It can be difficult to conceptualize the fact that the earth has finite resources which are shared by every person on every continent. I mean, the dirt beneath my feet is beneath my feet, not someone else's. The water I use in my daily life is delivered to the tap in my house. I breathe in air every second. I'm not at a loss for resources, and therefore I rarely come to a point where I am forced to think of how they are shared and distributed across the earth.
I had the opportunity to live in Ghana a few years ago and the lack of resources really became apparent in many ways. One way in particular was the resource of electricity by way of water. Most of the electricity in Ghana is hydroelectric. Therefore, if there isn't rain, there isn't enough water behind the dam, and if there isn't enough water behind the dam, no water will be allowed to flow through the turbines and create electricity. I was living in Ghana in the months before the country hosted the African Cup of Nations. Suffering from a long-term drought, Ghana was facing the potential of a lack of electricity whilst the continent, and the world, visited and watched the festivities. In order to conserve water behind the dam and ensure full electricity during the football tournament, the country was experiencing rolling blackouts.
When the electricity went out, the fridge couldn't be open for the duration, or the food would all spoil in the heat, the internet wouldn't work, the lights, the air conditioning, the telephone, the fans. In the Western world we rarely butt up against the lack of resources like water or electricity, and any restraint in their use is generally self prescribed. It was at that point that it really hit home for me that the lack of resources is real and affects the daily life of millions of people around the planet.
It was in reading Vandana Shiva that I became aware of the idea that the atmosphere, the air we breathe, is the most quickly transferred and shared natural resources. Winds blow, air masses move, and the air I'm breathing into my lungs right now has been all over the world. The atmosphere is the one resource that no one owns and that we all share. And yet we don't all pollute it equally.
I had the opportunity to live in Ghana a few years ago and the lack of resources really became apparent in many ways. One way in particular was the resource of electricity by way of water. Most of the electricity in Ghana is hydroelectric. Therefore, if there isn't rain, there isn't enough water behind the dam, and if there isn't enough water behind the dam, no water will be allowed to flow through the turbines and create electricity. I was living in Ghana in the months before the country hosted the African Cup of Nations. Suffering from a long-term drought, Ghana was facing the potential of a lack of electricity whilst the continent, and the world, visited and watched the festivities. In order to conserve water behind the dam and ensure full electricity during the football tournament, the country was experiencing rolling blackouts.
When the electricity went out, the fridge couldn't be open for the duration, or the food would all spoil in the heat, the internet wouldn't work, the lights, the air conditioning, the telephone, the fans. In the Western world we rarely butt up against the lack of resources like water or electricity, and any restraint in their use is generally self prescribed. It was at that point that it really hit home for me that the lack of resources is real and affects the daily life of millions of people around the planet.
It was in reading Vandana Shiva that I became aware of the idea that the atmosphere, the air we breathe, is the most quickly transferred and shared natural resources. Winds blow, air masses move, and the air I'm breathing into my lungs right now has been all over the world. The atmosphere is the one resource that no one owns and that we all share. And yet we don't all pollute it equally.
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