The Triple Bottom Line : No Water, No Hope, No Chance
By Dirk HR Spennemann
26 Jun 2009
Most of New South Wales was gripped by a deep drought in 2008, a drought that started in some parts of the state in 2005 and that still continues.
For those of us driving along country roads the sight was heartbreaking:
- on the left a pasture eaten out to within an inch of its life;
- on the right a paddock of bare soil bearing dusty witness to bad land management practice;
- next to the road an irrigation channel that had been bone dry for months on end;
- irrigation wheels that had not turned for a very long time, overgrown with weeds and Patto's curse running rampant;
- dead sheep on the land, cracked up red soils, and the only green in sight were Paddy melons.
Worst of all, to my eyes, was the sight of many Callitris... both small and tall white cypress pines that had died because of the lack of water. I asked myself, if plants with tap roots can't make it, what can?
In 2008 I undertook a photographic project where every day I photographed the world reflected in the eyes of people around me (eyes } world { hands). I would have liked to seek out and photograph the eyes of those personally affected by the drought--but I did not have the courage to ask, nor did I have the heart to do so. It felt too cruel a request. Instead I chose to document the silent witnesses of the drought, and interpret them through the mechanical eye of my camera.
I took my title from the mantra of sustainable development. But there was little, if any sustainability in '08, neither social, nor economic, let alone environmental.
The triple bottom line of 2008, as I saw it, was NO WATER, NO HOPE, NO CHANCE
20 responses
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Paulo Rojas (Deleted) said (27 Jun 2009):
AMAZING ESSAY .VOTE.
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (27 Jun 2009):
Thanks! Annette, much appreciated!
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Michaela Krumrey gave props (27 Jun 2009):
Got my vote!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (27 Jun 2009):
Thanks Michaela!
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Jim Harris gave props (27 Jun 2009):
wow,, quite an interesting series !! very nicely done,, love the strong b&w images, really conveys your thoughts well
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Brian Betteridge gave props (27 Jun 2009):
got my vote. stunnind photo set.
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Mues Hsrestha said (28 Jun 2009):
Drought makes a worker dream
Muscles and fields of green
(Faith No More) -
Dirk HR Spennemann added a link (28 Jun 2009):
Here's the link to the eyes } world { hands project mentioned in the above story (www.jpgmag.com)
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Catherine Hadler gave props (30 Jun 2009):
well said and perfectly illustrated. what a tragedy
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Nathan Johansen gave props (9 Jul 2009):
So sad, but beautifully well done. Continue, please.
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (11 Jul 2009):
Thanks for the kind comments. Much appreciated!
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hervé said (11 Jul 2009):
Amazing story. How it's possible? Great reportage, Dirk.
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hervé gave props (11 Jul 2009):
Where to vote ??
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (12 Jul 2009):
not clear what happend, Charles, but it seems that voting is disabled for all stories across the site
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peter said (5 Aug 2009):
this is the future, isn't it? a great, great reportage!
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diana anderson gave props (6 Aug 2009):
fabulous photos of a sad happening.
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Melissa Thompson said (10 Aug 2009):
Amazing work!!
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Karen Roberts gave props (12 Aug 2009):
Well written. VOte yes!
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Mary Brown gave props (31 Aug 2009):
You have my vote! Excellent essay...and your amazing photos (with such appropriate titles) tell the story also. Very touching and sad.
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (31 Aug 2009):
Thanks for all the kind words, much appreciated! Would be great to see it in print one day!
