricted in order to gain monetary gains, where marketisation adds to the already detrimental effects of climate change.
"... those experiencing the negative effects of climate change often simultaneously feel the negative effects of economic globalization. The outcomes from climate change and economic globalization overlap extensively when it comes to water resources" (p. 7)
This quote can be linked to Dr. Esteban Devis-Amaya’s lecture, where the question of governance is raised. It seems that in terms of the water supply, the action against climate change and melting ice, there is not much that the average person can do as they do not have complete governance, especially those experiencing the "negative effects of economic globalisation". In this context, it seems that the elite are the ones that have control and choose to exploit.
The poem that we were asked to read for this week, called Rise (see it here), performed by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner and Aka Niviâna, is also one that can be linked to ideas of governance. In this case, it illustrates the people on the lower end, who have a lack of governance. The two poets make a desperate cry for help for their natural lands are being affected by climate change. Their lands (Marshall Islands and Greenland) are connected by the change of the flow of water and, as a consequence, they unite in their suffering and use their personal experiences to illustrate how the lack of consideration for people that suffer the consequences of globalisation and climate change has reached a painful level. Particularly, the poem uses personification of nature to illustrate their own personal governance to the land, where often a spiritual connection is felt. An example of such a personification is:
"sisters of ice and snow"
In the video, there is also the imagery of the stones and the seashells that are physical representations of the two islands that are addressed. These physical representations lead me to search for any other physical art pieces that have been used to illustrate the world's water flows. I came across an art installation by two Finnish artists, Timo Aho and Pekka Niittyvirta (see here), which is set up in Scotland. It is a light installation that makes use of sensors that activate and correlate to the rising tides.
"The work provokes a dialogue on how the rising sea levels will affect coastal areas, its inhabitants and land usage in the future."
I particularly like this installation because it provides a visual for the rising water that can be interpreted in a more concrete manner. It is easy to talk about the rise in water levels and not fully grasp its influence since it is not always plainly obvious to the average person just by looking at a body of water. It also shows that the changes are not stuck in the binary, water levels can be changing slightly everyday, even if they are overall rising or falling.
References
Netflix (2020, 17 April). Explained | World's Water Crisis [Video File]. Youtube.
O’Brien, K. L., & Leichenko, R. M. (2008). Climate Change, Globalization and Water Scarcity.
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