

The Hydrosphere ~
according to akcg
We find ourselves at a mental point located at the North pole. From here we can overlook a world with rising temperatures, melting ice, opened waterways and new oil fields. Conflict lines. A cartography under increasingly tense negotiation.
By conversing with others we try to understand the links that tie south and north together. Water, oil and financial capital. A step out of the fog. We see contradictory powers in motion. Swedish authorities offer billions in support to fossil energy projects in the areas now opened for extraction when the ice of the Cap of the North/Sápmi melts away. Even though we have drinking water directly from the taps in our homes, we buy water sold in plastic bottles, branded as ”pure”. Some municipalities even call drinking water “a product”. The fact that plastic is a product, petrochemical at that: we all know.
We live on a small planet with a unique system that has evolved during millions of years. The atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere… how can we grasp that we, ourselves, are part of all this? Earth is covered by water to 70%. The human body consists of up to 65% water. All existing water has flown through other bodies, through tree trunks, rivers, oceans, as tears, as rain, as fog. It has streamed through the mouths of fish, over Cleopatra’s cheeks and the tongues of dinosaurs. Who has the right to own, sell, buy or poison water?
A new logic is growing beyond quarterly reports.
The Whanganui river in New Zealand is the first river in the world to receive its’ own rights. Everything is in everything. We are water!

