Post-apocalyptic films usually reference, and sometimes show, a bit of the path mankind took to get to a shared place of ruin, but rarely do they show the paradoxical beauty that can be found in man’s looming undoing. Maybe that’s because few could imagine there’d be any measure of beauty in that process. But with us traveling that path in real time, we see all manner of horrifically arresting, often breathtaking sights. Last week, Reuters ran a piece on sinkholes that are appearing in the wake of the drying up of the Dead Sea, and some of the images, in their very desolateness, as they capture both the majesty and vindictiveness of a wounded Mother Nature, are gorgeous.
Sinkhole on shore of the Dead Sea, Israel July 27, 2015 REUTERS/Amir Cohen.
In the article, journalist Ari Rabinovitch writes, “The main reason the sea is shrinking is because its natural water sources, which flow south through the Jordan river valley from Syria and Lebanon, have been diverted for farming and drinking water along the way. Mining operations account for the remaining 30 percent of the deterioration, according to Israel’s parliamentary research group.”
The piece was the latest in the countless articles over the last several years sounding the alarm about the impending global water crisis, and was especially reminiscent of the many articles published recently about Brazil’s severe water issues. (Brazil is, of course, literally awash in shit, which imperils the upcoming Olympics to be hosted there.)
A horse grazes the cracked ground at Atibainha Dam in Nazare Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil REUTERS.
Above and below are two photos from a piece by Phillip Ross for International Business Times on the drought currently affecting São Paulo, Brazil.
Aerial view of Atibainha Dam, a main water reservoir for São Paulo, Brazil REUTERS.
Ernest Hardy is a Sundance Fellow whose music and film criticism have appeared in the New York Times, the Village Voice, Vibe, Rolling Stone, LA Times, and LA Weekly. His collection of criticism, Blood Beats Vol. 1: Demos, Remixes and Extended Versions (2006) was a recipient of the 2007 PEN / Beyond Margins Award.
