John Fleck sent me a link to Dennis Kucinich's WWW site that deals with sustainability. His statement about water is near the bottom. He's got 10 principles he refers to as 'Water Marks'.
After global warming, water use and availability may be the most important sustainability issue of all. In Dennis' words:
All water shall be considered to be forever in the public domain. It shall be the duty of each nation to provide accessible, affordable drinking water to its peoples. There shall be public ownership of drinking water systems, subject to municipal control Wealthy nations shall provide poor nations with the means to obtain water for survival. Water shall be protected from commodification and exempted from all trade agreements. Water privatization shall not be a condition of debt restructuring, loan renewal or loan forgiveness. Governments shall use their powers to prevent private aggregation of water rights. Water shall be conserved through sustainable agriculture and encouraging plant-based diets. Water resources shall be protected from pollution. Our children should be educated about the essential nature of water for maintaining life. [I would] recommend a series of declarative sentences which can serve as the basis for a course of action. We shall call these ten principles 'Water Marks'.
- All water shall be considered to be forever in the public domain.
- It shall be the duty of each nation to provide accessible, affordable drinking water.
- There shall be public ownership of drinking water.
- Wealthy nations shall provide poor nations with the means to obtain water for survival.
- Water shall be protected from commodification and exempted from all trade agreements.
- Water privatization shall not be a condition of debt restructuring, loan renewal, or loan forgiveness.
- Governments shall use their powers to prevent private aggregation of water rights.
- Water shall be conserved through sustainable agriculture and encouraging plant-based diets.
- Water resources shall be protected from pollution.
- Our children shall be educated about the essential nature of water for maintaining life.
"The meek shall inherit the earth but not its water rights." -- apologies to J. Paul Getty
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