Forum Post: How many think our natural resources should be privatized?
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 27, 2011, 11:24 a.m. EST by Pnutchuck
(7)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
After reading "Bottlemania" by Elizabeth Royte, I began to wonder how we could allow multinationals like Neslte to just waltz in and bottle up our aquifers and sell it back to us. Fresh water is going to be a major issue in the coming years and we've sold our clean, fresh supplies right out from under us (pun intended). And maybe the socialist movements have it right, what belongs to the earth, should belong to the people. Shouldn't it?
But that's the problem with Aquifers, they're large and tend to supply wells and lakes over a broad swath of land. Corporations like Nestle are leasing from one place, but it's depleting wells and lowering water tables elsewhere. I don't think we should be bottling up our aquifers at all. Pepsi does a nice job of purifying tap water, if you absolutely need bottled water. However, these aquifers not only water our crops, but they feed our own water supply, which is treated by a community facility. I'm not saying people shouldn't get paid for their work, but is water something that should be a for profit business?
If a company goes to the trouble of bottling water, and people buy it, they should be allowed to do it. However, the water they take should not be allowed to impact local users of the water source, or affect what those people have to pay to use that water. I do Not agree in any way that water rights or processing for communities should be privatized, as it is a common resource. But paying for the cost of treatment is fair, as one would have to pay for treatment from a private well if the water needed it.