FISHERMEN ON FROZEN BAÏKAL LAKE

At just the right distance from the Sun—neither too far nor too close—the Earth is perfectly balanced to keep water in its liquid form. Water carves its own paths. They are like the veins of a body, the branches of a tree, the vessels that carry sap to nourish the Earth.
Rivers pull minerals from rocks and gradually deliver them to the fresh water in the oceans. And the oceans become saturated with salt.
The water cycle on Earth is an endless loop—waterfalls, water vapor, clouds, rain, springs, rivers, streams, seas, oceans, glaciers… The cycle is never broken. The amount of water on Earth remains constant. It’s the very same water that every species throughout history has drunk.
Water is an incredible substance—one of the most unstable of all. It takes the form of liquid water, gaseous water vapor, or solid ice. In Siberia, the frozen surfaces of lakes in winter bear the traces of the forces water exerts as it freezes. Lighter than water, ice floats, forming a protective layer against the cold beneath which life can continue.

Excerpt from the film Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Co-written with Isabelle Delannoy and Tewfik Fares
With the kind permission of the GoodPlanet Foundation
© 2009 Europacorp - Elzevir Films