'Water Wars' a Bad Sign of Times

[marmar]

via CommonDreams:



Published on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 by The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
'Water Wars' a Bad Sign of Times
by Margaret Krome


When my children come home from school, typically they put their books down and go pour a glass of fresh water out of the kitchen faucet. Increasingly, and internationally, all aspects of that image are in contention -- the glass, the availability and even cleanliness of tap water as compared to bottled water. In America, the issue prompted a congressional hearing last week.

Opponents of water bottling argued that the $11 billion that Americans now spend on bottled water can work an unnecessary financial hardship on families when tap water in most communities is already clean. In the process, we pile up 2.7 million tons of plastic bottles, produced with petroleum and resulting in more landfill disposal issues. Other opponents argue that bottling water draws down groundwater resources and harms the environment in the locality where it is bottled.

Bottled water companies rejoined that it's in the public interest to encourage drinking water as opposed to many other beverages. They point out that the plastic waste is a small part of the waste stream -- a third of 1 percent.

Had I been attending the hearing, I would have objected to sitting in the Kansas City airport after going through security and being offered two water choices -- purchasing bottled water or drinking warm water from the bathroom sink. No water fountains are available, nor is there cold water in the bathroom to fill up a water bottle. I would have noted that I recently heard someone on a flight being charged for bottled water, which was apparently the only way it was available.

As the issue emerges in the United States, we may not even be aware of the stormy water debates that have been raging for well over a decade in many parts of the globe. From India to Bolivia, water privatization fights have produced some of the most powerful protests in years and galvanized grass-roots opposition like no other issue. Indian author Vandana Shiva has written about such fights in her book, "Water Wars," and the record is mounting internationally about the profound human rights issues associated with privatized water. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/16-1