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Pros And Cons Of Water Privatization

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In an elementary school cafeteria a third-grader sits down at the table and opens their lunchbox. There is an apple, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a bottle of water. As the child looks up they see one of their friends waiting in line at a water fountain. The third-grader opens up their bottled water and takes a sip. The dichotomy between public and privatized drinking sources creates a two-fold problem in the United States: one, the affordability of major companies raising prices and two, the environmental impact of plastic and the availability of freshwater in the near future. For such a necessary part to life, it was not until July 28, 2010 in Resolution 64/292 that the United Nations General Assembly recognized that it is a …show more content…

The motives for privatization include improving quality and efficiency that typically leads to non-profit water. Although, when United States cities shift towards privatization, more often than not it is due to external fiscal motives that result in water being sold for profit. The campaign, “Water for All,” made a document that listed the Top 10 Reasons to Oppose Water Privatization. The main argument that is congruent and consistent to third-generation human rights is that companies are accountable to shareholders and not to consumers. The consumer, the human, needs the water. Going into a quick economics exploration, no matter the price of the water humans will still always buy the good thus making it a necessity good. However, by definition, water is technically a common good where everyone must draw from the common-pool resource. The key point to the privatization of water is that even though it should be a social good - where the government, according to social policy, provides a service that could be delivered as a private good - water has become a commodity. Yet, the main philosophical debate is whether water should be a commodity. By making water a commodity it puts profit before the humans, thus shirking the basic human right to full access. However, as freshwater becomes less available in the coming years, someone has to pay for the purification of water for consumption. Is it better to be taxed, pay a monthly rent, or leave it up to the US citizen where they get their

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( Document F) Since the government has not raised the prices, I feel that the citizens aren't aware of how much water they truly consume. If they raided the price, I feel that Citizens would be more cautious about using water. I also feel that the government should put a limit on how much water a citizen can use. If they cap at a certain amount everyone would have enough water to

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I think it's too late and the big companies have won. Despite that, I do think water should not have been commercialized and turned into a product. However, Mahatma Gandhi said it best: "There is enough water for human need, but not human

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Imagine having to pay for water to shower, drink, wash your hands with etc. Bolivia was a country that was subjected to the privatization of water and they responded negatively. The citizens of Bolivia weren't avid about handing their fresh clean drinking water over to foreign corporations. “On January 10 the citizens of El Alto took to the streets en masse to demand that their water system, privatized in 1997 under World Bank pressure, be returned to public hands.” Three days later the president cancelled the water concession.

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In Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water, Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman shed light on the water crisis that is affecting billions of people across the world, an issue that has been far too common for far too long. “Water scarcity, already a crisis in much of the world, is a coming reality in the United States” (Snitow and Kaufman, pg. 2). Recently studies have shown that this crisis has spread to America at the hands of our government and big corporations, thus becoming a topic worth arguing. Water is not only a necessity for life, but a gift from god and a human

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The principle of social equity concerns the consequences of decisions and actions that people face. Particular emphasis is placed on equity in access to water resources and derived benefits. This concerns all social groups irrespective of their economic status, geographic location, and individual characteristics of their members, such as differences in sex, age, and health status or income level. The principle of economic efficiency refers to the need to use resources in the most cost-effective way to maximize returns on value and thus achieve the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people. This value is not only calculated in terms of price; It must also include current and future social and environmental costs and benefits.

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We need clean drinking water and humans do not value it

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The average disposable bottle of water has come under heavy criticism as of late. Many articles such as Nicole Cotroneo’s article in The New York Times, “Movement Against Bottled Water Gains Municipal Adherents,” Annie Gentile’s “Mayors Push Benefits of Cities’ Tap Water” for American City & Country, and “New Study Finds Fault With Some Bottled Waters; Tap Water a Better Bet,” in Environmental Nutrition give their stances on why the disposable water bottles should get the can, or better yet, the recycle bin. In these three articles, the argument against disposable bottled water is posed, as it is believed that water bottles create unnecessary production costs, environmental damage, and threaten safety and health. According to Cotroneo and Gentile, bottles of water have become increasingly costly for customers to purchase and to produce and distribute by using energies such as fuel.

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In Craig Anthony Arnold’s article “Water Privatization Trends in the United States: Human Rights, National Security, and Public Stewardship,” Arnold informs his readers that the government cares more about the security of the nation than human rights by explaining different laws. Arnold writes, “All life depends on water. Therefore, all communities, social and political systems, and economies depend on this finite resource for survival and vitality. However, both human rights and national security protections are inadequate to guarantee that all people will receive sufficient quantities of good quality water to meet basic human needs” (Arnold 789). For the national government to deprive the citizens the right of “good quality water,” is unbelievable.

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The human right to water has become a full blown global campaign. According to Karen Bakker, Founding Director of the Program on Water Governance at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, “many anti-privatization activists have forced their activities on this campaign, framing ‘water as a human right’ as a means of ethically refuting and practically constraining privatization.” After the protests and victory of Cochabomba, Bolivia in 2000 the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) stopped using the word “privatization” and instead use words such as “decentralization”,”concessions” or “Private sector participation” (upside down world). This was government's attempt of disguising the privatization

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They estimated that in “2006, for each liter of water that went into a PET bottle, two liters of water were used to make the plastic bottles. Given that the industry sold 8.7 billion gallons’ worth of bottled water in the U.S. in 2008, water bottlers used an estimated 26 billion gallons of water in the production and bottling of the product” (“Bluewashing”). These 8.7 billion gallons sold were actually taken from the environment, then packaged in plastic and sold over long distances. Energy is used to transport bottled water, which also contributes to pollution and global warming. Some citizens in New Hampshire and California do not let water bottlers come to their communities because they want to protect their watersheds, not damage them.

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I understand for farmers it is a little different, but for the general public, recycling and conserving is the way to go. I stated the results of recycling and conserving efforts earlier. The thing that stands out to me about recycling water is that, in Las Vegas, everybody can take a 20 minute shower and the city’s water consumption would go up. This is a huge advantage of recycling water. These results are very good, considering there has been little to no rainfall.

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People try to save money by buying bottled water because they think it is cheaper, but it is not. American families spend roughly $615 on bottled water per year! Why spend $615 a year when we can get tap water straight from the tap on a bill that is already being paid? For a home water bill most Americans pay around $250 a year on tap water. That is almost a $400 difference!

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Water is crucial to our survival and bottled water is an easy way of getting it. In the US, we have fairly

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Contrary to those that oppose the implementation of greywater recycling into society, there are many that believe it is a cost-efficient and feasible process which has many beneficial effects. By reusing greywater, one is able to reduce the amount of freshwater needed to supply a household as well as reduce the volume of waste water that enters sewer systems. Contrary to the beliefs of those that oppose greywater, “the recycling of greywater can save one a lot of money” ("Pros and Cons of Popular Water Storage Containers”). With water costs rising, many people who choose to use greywater actually have lower monthly water bills compared to those that only use fresh water. Using greywater also reduces the need for expensive water supply sources

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One hundred percent of the 76 tap water samples examined where shown to be contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria (Pant, Poudyal and Bhattacharya, 2016). Would you rather leave those people to die rather than supply them with healthy water

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