Photo credit: Philip Thurston

Water: The Blue Planet

For thousands of years water has been used to communicate the sacred value of life across human cultures, symbolising purification, protection and healing. It comprises 70 per cent of our bodies, forms the matrix of our cells, lubricates our joints, regulates our body temperature and flushes waste products from our system. We are bathed in it before birth, we drink it when thirsty, wash in it to clean and refresh our bodies and minds. Without water we would die within days. 

Photo credit: Griet van Malderen

The Importance of Water

On the planetary scale, water is vital to maintaining the composition of our atmosphere, cycling moisture through evaporation from oceans and lakes that nourishes the cloud-filled skies, then replenishes those same oceans and lakes with rainfall. By moving heat from the equator towards the poles, ocean currents play an important role in controlling the climate and are vital to sea life. They carry nutrients and food to organisms that live permanently attached to one place, and carry reproductive cells and ocean life to new locations.

Origins of Water

New research suggests that Earth’s water came both from rocky material, such as an asteroid bombardment in the days of the early solar system, and from the solar nebula, the vast cloud of dust and gas remaining after the sun’s formation. Some 70 per cent of our planet is covered with water, with the oceans holding almost all of it. Only 2.5 per cent of it is fresh water and of that just 1.2 per cent is surface water. Though the grandeur of our rivers, lakes, icecaps and glaciers catches the eye, 97 per cent of the planet’s liquid fresh water is buried beneath the ground in sponge-like aquifers, the primary source of drinking water for more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. 

Island Paradises

Angie was born in the coastal city of Alexandria in Egypt, and spent her childhood in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, where boats, water-skiing and photography were her passions. Her love of the sea has taken us around the world, from the enchanted Galapagos islands that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to the world’s second largest island country of Madagascar with its endemic lemurs and chameleons. More recently we sailed the southern archipelago of Myanmar where the lights of fishing boats twinkled all around at night as they voraciously plied the waters for fish and squid. Closer to home, Diani Beach on the Kenya coast has the bluest water and whitest beaches we had ever set eyes on – until we visited the Maldives in the north-central Indian Ocean, a nation of some 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks. Immersing ourselves in the Maldives crystal clear waters soothed away the chattering voices of urban living, the incessant hum of cars and trains, the endless throbbing music. Suddenly it’s just you and the fishes and a deeply relaxing silence, your breathing creating a rhythm as soothing as the sound of a child’s heartbeat, reminding you of the miracle of your own existence. And then there is Japan, an island nation with a distinctive culture and unique traditions, where respect and politeness proved a welcome respite from the cult of the individual. We savoured our meeting with a Zen master at the Kodaiji Gesshin-in Temple for an introduction to traditional Zazen meditation. The chief priest challenged us to live in the moment, to accept life as it is, to understand that nothing – our life, our thoughts – is permanent, believing that there is always room for change: these are universal truths that transcend religion. 

Cause for Concern

Vast and unspoilt as the deep blue ocean might seem, humankind’s careless and extravagant ways are imprinted throughout its watery void, with a tide of plastic bottles and refuse as common as seaweed. Even more insidious is the devastation at a microscopic level, with manmade waste embedded in the heart of organic life and in its cells. With an unsustainable global commercial fishing industry and the devastating impact of global warming on coral reefs our oceans are in trouble. 

 In an ever more thirsty world, the warning signs of our impact on weather systems are staring us in the face: hurricanes and tsunamis wreak devastation on human settlement, while melting glaciers and rising tides are further indications of our destructive impact on the planet. Of all the Earth’s ecosystems, those composed of fresh water have suffered most from human activities – farming and industry, water extraction and pollution, over-harvesting of species and the introduction of invasives, along with climate change. More than 20 per cent of the 10,000 known fresh-water fish species have become extinct or imperilled in recent decades.

How you can help

People often ask us “how can we help?” It is easy to believe that as individuals our voices will never be heard; that we are powerless to make a difference, that we must wait for someone else to make the changes we believe are needed, that the government can and will fix it. But reconnecting people to nature and protecting our natural environment is an urgent mission of global proportions that needs a global response. That is why we created the SNI, to amplify our message of “inspire and educate if we are to conserve.” And it starts with you. Each of us must choose to be better informed about the environment. Knowledge gives us power. Only by knowing and understanding the issues and challenges we now face can we hope to conserve the things that are important. And what could be more important than a healthy natural environment for all? It starts at home by changing our way of doing things, Step by Step the Sacred Nature Way.

Donations

Many people tell us they would like to donate to an organisation that reflects their interests and has the ability to effect change. One of the key functions of the SNI is to inform you about what we believe is working in the field of conservation and what isn’t. It might be a particular species that interests you - lions, elephants, tiger, gorillas, pangolins or penguins. Or you may want to support an organisation that focuses on a particular ecosystem that you have visited such as the Mara-Serengeti or one that you feel mirrors your concerns. For each ecosystem highlighted in our Sacred Nature books and on the SNI Website we have identified organisations that we believe are making a difference and reflect the SNI ethos of Inspire-Educate-Conserve. And of course the SNI cannot fulfil its mission without both the emotional and financial support of sponsors and donors. If you would like to support our work please reach out to us at:

hello@sacrednatureinitiative.com

Additional resources: Water

We have included here additional resources such as books, articles, videos, podcasts and websites of organisations making a significant contribution to Reconnecting People to Our Planet and pioneering change.

Silent Spring: Rachel Carson: Houghton Mifflin, 1962.
Widely considered the most important environmental book of the 20th century, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was reissued in 2012 after 50 years. Please read Margaret Atwoods excellent overview of the wide-ranging and lasting impact of Rachel Carson’s classic work: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/07/why-rachel-carson-is-a-saint

The Unnatural History of the Sea: Callum Roberts: Island Press, 2009
Examines the more destructive things happening to the ocean, tracing the roots of overfishing, and the sequence of events that led us to today’s depleted ocean. It takes you back to a time when people believed the oceans were essentially inexhaustible.

The Rime of the Modern Mariner: Nick Hayes: Jonathan Cape, 2011
A tale of environmental disaster. This graphic novel is a beautiful re-telling of Coleridge’s poem for our modern plastic-filled times, with a really chilling message about our consumer-driven lives and its consequences on our planet. Poignant and beautifully illustrated with lots of science too.

When the Rivers Run Dry: Water-The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century: Fred Pearce: Beacon Press, 2007

The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-First Century: Alex Prud’homme: Scribner, 2012

Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind: Brian Fagan: Bloomsbury

Waterlog: Roger Deakin: Chatto & Windus, 1999
Subtitled 'A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain, Waterlog combines a classic quest narrative with a new way of writing about the natural world. Inspired by John Cheever’s classic short story “The Swimmer”, Roger Deakin set out from his moat in Suffolk to swim through the British Isles. The result of his journey is a maverick work of observation and imagination. From his ‘frog’s eye view’, Deakin presents a uniquely personal impression of an island race and a people with a deep, instinctive affinity with water. Taking in cultural history, autobiography and natural history, the book asserts a wild swimmer’s right to roam and helped turn a niche interest into a nationwide obsession.

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