Global Water Shortage
At the recent Asia-Pacific Water Summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of the overarching consequences of water shortages and focused on the increased likelihood of violence. In Africa, India, and Asia, where some spend hours each day to reach water, the social and economic costs are enormous. To prevent these shortages and economize limited supplies, countries are privatizing their water resources. But these processes are criticized with many asking arguing that water is a right and not a marketable commodity.
 
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5.17.08
| 06:27 AM - |
fresh water issues-windesal.com can solve
Anonymous - Flooding ,Drought, water is the vector of climate change, we already have seen in recent times in many areas Worldwide areas where there is intense competition for water, Worldwide that will be impacted by this issue, that may suffer physically or economically from this lack of fresh water shortage.
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12.7.07
| 07:17 PM - |
Really? Water? Isn't that just a third world problem?
Doofus - I always thought that water shortages were primarily a third world country problem, and that they have some really innovative stuff that they are working on to get people water really cheaply. Put the business men on it - they'll come up with something.
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| 01:13 PM - |
Alternatives are running dry
jb - The desalination post is really interesting - and makes the need to properly manage fresh water that much more imperative. I'm not convinced privitization is the best way to do this. - sorry Resken. Water is closer to a public good - as it's flowing down a river through two people's properties...who has rights to that water? Can the upstream man divert all of it? What if the upstream man pollutes it? Does he owe damages to the downstream one?
Water does not fit nicely into easily divided sub-divisions. Its fluidity demands more coordination. |
| 10:14 AM - |
I Agree with RESKEN!
Conrad - The parsimonious platitudes of Elbie aren't going to quell the thirst of one parched person. Privatization is the most efficient way to get water where it is needed and I'm sure that if that was combined with charity outreach it would do magnitudes more to help the impoverished then mere liberal lamentations.
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| 01:07 AM - |
Liberal Philosophy is no answer
Resken - In many cases it is most pragmatic to allow and even encourage the privatization of water supply, purification, and distribution. Talking about "right to life" does nothing to make water more available to the 20% of the world that doesn't have it readily available. My bottom line: do whatever the hell works to create the necessary infrastructure and technology, and if that means privatizing (I suspect it does) then do it!
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12.6.07
| 11:42 PM - |
Hmmm, Let me think.....
Elbie - Is water a commodity or a right? YIKES. I don't know, is life a right? Because I'm pretty sure water is the lowest common denominator needed to support the living.
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