Water; The Next War?

"Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink."
-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

 When I was a kid, I would get what my father called my "rain face". I would sit by our big bay window in the summer months and stare out as our court became a whirpool of swirling water. I was perfectly content to sit there for hours, just watching the droplets ping up from puddles, only to be swallowed again.

And my Dad never understood why.

"Why don't you play downstairs, or watch TV?" he'd ask me.

"I don't feel like it," I'd always respond.

So one day, he said, "Why don't you go outside?"

And I replied, "Because it's raining."

"Go outside anyway," he told me, with a smile.

"I can do that?" I asked, my mind still stuck on the strict rules of childhood.

"I'll give you five bucks if you do," he said.

I ran out the door in a split second, in only shorts and a t-shirt, barefoot. And I ran around the court, feet splashing up puddles behind me, my hair sticking to my face. I ran, and ran, and ran, until I couldn't anymore and collapsed laughing onto the grass. I can't remember many times in my life that I've been happier than I was at that moment; it's still so clear in my mind.

I've always been attracted to water. I'm not one to believe in Zodiacs or earth signs, but it's pretty clear to me that water and I have a strong relationship; it calms me, it soothes me, it fascinates me.

And so it pains me to know that we're running out of it; and fast.

I've been following water issues since I became interested in the environment, and I feel that I will continue to study it for the rest of my life.

So, I present to you an edited version of an essay I wrote in Gr. 12 about water issues, policy, and social justice. You may find it eye-opening and intriguing; I know my research had me captivated for weeks.

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Dictionary.com defines the term ‘finite’ as “subject to limitations or conditions, as of space, time, circumstances, or the laws of nature: man's finite existence on earth” (dictionary.com). Just as man’s existence on this planet is under the constraints of a time limit, so are the earth’s goods. Our Earth is a miracle.  Astrologists suggest that for our world to have been created with the ability to sustain life the way it does is nearly impossible. Yet, we live. The Earth lives. The reason for the Earth’s sustenance is water. Water fuels us; helps us to travel, cook, clean, and swim in. A world without water would be nothing. The Earth would be a barren desert incapable of supporting any living thing, such as Mars.

Water is a finite substance. We never have any more or any less water then what we started with when the Earth was formed about 4.55 billion years ago. Basically, yes, you are drinking recycled water that the dinosaurs drank. Water is important in everyday life. You yourself are about 70% water. You need it to live. You could go without food for 2 to 3 weeks. You cannot go without water for even 3 days. Our planet’s population of humans is increasing at an alarming rate. The more people we have, the less water available for all of us. And only about 1% of all the Earth’s abundance of water is drinkable. 

The other 99% is either salinated in salt water, up in the atmosphere, or underground in aquifers that we cannot reach. As of now, over one sixth of the Earth’s people go without access to safe drinking water every day. This number will only increase as populations, especially those in Third World countries, continue to grow. “Ten years from now, India will have an extra 250 million people and Pakistan’s population will almost double, to 210 million…the world will house an additional 26 billion people – a 57 percent increase over today’s level of 6.1 billion” (Barlow & Clarke 6).

Water is a growing industry. In times of recession, it is important to have a dependable income in our economy, but the rising of the water privatization sector is proving to be dangerous. There are three things that people will always need; graves, houses, and water. If you’ll excuse the pun, the World Bank has ‘tapped in’ to this knowledge, and are investing much of their money into subsidizing water corporations. They understand that water is a $400 billion dollar industry, and is closely following oil and electricity. They know that once the other two resources run out, there will be one left. These corporations are claiming rights to water all over the world and are taxing municipalities and companies to use it. But who can own water? Water has never belonged to anyone. It is a public right that all people have in common. Maude Barlow, author of Blue Gold and Blue Covenant, stated that “water is a right, not a commodity” (FLOW).

 The World Bank endorses a group known as the World Water Council, which deals with water issues worldwide. However, the two vice presidents of the WWC have worked for Suez and Vivendi, water corporation giants.  This corrupt system of money-making does not end there. The World Bank and its subsidiaries cannot be sued; they have legal immunity. They can go bankrupt, but as long as people are paying money for anything, the water corporations will always be floated back up to the top. In interview on the documentary, FLOW, Jim Schultz stated; “The World Bank knows how to spend a billion dollars in one place. They don’t know how to do is spend a thousand dollars in a million places…and yet in many places we don’t need a million dollar answer, we need a thousand dollar answer!” (FLOW). The World Bank’s solution to the current global crisis is money. Not humanity.

It is unfair that companies with no rights to water in any country can sell it back to the people who live there and depend on it. The three biggest water corporations of today are the United Kingdom’s Thames Water, France and EU’s Vivendi (which has now expanded to include Veolia), and South America’s Suez.  These three companies are responsible for the extortionate prices of water, especially in developing countries, where they know people must pay for water in order to survive. Thus, their market is geared towards such places as South America, Asia, and Africa. The Big Three are all listed in the top 100 wealthiest companies of the world. They prey upon the weak and vulnerable of society in order to keep them afloat during harsh economic times. They are privatizing water. Even worse, they are privatizing water that isn’t theirs, and causing the painful deaths of those who are in the most need of water but who cannot afford it. Instead of selling the poor’s water to them, they should be providing safe water alternatives.

In Varda Bustyn’s fictional novel, Water Inc., a ‘water cartel’ of sorts attempts to use Quebec’s civil unrest with the rest of Canada in order to build a pipeline for water from Canada’s North down into the United States. Although this did not really happen, it is certainly plausible that other countries will plot to steal water from others. “Over  215 major rivers and 300 groundwater basins and aquifers are shared by two or more countries, creating tensions over ownership and use of the precious waters they contain” (Barlow & Clarke). Canada and the US share 5 of the world’s largest lakes. The US’ populations by far surpasses Canada’s. Who is to say that in desperate times our neighbors to the South won’t turn on us?  

And to make matters worse, the Great Lakes’ water levels have dropped to their lowest in about 100 years. Above the border, in Canada’s many lakes, rivers, streams, and glaciers lies 9% of the Earth’s total fresh water. Keep in mind that the other 91% is elsewhere, but very little of this is readily accessible to humans. Wars may be fought over water. Burstyn theorizes that the next World War will be over water. Canada must set a course of action in place to protect our water. Already, agreements have been made with other countries over the selling rights of our water. So far, attempts have not been in Canada’s best interests. “Massive water diversions from Canada do not make economic or environmental sense, according to water experts. Far better and cheaper is to improve water efficiency and eliminate waste. The United States and Canada lead the world in water consumption and are extraordinarily wasteful, Pentland says” (Leahy). Much to our dismay, this is true. North Americans are the worst for wasteful water consumption. Just one of our toilet flushes – the low water-use ones—is equal to the amount of water one person in Mozambique uses per day. The distribution of water is uneven, and disputes will arise. Things have to change. 

The third issue with the water crisis is the increase in use of plastic water bottles. These are ‘disposable’ containers made of a thin plastic that often contains harmful chemicals such as BPA. About one fifth of all Americans will only drink bottled water. 1.5 million tones of plastic from these types of bottles has been dumped into waterways and landfills. But is it worth it? The answer is up to you. “The FDA has less than one person regulating bottled water” (Penn & Teller). Bottled water does not currently have any regulations in North America. This means that any sort of heavy metals, chemicals, or pesticides from nearby industrial areas, farmland, or mines could be in the water you’re drinking! Municipalities treat their tap water and have better regulations than just about any bottled water company you could find.  The prices being charged for this falsely advertized water are extortionate. In fact, Nestle bottling company has seventy-four brands of water on the market alone. They all have different prices. Chances are that almost all of these water ‘brands’ aren’t  regulated. In fact, an individual company in Massachusets is selling water labeled as ‘glacial water’, when in fact, it is really from a well in an industrial factory parking lot.

 

By polluting, diverting, stealing, and wasting water, we are preventing others from having their most basic rights; the right to live and the right to water. It is important that we realize that we are affecting others and our planet in each small action we do. According to the Principle of the Common Good, “the common good includes the social conditions that permit people to reach their full human potential and to realize their human dignity.” There are three essential elements of the common good: respect for the person, the social well-being and development of the group, and thirdly, peace and security. (Pennock 14). In order for us as global citizens to fulfill our call to contribute to the common good, we must change. We must respect others by not polluting their land. We must look after the social and economical aspects of water-sharing throughout the world. And we must also make sure that treaties are signed and followed so that no conflicts arise over this already terrifying crisis. 

The United Nations stated that the US alone spent $90 billion dollars on bottled water alone last year. The UN also estimates that for all humans to have access to safe and clean drinking water, it would cost only $3 billion dollars. If Americans did not buy a third of the water they are buying now, all people on earth could have their basic needs met!  Humans can potentially provide water to everyone across the globe. It is just getting everyone on board that is the issue. There are solutions to this problem. It starts with you. Donate to causes such as Development and Peace, Planet Blue Run, and Me to We.  Sign government petitions to make trade agreements over Canada’s water sales. Buy local products, and make sure you know where you products are coming from and how they’re getting to you. Boycott companies like Coke and Nestle, for buying from them is only fueling their fire. Be an ecoconsumer.

 

People do not need to suffer for our ignorance. We can change things before they get too bad. Maude Barlow, author of two books on the water crisis, paraphrased an old saying on the documentary FLOW; “Never doubt that a small group of commited individuals can change the world.” Imagine what we could do if we were all commited!

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Works Cited

Barlow, Maude. “Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water.” Toronto:  McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2007.

Barlow, Maude and Tony Clarke. “Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World’s Water.” Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2002.

Burstyn, Varda. “Water Inc.” London: Verso, 2005.

“Finite.” Dictionary.com. 20 May 2009.

Hewett, Jonathan.  “Water in the Bible.” LearntheBible.com.  20 May 2009. .

Leahy, Stephen. “Canada: Losing Water Through NAFTA.” Globalresearch.ca. 23 September 2007. .

Pennock, Michael. “Catholic Social Teaching: Learning and Living Justice.” Notre Dame; Ave Maria Press, Inc., 2000.

Purdue OWL. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Online Writing Lab at Purdue. 10 May 2008. Purdue University Writing Lab. 25 May 2009 .

Salina, Irena. “Flow: For Love of Water.” 10 December 2008. Documentary.

Stassen, Chris. “The Age of the Earth.” Talkorigins.com.  10 September, 2005. Frequently asked Questions – Age of Earth. 20 May 2009. .