The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-first Century
I have put “The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-first Century” on my summer reading list, as I want to learn more about the quest to provide the world with an adequate supply of fresh drinking water.
I find myself compelled by this description:
“This comprehensive account, reflecting exhaustive research that took (its author) Prud’homme across the country, contains a series of dramatic stories and colorful characters that highlights the degradation of the nation’s once pure and abundant waters.”
Of course, what’s happening outside the US with respect to potable water is even more dire. Our planet faces extra-ordinary challenges in that space now; 1.5 billion people, about 20% of the Earth’s population, are denied this basic right. And, by all accounts, the situation is expected to worsen through the coming decades.
I’ll post a write-up when I’m finished the book. In the meanwhile, readers may want to check it out for themselves.
Meanwhile, furtive and fervent efforts by Coca-Cola and many other paper tigers worldwide have been underway for some time to seize and privatize the more and more of the potable water commons, in order to prevent free public access and profit from the only natural resource without which no one can survive for three days’ time – a natural resource which falls from the sky in abundance and merely needs to be distributed efficiently.
A little digging produces a lot of sludge-like news on the makers of Coke and their water habits and pollutants, while a lot of digging near their plants (where groundwater was once easily accessible) now all too often produces a lot of wasted effort. Here’s just one example of reporting on this issue: http://www.polarisinstitute.org/coca_cola_ally_recommends_bottling_plant_closure_in_india
Much like those global dirty energy firms that, first, charge usurious rates for fuel and then whine for more taxpayer subsidies while pocketing record profits from their acquisition of ancient sunlight energy obtained either free of charge or for a pittance from under the feet of nations (our own included), these drinking water sponges have obviously strategized to soak us dry and leave us parched and penniless – on the hook for a vital resource that we should all have just for the asking.
Thirsty? Get out your wallet and get in line.