$4 for a gallon of water? the dream of monsanto and other corporations wanting to privatize water.

[xchrom]

http://www.nationofchange.org/four-dollars-gallon-water-dream-monsanto-and-other-corporations-wanting-privatize-water-1334762956

Four dollars for a gallon of gas is ridiculous enough, but $4 for a gallon of water could someday became a reality, that is if oil tycoons like T. Boone Pickens and water bottling companies have their way. Privatization of water in which companies control the public's water sources and free water is a thing of the past appears to be what Pickens and corporations such as Monsanto, Royal Dutch Shell, and Nestle are banking on to increase their vast fortunes.

Companies, brokers and billionaires are buying up groundwater rights and aquifers. Groundwater is necessary for agriculture and more water is needed to meet a growing demand for food. Many countries have already over-pumped their groundwater to feed increasing local populations. Combine this with climate changes and an ever-increasing strain on water resources due to a rapidly growing world population and you have got a future where water is called "blue gold" because of its scarcity and high cost.

Bleak future

The Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development estimates that half the world's population will reside in areas with significant water stress by 2030. According to a government report entitled Global Water Security, the demand for water will be 40 percent above sustainable water supplies with needs around 6,900 billion cubic meters due to population growth. By 2025, the world's population will likely exceed 8 billion people.

Private corporations already own 5 percent of the world's fresh water. Australia is an excellent example of a country already suffering from multiple water droughts. Farmers are selling water rights to brokers, unaware of the long-term effects.

[RKP5637]

1. It's an out of control world with corruption and profiteers running more

and more wild.

[Scuba]

2. So poisoning our other water supplies increases their profits, eh?

Explains de-regulation, fracking, etc.

[Fumesucker]

3. If you think the Hunger Games was bad wait until the Thirst Games comes around.. n/t

[They_Live]

4. These people are EVIL

Greed, stupidity, and lack of imagination will destroy us all unless they are stopped.

[CrispyQ]

5. In one of those environmental documentaries, narrated by Matt Damon,

there was a statement: We are consuming our eco-system for the profit of a few.

I cannot think of a more succinct way to put it.

[The2ndWheel]

9. Can we not do that though?

Civilization is a resource concentration process. It increasingly centralizes the wealth of the planet into the hands of a single species, us, otherwise known as the top 1% of the planet. It privatizes the profits of the planet for a single species, while socializing the costs to the rest of life.

[CrispyQ]

12. Bravo!

What a great way to put it! Yes, we are all part of the problem. Developed countries don't want to cut back & developing nations want their share of the shrinking pie.

[TBF]

8. It is not the "bad actors" - it is the system. Kill Capitalism. nt

[Frustratedlady]

6. So, George W would be sitting pretty

with the property he bought during his administration...I forget where, but it was over a large aquifer?

This greed cannot be allowed to come to fruition. Next will be air.

[CoffeeCat]

7. Paraguay?

I think I remember hearing about that.

What what these evil psychopathic monkey boys do. They know the plan and they are
definitely preparing.

[shanti]

32. Yes, Paraguay

I remember feeling a chill come over me when I read that a few years ago.

[april]

13. Some where in south America

[bluedigger]

10. I'm going to have to look into increasing my mileage then.

Maybe lose some weight, keep the wind at my back...

[JDPriestly]

11. These companies are too big and have too much capital.

They have not incentive to be creative. Rather than create new products, they are trying to profit with their own work, they are trying to profit from the work of -- as you prefer -- God or nature.

The banks failed and were bailed out because the powers that be decided they were too big to fail. These big corporations are too big to succeed and so now they are stealing what belongs to all of us and selling it back to us.

You are a fool if you buy bottled water. Get a filter mechanism if you must, but drink your municipal water.

If you are afraid of water pollution, check with the engineers and administration in your local water department. You can probably get copies of the reports they do on water quality. In our city, they do them pretty often. Our municipal water is safe. In fact, some bottled water is less well tested and could be less safe than our municipal water.

We get a multi-page report on the chemical analysis of our Los Angeles City water every year. Ask for a similar report or talk to your local water provider about it.

Don't buy bottled water other than for travel or when you are on the road. Even then, you can bottle your own water if you buy a water bottle.

Besides, the plastic that bottled water is sold in may not be very healthy.

[kenny blankenship]

14. That's today's reality- the DREAM is privatizing breathable air

[shawn703]

15. Solarbabies!

Anyone else reminded of this movie?

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, xchrom.

[KansDem]

17. We can live without gas; we cannot live without water

This is outrageous! Water should not be "privatized." Period.

Next thing you know, the corporatists will be trying to buy rights to the air we breathe...

[bongbong]

18. Next step

Speaking of the next step, what their plan probably is is to go back to a situation like Britain had in India, where it was illegal to make your own salt from drying saltwater.

IOW, they will make it illegal to collect rain (after they complete their water takeover)

[Zalatix]

19. Great way to start a MASSIVE worldwide rebellion

Water is the one thing you can LEAST easily enforce control over. And the one thing that will most readily drive people to fight you with guns.

Water rights only exists as long as property rights are respected, once that goes out the window the only water you control is that which you are physically sitting on.

This system ain't sustainable.

[yellowcanine]

26. "Water wars" are mostly a myth. There are no examples between countries and even the

range wars in the West weren't usually fought over water, they were mostly fought over grazing rights.

In most parts of the U.S. you don't control the water you are physically sitting on. This is not new, it is basically English common law. If it is ground water you have some rights with the proper permitting to drill a well and have free use of water for normal household use - you do not have the right for example to sell the water to a swimming pool company. Depending on the jurisdiction you may have the right to use the well to irrigate agricultural crops but you will probably need a permit for any extensive use of water for irrigation and you might be limited to certain aquifers. As for surface water, in most cases you cannot impound a stream or river without getting permits. And even if you own both sides of a river or even a stream in some cases, you cannot prevent someone from floating a boat or wading down the middle of it as long as they don't exit the river/stream unto your land.

[Zalatix]

29. All that goes out of the window when there's a severe shortage.

People aren't just going to lay down and die.

[yellowcanine]

30. Historically there are precious few examples of armed conflict over water.

And it isn't that there haven't been severe shortages.

[Zalatix]

31. So you're saying people just laid down and died?

[yellowcanine]

33. Your words. I am saying there are few examples. If you have them give them.

And substituting your words for someone else's argument is not a valid debating tactic. Kind of means you are out of debating points.

[Zalatix]

34. I'm wanting to know what people did in history when there were water shortages.

They either took up arms and got their share of water or they dehydrated and died.

If you have cites that show that they didn't do A) then your cites must show they did B)

So, which was it?

[yellowcanine]

40. Sorry. You made the claim of taking up arms or they died. So burden of proof is on you.

That is how it works. I can hardly be expected to provide proof for something which didn't happen. Besides you presented a false choice. There are other possible options. This is a logical fallacy. Check it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

[Zalatix]

41. What other choices are there? You argue that no one fought over water. So what did they do?

When there's no water, what do people do?

Why is that so hard to answer?

[yellowcanine]

46. Ok. You persist in misstating what I am saying so we are done here.

If you want people to discuss you need to quit making their arguments for them.

[Zalatix]

47. No, "we" aren't done here. I said the situation would lead to a massive rebellion. You said it won't

You failed to show why a rebellion won't happen. I asked you what people will do when they run out of water.

THERE WILL BE A MASSIVE REBELLION. Period. It's that or dehydrate and die.

You've got nothin'.

[NickB79]

37. We're entering a period in human history with no historical precedent

The confluence of the demands of 7 billion people for resources vs. the imminent onset of global climate change unlike anything observed in human history.

I would posit that in the past, there were few armed conflicts over water because 1) there were far fewer people to fight over it, 2) people had far lower water requirements than today (no heavy industry or massive livestock and corporate agriculture installations) and 3) what we think of as severe shortages are nothing compared to what some of the climate project we'll see in the next few decades.

We're entering unknown territory here. Tread lightly.

[Zalatix]

43. ^^^ Yup, that.

[longship]

20. People who buy bottled water are idiots

Where do they think that water comes from? From the same place as your tap water, that's where.

Thank goodness I have my own source of water, an artesian well. Serves its purpose. If I want water for an day trip, or something, I fill up a reusable water bottle from my kitchen tap. No mess, no fuss.

The soda marketers -- Horrors!! Big soda! -- have somehow convinced the idiotic US populace that water out of a bottle is somehow better than tap water. Stoooopid people.

[jwirr]

21. IMO there is nothing more evil than someone who wants to build a monopoly on food and water.

The problem is that most people are either not paying attention or do not know anything about this.

[The2ndWheel]

23. That's what the last few thousand years have been about

We've already agreed that our species will monopolize the planet, and we're left with just fighting amongst ourselves.

[jwirr]

25. You mean that the 1% has agreed to keep the 99% down.

[felix_numinous]

22. Can Monsanto be sued

en masse by millions of people? A class action suit?? (Obviously I am not a lawyer, but this--should--be possible in a just world!!)

[yellowcanine]

24. I call bs. Water law is very complicated. This would be extremely difficult to pull off.

For example, in most parts of the U.S. groundwater and surface water are considered a common wealth - like the air - you might need a permit to use it but as long as you are using it in a way which is reasonably related to the land you won or occupy you have free use. Most water companies are public utilities and prices are strictly regulated such that the price of the water has to track closely the actual cost of obtaining the water, treating, and distributing it. It is hard to see this model changing anytime soon. Some western states allow private ownership of water rights - but the biggest danger is not form big private companies buying up the water rights - it is the big cities buying up the water rights.

[Blue Owl]

27. How convenient -- the bloated petroleum industry also benefits

Those "disposable" plastic, non-biodegradable petroleum bottles are troubling too.

[lovuian]

28. That dream isn't going to happen

I'm sure they would like to patent it too

when people want water they will get water

Countries will be made to nationalize it

[KamaAina]

35. Guess who pioneered the corporatization of water?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron#Misleading_financial_accounts

In 1998, Enron moved into the water sector, creating the Azurix Corporation, which it part-floated on the New York Stock Exchange in June 1999. Azurix failed to break into the water utility market, and one of its major concessions, in Buenos Aires, was a large-scale money-loser.

[begin_within]

36. Sure, they can sell private water, as long as they make it themselves.

[kenny blankenship]

42. They'd be only too happy to sell you their piss as water

Don't give them ideas!

[begin_within]

45. That's already patented by Coors.

It's a rite of passage for young Colorado men to go up to the stream Coors uses and piss in it.

[glinda]

38. K & R n/t

[WhoIsNumberNone]

39. Just let the fracking industry keep running free and they'll get their wish in no time

nt

[freshwest]

44. More population control. They've always been into that. SOBs.

[Taverner]

48. I am surprised Monsanto hasn't tried to patent the water molecule

[blm]

49. And why RevMoon and Bush family bought all that land above the Guarani Aquifer and

Bush2 set up a small military base nearby.

It's the world's LARGEST aquifer.

[MichaelMcGuire]

50. Nationalise

ScottishWater

Scottish Water is a statutory corporation[1] in Scotland that provides water and sewerage services. Unlike in England and Wales, water and sewerage provision in Scotland continues as a public corporation accountable to the public through the Scottish Government.


National policy is determined by the Scottish Government, to whom the authority reports. Scottish Water is bench marked against the performance of private water companies in England and Wales. It has over the last 4 years (2002–2006) delivered significant improvements in service and nearly £1 billion of operational and capital efficiencies.[2] In 2006-2007 its average household charge was lower than in England and Wales (£287 compared with £294).[3]
Scottish Water operates under a regulatory framework established by the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 allowing an economic regulator, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, to set the cost of the service independently. The Water Industry Commission for Scotland establishes the "lowest overall reasonable cost" through a benchmarking exercise with private water companies operating in England and Wales. Scottish Water has a right of appeal against this price setting process through a reference to the UK Competition Commission.


The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency also regulate Scottish Water. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman represents the interest of Scottish Water's customers and has powers to investigate complaints
The authority was founded in 2002 by a merger of West of Scotland Water Authority, East of Scotland Water Authority and North of Scotland Water Authority under the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, an Act of the Scottish Parliament.Scottish Water provides drinking water to 2.2 million households and 130,000 business customers in Scotland. Every day it supplies 2.3 billion litres of treated drinking water and takes away nearly one billion litres of waste water from customers' properties and treats it before returning it to the environment. It has an annual turnover of around £1bn and is funded by charges paid by its customers. Part of its long term capital expenditure is funded by long term loans from the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government has consulted as to how Scottish Water can work together with British Waterways Scotland and Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited to achieve additional public benefit from all Scotland's water-related infrastructure, both inland and maritime. [4]

[madinmaryland]

51. $1.29 for a quart of water. I think we are already well past $4 a gallon for water.