Talk on the cultural history of water
I had the pleasure of being invited to the annual meeting of Danish planning directors to give a presentation on the cultural history of water and to remind the audience that environmental problems are, to a large extent, culturally produced. To reach the goals of the green transition, we must change our understanding of water’s significance for life in the landscape.
Water is the very basis of life – a source of growth, movement, and transformation. Our country is shaped, divided, and connected by water in all its forms – as rain, snow, ice, and flowing streams. Roads are washed away, basements flood, and the sea threatens to claim our coasts. Water reveals its power when storms and cloudbursts strike, reminding us that the land we think we control is, in fact, shaped by and subject to the forces of water. For centuries, we have adapted and built our houses, roads, and infrastructure in this landscape, often precisely where the water naturally wishes to flow as it follows the contours of the terrain.