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Where did this divide comes from?

European colonialism:
-Colonizers used in order to establish their dominance was the hyper separation between the superior and inferior, the colonizer and the colonized, the civilized and the primitive people.
-This idea of hyper separation was imposed by reeducation, forced labor, political decisions and mass murder, and essentially led to a the Western mindset that caused the phenomenon of division between culture and nature. European humans are cultured and civilized, while the natives, that are close to nature, worship the Earth and do not share the western values are primitive, animalistic and inhuman.

The intense rise of urbanization:
-Being ‘caged’ in an environment where the everyday commune with nature is impossible, certainly adds to the severe disconnection we are facing today.
-Since urbanization creates a lack of natural surroundings, people no longer search for entertainment in nature. The invention of TV, Internet and video games introduced a whole new world of entertainment to people, a kind of entertainment you can enjoy with minimum effort.
-As a result, people stopped feeling the need to go outside for recreational purposes, and today, even If someone wishes to experience nature, they can do it by staying inside.

The sociocultural, the political and the capitalistic aspects of
life:
-Socioculturalwise, the values and beliefs that are accepted and idealized in our society are usually transferred to the next generations and many times mimicked by them. In that sense, the way we live our lives and operate our societies nowadays will affect to a great extent the way future societies will operate. Embracing the division between culture and nature as we received it by our ancestors via beliefs, norms, values and ideologies will lead to future societies that embrace it as well.

The governments and the ones with political power affect this phenomenon:
-All the structures that have political power have essentially the capability to shape societies, control institutions, impose policies and laws that help nature and our correlation to it, embrace the commune with nature and endorse/create educational programs that will extend people's knowledge on nature and change the prominent hyper separation mindset that is dominating our societies.
-When governments and the responsible authorities ignore this problem, then it becomes even harder for the individuals to realize and fix it.

The economy:
-Capitalism is an economical system that openly embraces Earth’s exploitation in order to gain pure profit. In capitalism, people with power and capital, view nature as a material, an energy source they are free to exploit for years and years, in order to make huge amounts of profit. This understanding of nature as something that exists only to serve our economy’s needs is incorrect and destructive for our relationship with it and for our planet’s wellbeing as well.
-Since the Industrial revolution, millions upon millions of industries have existed that used nature’s resources to produce materials and to operate properly.
-All of our technology is based on natural resources and energy we receive from nature. Thus, if nature did not exist, then we would not be able to have technology, operate all of our systems, mass produce goods and essentially create our whole culture. And although that is true, capitalism, as a whole system that consists of all humans, does not operate in a way that helps sustain nature and the natural resources we so desperately need to continue to have functional societies.

How is this divide manifesting itself in modern societies?

Humans for years upon years have started to view ourselves and our species as something separated and more elevated from nature. This whole mindset is more than visible in westernized societies today, and its manifestation can be divided into five levels.

-First, on a consumption level, individuals today do not get to consume food coming straight from natural sources. That happens due to the domination of processed foods into the markets all around the world, and the delocalization of livestock production, which results in people consuming imported livestock feed.

-On a cognitive level, the disconnection from nature can be seen by the loss of basic knowledge on bioculture as well as by the loss of interest in outdoor recreation. People no longer choose to go outside to commune with nature and enjoy outdoor scenery. This means they do not get all the stimulus that nature has to offer, so they also stop being interested in knowledge related to nature and bioculture.

-On an experience level, people seem to no longer enjoy interaction with nature. On the contrary, we have started to be afraid and/or disgusted by other organisms that exist and thrive in nature. People nowadays prefer to avoid these interactions and use technology in order to simulate them safely indoors through VR, nature sounds, nature lighting, etc.

-On an ideology level, our perception of nature and our relation to it has changed significantly in relation to the past years. According to the way the vast majority of humanity lives today, all of our actions, thoughts and worries have little to no relation with nature, and are such that they actually eliminate nature from our lives. This means that the way we live our everyday lives and the way we act everyday is actually harmful to nature and disrespectful towards it.

-On an emotional level, our feelings for nature have been altered. As I mentioned above, people now feel disgust and fear towards nature, and even if they have positive feelings towards it, the amount of alterations places rich in natural elements undergo nowadays because of environmental destruction, pollution and the climate change is so massive, that the natural environments people used to love have turned into diseased inhabitants that can only cause disgust. Even in the search for inspiration, we no longer turn to nature to get inspired and motivated. That is why the natural references in popular songs, books and films are becoming more and more rare as the years go by.

What are the negative affects of this divide?

There are many consequences of the divide, however the most important ones are:

-The ecological destruction and environmental crisis because of overexploiting every natural resource available to us.

-Lower living standards, increased health hazards and deaths amongst all living organisms due to pollution, environmental destruction and climate change. Especially for humans, our immune systems tend to get weaker, while the diseases we have to face become stronger day by day (an example of this is the recent Covid 19 pandemic).

-The economical crisis because of lack of resources to continue fast rates of mass production.
The psychological problems created due to the lack of commune with mature, our authentic home, and the caging inside urban areas where peace and quiet are scarce.

-The water crisis, since the water gets misused and polluted constantly.

-Disconnection amongst people themselves, especially between people from Westernized countries and the rest of the world. The disconnection from nature imposes a general mindset of disconnection. Anything ‘wild’, meaning non Westernized, non civilized for the Western standards is considered dangerous and subordinate. From this ideology many negative behaviors arise, such as racism, discrimination, inequalities, etc.

This water crisis is a great example of this interconnection of the divide, pollution and inequality.

What pollutes our water?

Water pollution stems from
three main sources:

-Urban waste
-Industries
-Agriculture

Invisible and visible water pollution:

The term “invisible or emerging pollutant” can be used to define a special group of substances with peculiar characteristics due to its increasing level of use by society and its real potential for contamination; such pollutants do not need to persist in the environment to cause negative effects. Invisible pollutants are chemical compounds present in a variety of commercial products.
Microplastics, for example, are a huge invisible pollutant, as they are invisible to the naked eye and affect everything in the water. They often stem from cosmetics, clothing and car tires.

Visible water pollution consists mostly of garbage in water. Plastic litter is a growing problem worldwide. Every year, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans. A large part of it is transported by rivers.

The River Maas

-In 2019, the river was unable to provide drinking water due to toxic agricultural discharge into the river, mainly pesticides, fertilizers, and waste, and industrial pollution via waste pouring and atmospheric deposition.
-The waste composition of the river shows that most of the waste is plastic with 89% of the waste objects found. Other materials contribute 9% (glass) or less (wood 1%, rubber, textile, metal, sanitary and medical less than 1%). This composition has changed little with the seasons. Plastic remains the most commonly found waste. In the winter months, more processed wood is caught than in the summer months.
-In addition, a large number of disposable plastics have been found, in particular bottle caps, lids and bottle rings, candy, snack and chip packaging, straws and plastic cups. Many small plastic bags were also found, especially drug packaging such as ziplock bags or tubes. Tie-wraps, container seals and pieces of melted plastic were found in every batch.

How does this affect us?

Water pollution is universal, the ways in which it is polluted just varies. It can be fecal bacteria, nitrogen, pharmaceuticals, plastics. However, water pollution disproportionately affects poor or marginalized communities, it reflects power inequalities.

-In the UK, it was found that bad or poor quality rivers were mostly found in districts classified as neighborhood renewal areas. Those living in these areas in proximity to bad quality bodies of water can be impacted by it and that impact may vary for certain social groups. Women, children, the elderly and ethnic minorities are most likely to be impacted by bad water quality. It can cause them various diseases or weaken their health. It also causes lower levels of well-being and mental health. From a social point of view, a bad quality river can also stigmatize the community it’s in and may lead to a spiral of decline where rates of crime, fly-tipping and vandalism rise.
-In Canada, many Indigenous Communities still lack clean water. Quality water was preserved in Indigenous Communities due to their sustainable practices, however, the exploitation of natural resources and climate change have led water quality to deteriorate. In addition to that, the government’s denial of the existence of these Indigenous Communities hinder them from getting access to clean water.

sources cited:

Addressing environmental inequalities: water quality
The Invisible Water Pollution Crisis | Fluence
Nitrate-Contaminated Water Affects Poor in US | Fluence
Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis
Making the invisible water crisis visible - News - Utrecht University
Illuminating the ‘invisible water crisis’ to address global water pollution challenges - Hannah - 2022 - Hydrological Processes - Wiley Online Library
It’s not just Flint: Here’s why we ignore water pollution - The Washington Post
Addressing the ‘invisible water crisis’ of global water pollution - University of Birmingham
Identifying Water Pollution | The 71 Percent
Safe Water for First Nations – The Council of Canadians.
Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water | OHCHR
Dozens of indigenous communities in Canada still lack clean water: 'People are going thirsty'
Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities
Microplastics : the invisible pollution of the Ocean | Surfrider Foundation Europe
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7537646.pdfn
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/pollution/
https://www-jstor-org.hr.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/40339126.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A902850637fd9328863e88d685bafe9ef&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1
Human nature, human culture: the case of cultural evolution | Interface Focus
How Modern Life Became Disconnected from Nature
Why it matters that humans and nature are growing apart
Are humans separate from nature? - British Ecological Society
Humanity and nature are not separate – we must see them as one to fix the climate crisis
Nieuwe Maas - informatie en waterdata | Rijkswaterstaat
Rights for the river Maas
https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/nieuws/archief/2021/11/11-maanden-catchy-bijna-500-kg-afval-afgevangen-en-veel-inzichten-rijke
https://open.rws.nl/open-overheid/onderzoeksrapporten/@106751/zwerfafval-afvangen-nieuwe-maas/
Catchy 2 - Allseas
Vertical and Horizontal Plastic Litter Distribution in a Bend of a Tidal River