S2, E5: Will we run out of water? We need to talk about eco-anxiety
In the fifth episode of season two, We Need to Talk about Eco-Anxiety, Clover sets on a journey to uncover our relationship with water and how this vital element is at the core of the climate crisis.
Firstly, Clover meets water rights activist, Beze Gray, to analyse why water rights & scarcity will become an increasingly ubiquitous problem for all. Later on, young people around the world share how our fractious relationship with water worsens their eco-anxiety. We then hear from our resident psychotherapist, Caroline Hickman, on how water can represent the human ego; and finally, Frantz and Oya from P&G to discuss why water scarcity will lead to global conflict and how innovation can help mitigate future water wars.
Featuring…
Beze Gray: Indigenous Water and Land Activist
Beze Gray is an Anishnaabe land/water protector and student from Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario and is one of seven young people taking the Ford government to court for weakening Ontario’s 2030 climate target. Growing up in an area near Sarnia also known as Chemical Valley, Beze has witnessed the impacts of the fossil fuel industry firsthand.
Three things we talked about in the episode:
What it was like for Beze to grow up in Canada's "chemical valley", living through the direct impacts of the fossil fuel industry;
The intersections between water, land rights, and the climate crisis; and
What we can learn from indigenous communities to restore our relationship with water.
Caroline Hickman, resident psychotherapist
Caroline is a psychotherapist from the University of Bath, who has spent years researching children and young people’s relationships with nature and feelings about the climate and ecological crisis; in the UK, Maldives, South Pacific and other communities already affected by rising sea levels.
In their conversation, Caroline and Clover discuss how our relationship to water epitomises how we've come to commodify nature, and how we've tried to excerpt control over it.
Frantz and Oya from P&G
Frantz Beznik is the Global Head of Sustainable Innovation at Procter & Gamble - a company selling products to 5 billion people every day. With more than 20 years of experience at P&G, Frantz is a passionate leader working across big brands like Tide, Ariel, Swiffer, and Mr Clean. His obsession is to “Make Sustainable Irresistible” - with his most recent innovation being the 50L home, which aims to lower urban water consumption.
Oya Öngör is Senior Vice President Europe Homecare at Procter & Gamble.
Quotes from the episode
"The water systems don't belong to anyone. It's just water. You can't have ownership of that. It's a western thing to say you own the water. Indigenous people would never do that. It just flows. "
- Beze Gray
"The symbolism of water is really the way to understand it. Water does not respect us, we need to respect water. Water doesn't respect boundaries; it flows across boundaries. Will we ever wake up to respect the natural cycle, or will we ruin it for everyone?"
- Caroline Hickman
With thanks this episode’s sponsor,
Procter & Gamble
Interested in sponsoring Season 3? Email media@forceofnature.xyz
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Read the Bloom
Will we run out of water?
Six years ago, at the age of sixteen, I moved from the bitter Peruvian summer into the unbearable winter of Stockholm. Whilst I was startled by…
Have you listened to season 1 yet?
In this 9-part series, Clover sits down with the people who are leading the charge: from the woman who started a global movement out of her backyard; to the lawyer responsible for the world’s most historic climate agreement; and a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
A Force of Nature and OneFinePlay production
Director: Clover Hogan
Studio: OneFinePlay
Executive producer: James Bishop
Editor & producer: Kasra Firouzyar
Producer & researcher: Connor Foley
Additional creative support: Selena Christofides
With special thanks to everyone who makes Force of Nature possible!
Phoebe Hanson, Kathleen Hamilton, Alejandra Arias, Sacha Wright, Julia Sams, Vida Han, Zineb Jaoudat and Rohan Shah.