(no subject)
When many people think of water, they think of a water bottles or a water fountain. Of course water is none of this, these are only techniques in which water is brought to us. These techniques make it extremely hard for anyone to get water any other way.
When I think of water (as we use it now), I think of dams that kill fish or divert natural wild rivers. I think of the hundreds of artificial lakes in Oklahoma that are usually used as drinking water. I think of how many acres of wild lands were destroyed by these lakes in order to meet the demands of Tulsa's oil boom and population boom. I think of the fact that the water I drink everyday came from another place far away from me. In my case, "my" water came from either Lake Oologah or Lake Spavinaw, which are both 50 miles away from my home. I also think of economic growth, because water is what fuels industrialism. Tulsa would never have grown to 500,000 people if it weren't for the artificial lakes that feed it. Neither would New York City, nor Los Angeles, nor Chicago. Water is the cornerstone of life, but it is also the cornerstone of civilization's insatiable economic nature (Which gobbles up water).
Water has been domesticated by civilization. It has been filtered and manipulated to meet our needs (and not the land base). (I won't even go into the filtration procss.) It has been put in to plastic bottles (which are soaked in chemicals) and sold in soda machines (which are full of sugar). Water is also an expensive commodity. It is privatized, someone now owns it. It is no longer free Read any water bottle and you will see ("Our water comes from the Pristine(tm) and Pure waters of the Alps. We wait 50 years for the deep layers of pure snow to melt so that we can let you drink it." Do you actually believe this?).
Think of this: All water is made up of cells from long gone life-forms (and living life forms). This is amazing! This means, I could be drinking water that a dead Buffalo helped create by it's decay! Or... even a human being. When you transport large quantities of water to far off countries, you are not only living un-sustainable, you are also losing contact with your own landbase, since water is your landbase. In this way, water becomes another economic exploit. The life that it once lived and the life it once supported now becomes meaningless and taken for granted. Water? Big deal! For instance, golf courses use thousands and thousands of gallons of water in order to water it's acres weedy and bland non-indigenous grass, so that rich white, alienated, yankees can play their game of golf. Like that old sang: We will only know the value of water after it runs out.
The gentle fierceness of water that once created canyons, watersheds, that was once home to salmon, bears, eagles, wolves, and all of Life has been enslaved to technique, in my case, an artificial lake. The fierceness of water that once flowed free is now being held under arrest by huge dams (millions of them, 50,000 in the U.S.), but not for long. Water is still as fierce as ever. And now it's way more fierce, because war has been committed upon it! Slowly but surely it will break free and destroy the dams that mediate its flow. Free! The water will come crashing down. It's weight will destroy habitats, houses, towns, but in the long run, the land will be healthy once again. This is inevitable. One day, there will be a time when they will all run free, like any respectable river!
I'm selfish. I want water to be mine, the individual's. I don't want to be enslaved to the techniques of modern water purification. I want my water to be drinkable and I want the water where I get my water to be full of life. I don't want my water to be somewhere far away from me. I want it within walking distance. Most of all, I want contact with water! Contact! I want to marvel at it's life, as it's life passes me by. I want to explore it! Swim! In order for me to feel secure and free, water must be set free.
When I think of water (as we use it now), I think of dams that kill fish or divert natural wild rivers. I think of the hundreds of artificial lakes in Oklahoma that are usually used as drinking water. I think of how many acres of wild lands were destroyed by these lakes in order to meet the demands of Tulsa's oil boom and population boom. I think of the fact that the water I drink everyday came from another place far away from me. In my case, "my" water came from either Lake Oologah or Lake Spavinaw, which are both 50 miles away from my home. I also think of economic growth, because water is what fuels industrialism. Tulsa would never have grown to 500,000 people if it weren't for the artificial lakes that feed it. Neither would New York City, nor Los Angeles, nor Chicago. Water is the cornerstone of life, but it is also the cornerstone of civilization's insatiable economic nature (Which gobbles up water).
Water has been domesticated by civilization. It has been filtered and manipulated to meet our needs (and not the land base). (I won't even go into the filtration procss.) It has been put in to plastic bottles (which are soaked in chemicals) and sold in soda machines (which are full of sugar). Water is also an expensive commodity. It is privatized, someone now owns it. It is no longer free Read any water bottle and you will see ("Our water comes from the Pristine(tm) and Pure waters of the Alps. We wait 50 years for the deep layers of pure snow to melt so that we can let you drink it." Do you actually believe this?).
Think of this: All water is made up of cells from long gone life-forms (and living life forms). This is amazing! This means, I could be drinking water that a dead Buffalo helped create by it's decay! Or... even a human being. When you transport large quantities of water to far off countries, you are not only living un-sustainable, you are also losing contact with your own landbase, since water is your landbase. In this way, water becomes another economic exploit. The life that it once lived and the life it once supported now becomes meaningless and taken for granted. Water? Big deal! For instance, golf courses use thousands and thousands of gallons of water in order to water it's acres weedy and bland non-indigenous grass, so that rich white, alienated, yankees can play their game of golf. Like that old sang: We will only know the value of water after it runs out.
The gentle fierceness of water that once created canyons, watersheds, that was once home to salmon, bears, eagles, wolves, and all of Life has been enslaved to technique, in my case, an artificial lake. The fierceness of water that once flowed free is now being held under arrest by huge dams (millions of them, 50,000 in the U.S.), but not for long. Water is still as fierce as ever. And now it's way more fierce, because war has been committed upon it! Slowly but surely it will break free and destroy the dams that mediate its flow. Free! The water will come crashing down. It's weight will destroy habitats, houses, towns, but in the long run, the land will be healthy once again. This is inevitable. One day, there will be a time when they will all run free, like any respectable river!
I'm selfish. I want water to be mine, the individual's. I don't want to be enslaved to the techniques of modern water purification. I want my water to be drinkable and I want the water where I get my water to be full of life. I don't want my water to be somewhere far away from me. I want it within walking distance. Most of all, I want contact with water! Contact! I want to marvel at it's life, as it's life passes me by. I want to explore it! Swim! In order for me to feel secure and free, water must be set free.