2023-04-24 07:25:39
Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva.
This week, we are talking about the theme of water. We will see that it is a raw material. We will ask ourselves the question: what is World Water Day? We will take as an example the tensions that exist between Egypt and Ethiopia over water.
This gives us the opportunity to admire the painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) La Yole which is a painting made in 1875 and exhibited at the National Gallery in London.
Water is a raw material
The raw materials are divided into 5 groups according to their origin:
We can see that blue gold is one of the most used raw materials and is part of our daily life:
- of plant origin: cotton, wood, flax, cellulose, latex, cereals, fruits and vegetables, seeds, wheat, etc.
- of animal origin: fur, wool, leather, silk, milk, meat, etc.
- of mineral origin: iron, gold, copper, silicon, silver, minerals, etc.
- of liquid or gaseous origin: water, hydrogen, oxygen, air, nitrogen, etc.
- of fossil origin: natural gas, oil, diamonds, precious stones, etc.
world water day
Since 1993, World Water Day has been celebrated every year on March 22, to raise awareness of the importance and the need for access for all. Indeed, water is a right and not a privilege. This right is also enshrined in one of the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030.
Water is a major problem with episodes of drought multiplying all over the world.
In 2022, there were cases of water-related deaths in Lebanon. Due to failing infrastructure, polluted water has favored the return of cholera.
The number of death cases has decreased significantly in Lebanon since the beginning of the year.
Major tensions over water: The Egypt-Ethiopia example
Geopolitically, dams can generate major tensions between countries that share the same river. Take the example of the Nile.
Since 1959, Egypt has had a right of veto on all works that could modify the flow of the Nile. Ethiopia, for its part, has built the so-called Renaissance dam to regain control over the flow of the river.
The Egyptian government threatens to resort to arms if its water supply is no longer guaranteed.
Renoir’s Yole
In his test, Bourgeois leisure on the Seine : Impressionnismauthor Tricia Cussack describes the atmosphere of the scene.
In the same series, “Raw materials and art”:
- Cereals and Van Gogh
- Coffee and culture
- Cotton and Edgar Degas
- Cocoa and Luis Meléndez
- Sugar and Sartre
- Copper and Chardin
- Steel and Gayle Hermick
- Corn and Jean Mortel
- Biogas and Victor Hugo
- Hydrogen and the aerostatic globe
- The wind, Da Vinci and Monnet
- The Sun and Firedrich
- L’or et Klimt
- Barley and antiquity
- Le soja et Seikei Zusetsu
- L’aluminium et Jule Verne
- Le riz and Morimura Gitō
- Money and the Elblag Museum
- Tin and Jean Trek
- Oats and Géricault
- Milk and Vermeer
Sources :
Raw material: definition and explanations – AquaPortail
SDG6 – Guarantee access to water and sanitation for all and ensure sustainable management of water resources – The 2030 Agenda in France (agenda-2030.fr)
Significant drop in the number of cholera cases in Lebanon | UN News
Water, the issue of war and peace of the 21st century – Le Temps
Renoir, La Yole – ColourLex
Photo credit : Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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#Raw #materials #art #Water #Renoir