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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWater is the new oil: How corporations took over a basic human right
When you talk about human rights, not to mention human necessities, theres not much more fundamental than water. The United Nations has even put it in writing: it formally recognizes the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.
Thats the theory, at least. In practice? Well, on Monday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes arrived at a different conclusion from that of the U.N., in a ruling on Detroits hotly contested practice of cutting off water access to tens of thousands of residents who cant pay their bills. It cannot be doubted that water is a necessary ingredient to sustaining life, Rhodes conceded. Yet there is not, he continued, an enforceable right to free and affordable water. Water, in the eyes of the court, is apparently a luxury.
While its shocking to watch a city deny the rights of its own citizens, thats nothing compared to what could happen if private water companies are allowed to take over. In The Price of Thirst: Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos, Karen Piper details the litany of examples worldwide of this very thing happening. In a classic example of the shock doctrine, Piper argues, water shortages are being seen as a business opportunity for multinational corporations. Their mantra: No money, no water. By 2025, its predicted theyll be serving 21 percent of the worlds population.
Piper, who teaches at the University of Missouri, traveled to six of the worlds continents to expose the way corporate control has redefined water as an economic good, with consequences ranging from increasing inequality to civil unrest. Her conversation with Salon, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, is below:
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http://www.salon.com/2014/10/05/water_is_the_new_oil_how_corporations_took_over_a_basic_human_right/
valerief
(53,235 posts)sanitation for all.
NOT!!!!!!!
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)With trucks and take the pristine water of our foothill streams and creeks away. All to increase their bottom line. Meanwhile we citizens are told we cannot water our lawns, etc.
This is happening even in Northern California, although it is Southern Calif. communities that so far have gotten the press' attention.
My supervisors claim they don't know that this is happening.
cali
(114,904 posts)I thought the entire interview was stellar and fascinating.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)I don't like being thought of as detritus. But that's the reality. Too bad not enough of us recognize this.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)it would appear that the 99% is just basically screwed.
We're being told to "fuck off and die", and the more I
realize this is true, the more open revolt feels inevitable.
cali
(114,904 posts)in the interview she speaks to that pretty persuasively.