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by Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS - The growing commercialisation of water - and the widespread influence of the bottling industry worldwide - is triggering a rising demand for the legal classification of one of the basic necessities of life as a human right. "We definitely need a covenant or [an international] treaty on the right to water so as to establish once and for all that no one on earth must be denied water because of inability to pay," says Maude Barlow, a senior adviser to the President of the U.N. General Assembly, on water issues. "We've got to protect water as a human right," she said, pointing out that the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva would be the most likely venue to propose such a covenant. But it would be best, she added, if it were ratified by the 192-member General Assembly, currently presided over by Fr. Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a former Foreign Minister of Nicaragua. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/08/14-7
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(19 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 2:38 PM
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> > chochachambra!
> >
> >
> > anyone remember?
>
> Cochabamba, Bolivia, as I recall.
>
> Here's a link to some interesting reading on their
> plight, and the post mortem on what became of the
> project after the policies were overturned and the
> privateers were sent packing. If you love happy
> endings, perhaps this story is not for you.
>
> The Cochabamba Water War
even thoough the link presents the general idea of resistance to water privatization it ignored a few major facts of the case. first bechtel insisted that all new water meters be installed at a cost to the people which would basically eat up all the monthly earnings most families had. the next being that Bechtel under estimated the disrepair of the areas water systems when accepting the bid. when Bechtel people found out that it would wind of being a money loser they wanted the government to change the contract, get new loans for the IMF and pay up front. when the gov said "a deal is a deal" bechtel (bush/cheney family and friends) stopped supplying water in violation of the contract. bechtel also refused to complete aready started water and sewer lines so there was human waste ilterally running through the streets which caused severe outbreaks of all kinds of illness. when the farmers and rural people decided to simply collect rain water that's when the war began.
for hundreds of years these simple rural farmers knew how to collect and purify rain water which falls abundantly from the sky in Bolivia. bechtel nazi pricks insisted the the local police arrest anyone who collected water without paying for it. then people took to the streets in protest and a few folks got shot by the local police who were paid off by bechtel.
this is a simple case of a corporation want to privatize all gains and socialize all losses.
also the story did not end with people not having water. the real ending is that a local native won the mayoral election and restored water at the previous cost to the people, but soon the hounds of corporate greed went after that mayor too. the UN got involved. several high price US attorney got involved. the Bechtel bros cried bloody murder for bidding a job they had no idea about.
onto atlanta where privatization failed. then san fran same thing.
the city of NYC was offered billions to privatize but thank God Rudy G was even more greedy than those water privatizers. Rudy wanted more money! ha! greed meets greed! lovely.
indonesian were shot on site when they attempted to get water from an open main, by private security forces for the coca cola corporation. then the locals were forced to work at the coca cola plant there and forced to buy bottled water....of course supplied by coca cola.
water privatization will be a war because people want water and they know it equals life, so they have nothing to lose by fighting for it.
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(18 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 2:10 PM
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Mags,
You're doing what I would like to do, but not possible anymore. Where I was heading requires me to get used to that tropical sweaty and sticky life, but not anymore.
I was just kidding about the shower thing.
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(17 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 2:00 PM
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> People shower everyday?
Eyewww! I shower 2-3 times a day depending on whether I've gardened or not. I can't abide being sweaty, yuck.
It's just going to get worse and worse. First the powers that be started going after our food sources (farmers, and I'm talking recently), and now the water. I've always said he who controls the necessities controls the masses. And people make fun of my work on becoming self sustainting out here in the woods, ha! Right now if it got down to it we would have both food and water when others didn't.
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(16 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 1:50 PM
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> People shower everyday?
every day it rains. if you live in heavy precipitation areas you probably get to shampoo rinse and repeat like a mother fucker.
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(15 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 1:46 PM
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People shower everyday?
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(14 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 1:21 PM
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> If water is a right, is it also a right to waste it?
> And who get's to decide what's wasteful?
what exactly is your specific meaning of "waste"? folks like you would probably call showering everyday "waste".
I mean, if
> f it's a right, and rights are inalienable, what
> limits can or should be estalbished?
>
that's easy. government or business should not be allowed to take away your access to basic needs arbitrarily. pretty fucking simple. duh.
> Better question, when are the liberals in the world
> going to stop drinking bottled water
what utter bullshit. as if conservatives don't gulp down costly bottled water. and FYI why don't you visit a liberal area like North Philly and see how many "liberals" actually buy bottled water as compared to the lilly white burbs. sheesh.
, or better
> question, providing bottled water to the third world
> as an alternative to developing the water
> infrastructure necessary for them to be water
> sufficient on their own?
thrid world people managed to get drinking water for many thousands of years, what makes you think they need a giant corporation to get it for them now? answer that simple fucking question. and stick to the question. don't try to divert it toward water purification which had also been done without the aid of any giant corp.
Seems we waste more oil in
> the distribution of water than we should as well.
>
> Is that why we can't have cars anymore? Because
> someone figured out how to sell water in plastic
> bottles?
>
this is typical of right wing facists. "someone" did it, not a giant bottling company like Pepsico or Coke. holy fucking bullshit.
> Here's a thought, desalination of the oceans. more
> than enough water for everyone, for all time.
>
> What this is really all about is the attempt to use
> the UN to create law that binds all nations.
> Ultimate trilateralism. wow hooo....
ha! bring the UN in as the bad guy because they are ratting your cronies out. typical. stepped on your issues did they?
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(13 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 12:47 PM
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> T Boone Pickens has bought up massive amounts of
> water rights across the united states and continues
> to do so. At this point he either has or is getting
> close to having rights to the majority of the water
> tables not currently at risk of being lost. Right now
> entire sections of the country are expected to lose
> their water due to consumer waste and the
> irresponsible corn monoculture ag monopoly. When that
> happens, Pickens plans to have a system in place to
> transfer water around just like oil. Water will be
> treated like oil in this country soon unless
> something is done.
Sounds like a good investment to me. How can we get in on it? LOL
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(12 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 12:35 PM
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> chochachambra!
>
>
> anyone remember?
Cochabamba, Bolivia, as I recall.
Here's a link to some interesting reading on their plight, and the post mortem on what became of the project after the policies were overturned and the privateers were sent packing. If you love happy endings, perhaps this story is not for you.
The Cochabamba Water War
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(11 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 11:50 AM
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A note on desalinization:
There are currently two systems to do so. One is using highly expensive filters that then have to be regularly be replaced. Jacks the price way up and there is the environmental impact of producing the damn things in the first place. The other system is basically boiling and then recondensing the water a couple times. This takes vast amounts of energy (oil and gas) jacking the price way up and vastly increases energy requirements.
There is no current economically feasible way to use desalinization as a water source unless the price of water skyrockets. Thase that suggest otherwise are ignorant or are using sophistry.
Conservation remains the best tool we have. Both by reducing personal waste and stopping the extremely harmful ag monopoly's irresponsible and unsustainable actions.
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(10 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 11:22 AM
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If water is a right, is it also a right to waste it? And who get's to decide what's wasteful? I mean, if it's a right, and rights are inalienable, what limits can or should be estalbished?
Better question, when are the liberals in the world going to stop drinking bottled water, or better question, providing bottled water to the third world as an alternative to developing the water infrastructure necessary for them to be water sufficient on their own? Seems we waste more oil in the distribution of water than we should as well.
Is that why we can't have cars anymore? Because someone figured out how to sell water in plastic bottles?
Here's a thought, desalination of the oceans. more than enough water for everyone, for all time.
What this is really all about is the attempt to use the UN to create law that binds all nations. Ultimate trilateralism. wow hooo....
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(9 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 10:35 AM
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T Boone Pickens has bought up massive amounts of water rights across the united states and continues to do so. At this point he either has or is getting close to having rights to the majority of the water tables not currently at risk of being lost. Right now entire sections of the country are expected to lose their water due to consumer waste and the irresponsible corn monoculture ag monopoly. When that happens, Pickens plans to have a system in place to transfer water around just like oil. Water will be treated like oil in this country soon unless something is done.
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(8 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 4:03 AM
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face,
Many water companies are buying up other companies should tell you something.
Oligarchs will always stay a few steps ahead of the people. Ain't that the way it's always been?
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(7 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 3:24 AM
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chochachambra!
anyone remember?
water rates increased @ 600%. drinking water became RATIONED (THAT DIRTY DIRTY WORD!). then crazy ass laws prohibiting people from even drinking rain water collected in outdoor buckets and barrels. then of course the fucking people just wouldn't die! the nerve of them locals! then those locals demanded of all things water! fucking water is expensive and we have a right to profits! ya can't just give the shit away!like like like it just falls from the sky or something!....err...anyway a massive international lawsuit and the IMF was behind the whole thing. part of loan terms. just totally fucked up.
"water is the oil of the 21st century"
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(6 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 3:17 AM
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No, seriously, look into what the utilities are buying then you'll realize there's just no better way out.
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(5 of 19)
Re: Should Water Be Legislated as a Human Right?
Sep 2, 2009 2:43 AM
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> Maybe it shouldn't be a Right. After all, in some
> places, like Germany, beer is cheaper by the liter
> than water is by half a liter.
I did not know that, Lodestone. Something to consider, for sure. But I've always considered cheap beer to be a privilege.
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