Ethics and Water, Part 2

I received some favorable comments (but not posted as such) on the first Ethics and Water post of January 17.

However, I was remiss in neglecting to mention something of interest to my post on ethics. My good friend and colleague at the Texas Tech University School of Law, Professor Gabriel Eckstein, convened a symposium on Precious, Worthless, or Immeasurable: The Value and Ethic of Water on November 2-4, 2005, in Lubbock. I was unable to attend this seminal event. You can get some information by going to www.watersymposium.net or www.texastechlawreview.org/symposium/symposium_index.htm. I have taken the liberty of pasting the introduction to the symposium below.

   "The value and ethic of water encompasses the complex inter-relationship between human beings and fresh water resources. It addresses how societies view and interact with this unique substance from diverse perspectives, sometimes complementary, but often contradictory. For some, water is an integral component of the natural environment; for others, it is a property right and a commodity that is subject to the free market; still others regard water as a heritage of cultural, religious, and societal significance. To all, however, water is an absolute necessity, a fundamental substance for life as we know it. 

    Despite, or possibly, because of the irreplaceable role that water plays in so many aspects of life and society, water is all too often the subject of controversy. Disputes over fresh water resources in the American West, the Middle East, and elsewhere have pitted farmers against municipalities, businesses against environmentalists, “haves” against “have nots”, and state against state. In the Klamath Basin of Oregon, for example, environmentalists and Native Americans have long challenged farmers and irrigators, as well as the government, for greater instream flows. In West Texas, millionaire T. Boone Pickens is sparking controversy by seeking to pump water from the Ogallala Aquifer to sell to thirsty cities like Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso. In the Middle East, control over and access to scarce water resource is a major issue among Israel and the Palestinians, as well as their neighbors.

   Fundamental to all of these controversies is the diversity of values and ethics that adversaries ascribe to water. Such values and ethics are often at the core of disputes over water. These values and ethics greatly depend on personal perspectives, social and economic ideals, cultural, religious, and societal backgrounds, and even politics. Ultimately, they serve as the basis for legislative and regulatory action and business decision-making, as well as the means for resolving conflicts over water resources.

      The symposium – Precious, Worthless, or Immeasurable: The Value and Ethic of Water – will feature a diverse panel of experts from around the nation and abroad who will explore the value and ethic of water. They will do so by discussing how this precious liquid is valued and assessed with regard to law and regulations, economics and commerce, people and communities, culture and religion, and others aspects of society that are impacted by water. They will also consider how water is perceived by different communities, peoples, and entities throughout the world, as well as address the roles that the public, the private sector, and government agencies play in developing rules and standards for managing water resources at all levels of society, from the purely local to the decisively global."

I trust you will find this enlightening.

"Tell my soldiers what they really fight for, and the ranks would be empty in the morning." -- Frederick the Great.

Comments

[Gabriel Eckstein]

Thanks for the plug Mike. For those interested in the conference proceedings, conference materials, of DVDs of the panels, go to: http://www.law.ttu.edu/lawWeb/centersprograms/centers/water/conferences/2005FallProceedings.shtm.

gabriel .....