Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange Outline on Water Privatization

December 14th

You can survive about 20 days without food, 11 days without sleep, 5 episodes of The Walking Dead, but only 2 days without water. Water is essential, and urgent, to sustain life for every living organism on earth. In our modern world, peoples access to water is often controlled by the government, and in some cases, by private industries. In order for water to be sanitized, and delivered to peoples houses, or bottled and sold in stores, it needs to pass under someones control. Water privatization is when private companies like Aqua America and Nestl control the sanitation and services of water, as opposed to the government. The privatization of water is a very debatable issue, because there are both reasons for it and against it. It raises several issues: Should water services be delivered with a profit motive from the providers? Do private water services benefit poor countries? and most importantly, Is water a human right at all? Some reasons the privatization of water is good are because it helps poor countries whose governments do not have enough money to pay for the sanitation and distribution services, by being in control of the expenses. It also creates a cost for the people that buy their water services privately, so they will be less likely to waste a resource that they pay a market price for. However, it has many negative consequences for the worlds poor. Often times, private companies increase their prices so much that poor consumers are unable to afford the water that is physically accessible. In some of the poorest countries of the world like El Salvador and Nicaragua, people spend up to 10% of their income on water services. In some cases, private water companies have left particularly poor places where they have not been making enough money, or where they have protested against, which leaves a large cost for the government. The privatization of water also raises a huge human rights issue. The Chairman of Nestle believes that the answer to global water issues is privatization. He believes that water is not a human right. However, since water is so necessary to sustain human life, how can it be controlled by companies that often make it inaccessible to the many people? How can water, which a depletion of for only 2 days will kill you, not be a human right? The topic is

Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange

December 14th

important to me because I am a human, and nothing more. Being a human, I believe that it is everyones right to have access to something so essential, regardless of how much money they make. I am 100% certain that it has a full importance to everyone else as well, for the same reason.

Water Privatization and Links to Globalization The issue of the privatization of water is one of the most important global issues, and has very many links to globalization. Free and accessible water for everyone is becoming a thing of the past. No longer can we rely on the gathering of water buckets from the river or fountain in the middle of town. This is because of two reasons. In our globalizing, industrializing world where resources are exhausted every day and waste builds up as a result, many water systems are becoming polluted. They require either discontinued use, or sanitation plants to provide healthy drinking water. The other reason is because the global population is growing at an alarming rate, as towns become cities, they will require more water and an efficient way to transport it to the people. More clean water. That is where the privatization of water comes in. Private water companies are not always responsible for the bottling and selling of water, but they provide the sanitation and distribution services that all cities require. When water companies are not involved, government funding goes towards these water services. This makes the water cheaper, and treats it more like a human right than a business. Expensive, privatized water costs the people of poor countries a lot of their income, and negatively affects their chances at economic prosperity. However, it can be argued that the privatization of these services better contributes to the sustainability of the resource. When people play a market price for a resource such as water, they will be less likely to waste it. This is particularly important because of the limited supply of drinking water available on earth. 70% of the earths surface is covered in water, only 3% of that is fresh water, and less than 1% of the worlds freshwater is readily accessible. Most of that water needs to

Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange

December 14th

undergo some form of treatment, which can either be done publically or privately, but it needs to be regulated. If not, the resource will be exhausted, for polluted to the point where it is no longer usable. The privatization of water provides a possible solution to the sustainability of water for the present and the future generations. Those that favor capitalism as the base idea for economic globalization will most likely favor the privatization of water. Water companies use the ever sustainable demand for water as an excellent source of profit. They can increase their individual wealth exponentially as they expand their business to more and more cities around the world. However, by paying large prices for water, some poor people in South America spend 10% of their income on water (drinking, cleaning etc.) That definitely does not provide economic prosperity for the consumers. The privatization water in poor counties is a win-lose situation in favor of the companies; or is it? The consumption of water cannot be boycotted, however the way in which it is delivered can be. In the 1900s in Cochabamba, Bolivia, the U.S water company Bechtel took over the local wells, informal pumps, and the public system infrastructure. Many Bolivian consumers were unable to pay the increased prices, and in 2000, a riot broke out with protestors and eventually forced Bechtel out. The cleanup cost the Bolivian government more than it would if water was delivered publically all along. Bringing water services to places where people cannot afford it is more of a lose-lose situation, because there is no business when people are unhappy and cannot afford a service. Is the answer to privatize the water of some countries and not others? To try and sustain a resource in some parts of the world and not others? If sustainable economic prosperity for all means charging the people that earn more money a higher price for water, and delivering it publically to those that dont, then that would be the answer. It would be similar to making people with high incomes pay a larger percentage of tax than others. However, it would not be a solution to the freshwater supply issue of the world. It must be realized that regardless of the price that people

Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange

December 14th

pay, they will always need water to survive. Water cannot be denied as a human right, but is also something that cannot be wasted if it is to be sustainable for the future.

Bibliography

Source URL link

Perspective Pro, Con, Neutral

Why you ranked them where you did? (Include the following: Who wrote it? What is their background? Was it understandable? Easy to navigate? Were there links to other sources? Was it user-friendly for a grade 10 student?) This article was an excerpt from a book titled World Savvy that was written by a number of authors. The source was very understandable (written in large text that was easy to read), it was easy to navigate with the table of contents at the beginning. There were links to 3 other sources (news articles from The Nation, The New Yorker, Frontline World. It was user friendly to a grade 10 student because it began with an overview and listed both positives and negatives, followed by a case study to make it more understandable. The article was written by William Finnegan. He is a journalist for The New Yorker, has written 4 books, and won several awards, including one for the source I am using. The source was understandable, however quite long which made it difficult to find specific information. It was moderately easy to navigate because of its length. There were no links to other sources, but I found it because my previous source

1. Neutral http://worldsavvy.o rg/monitor/index.p hp?option=com_cont ent&id=715&Itemid =1202#section1

2. http://www.newyor ker.com/archive/20 02/04/08/020408fa _FACT1?currentPage =all

Con

Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange

December 14th

had a link to it. It was user friendly to a grade 10 student because the writing was not too academic, however it was long and had some irrelevant information. 3. http://www.globalr esearch.ca/theprivatisation-ofwater-nestle-deniesthat-water-is-afundamentalhumanright/5332238 Pro The source was written by Kevin Samson, an activist who posted on Global Research. He does not have a career as a writer or has made a name for himself in other areas. The source was understandable, short, and easy to navigate. It was unclear at first what perspective it held, but the final paragraph made it clear that the source was pro-water privatization. There were not links to other sources on the source itself, but the website Global Research did have links. The source was user friendly for a grade 10 student. The source was written by Brett Israel, a staff writer at OurAmazingPlanet. He has won awards and journalism contests. The source was very understandable and easy to navigate, but it has this rank because it doesnt have anything to do with water privatization. I just used it to find information to support an idea from the first source. The article recommended 6 other sources on the website. It was user friendly to a grade 10 student. The source was written by Lakis Polycarpou, a writer who frequently posts on State of the Planet and covers topics related to the water and food issues of our planet. The source was understandable, but receives this rank because its perspective was unclear.

4. http://www.livescie nce.com/29673how-much-wateron-earth.html

Neutral

5. http://blogs.ei.colu mbia.edu/2010/09/ 02/what-is-thebenefit-ofprivatizing-water/

Pro

Social10 RI4 Assignment-1-3

Febe-Mari de Lange

December 14th

However, it did provide useful information. It was moderately easy to navigate and was satisfactory for a grade 10 student.