by Sophie Gar
Published on: Jun 28, 2005
Topic:
Type: Opinions

Taking a look to the past and also to the present, water has been important in all ways of subsisting in life: to wash, to clean, to dissolve, to combine, and most importantly to drink. This precious liquid, so pure and so useful, is in crisis.

Nowadays there is no free water; streams and lakes are drying, many aquifers and estuaries are being polluted, and there are almost no free public water dispensers. Now water is commercialized and sold in bottles, in which the sticker says it comes from mountains in Switzerland.

Though the process of filtrating and cleaning water is very expensive, I think the governments must devote some money to the process so this vital liquid can be available to everyone. Even the UN must help prevent a world catastrophe if this precious liquid becomes scarce.

The World Bank says that to confront the pure water crisis, water must not be a public right anymore. Instead it needs to be given to private inversion so it can be commercialized and sold.

The value of the bottled water market is estimated at 22 thousand million dollars annually and it is in continuous growth. Only in Mexico, the value of bottled water is valued at 32 thousand million pesos.

This, I think is not fair, because water is a primary need and cannot be restricted to those who have the money to buy it. Water is necessary for surviving so I don’t think its ok to take out the right of having this natural resource.

How can we not do something to prevent this precious liquid to finish and stop from being available to everyone? How can we not realize that now buying 1 liter of water costs more than one liter of milk or beer?

We hear everyday that there are petroleum spills, that beaches are full of trash, that rivers and water holders are finishing, plus there is the fact that water also contributes to the creation of electricity, and it seems nobody gets worried about this. Hydropower plants give out energy in some places and they are really important power generators.

I propose that governments must do some global treats and agreements on the use, filtration and diversification of water, so we don’t regret the misuse of this necessary liquid.

In May of 2005, Fortune Magazine reported: “Water is destined to be in the 21st century what petroleum was for the 20th: the most precious merchandise that determines the wealth of nations.”

Let’s all start taking care of water let’s not spill it or loose it. Let’s start taking care of the rivers of our city or country, let’s not pollute our beaches, the change start in each one of us. If we change we can make people change, and make them realize the importance of taking care of this necessary liquid. There are many ways of saving it, so next generations don’t suffer from the scarcity of it.

Wars on water are coming. This fluid that composes 70% of our body is ending even if we don’t want to believe it. It’s a reality that we must face in the near future.


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