Water Crisis: Myth?

[Mrs. Morrison]

The solution to a sagging economy? Sell water.

[Troy St-aubin]

The solution to a sagging economy? Sell water.

Yes and no, we could sell large ammounts of water as we have easy access to it, and tons of water avaliable but taking millions of gallons of water a day does have its repercusions, even if the effects don't make them selfs obvious right away. the effects on the enviroment are still very taxing for example. Eventually the water levels in the lakes we are taking the water from will drop and will harm the wild life, also when we take as much water as we are the resevoirs that have been created naturally do not have enough time to replenish themself because of all the water we are taking, this will eventually cause a water shortage. it may not happen right away but soon enough, because even thouhg water does replenish it self we cant depend on the small ammounts of rain water that seep into the earth's underground resevoirs it's just not enough to sustain us all not to mention those resevoirs won't be able to replnish them selfs if we keep taking water at this rate,

[Rykker Mcleod]

sure it's true that the mass extraction of water can have negative effects on the natural element of our world , but we no longer live in rivers or forests , we live in a sub-urban world ruled by a harsh relentless economy.
for us to leave a potential form of financial "well being" untapped would be simply idiotic.
if we continue to halt development in any way , how would we be any different then the roman destroyers or the library of alexandria , some say having sent us back a millennia in societal growth and prosperity.
to be honest i must ask , how many times a year do you visit the great lakes?
or visit underground aqueducts formed by millions of years of erosion?

[Taylor Cameron]

There is a giant can of worms that gets opened up when talking about selling water. All but one province in Canada already sells water to their residents. I think that the bigger problem is that the fact no one seems to think the oil companies need to pay for their water consumption. Why do the "big boys" get away with it? Is it because they provide another natural resource to us why using a vast quantity of another? Why is this not in place for the farmers on the prairies who are undergoing a major drought and have been for over 17 years? They too provide a huge resource (although it is grown and not naturally in our earth). Our prairie provinces are the bread basket of the world and have the capacity to provide 52% of the world with grain and yet our farmers are charged for water consumed for crops unless irrigated out of a river which is now at such a low level that they are restricted on that. The oil companies claim to be restricted, but they are not. This is simply propaganda. We can educate all we want about taking care of our glaciers and ice fields as they are our major supply of water, but it is what we will do with that education.

I disagree with Rykker's comment: "if we continue to halt development in any way , how would we be any different then the roman destroyers, etc.". There are different kinds of development we can halt or at least slow down. We need to sell water to the big oil boys and make them responsible for the water they are using and abusing and taking from our citizens without justification. The lakes and glaciers, and the mountains surrounding them, provide a huge tourist income for our government and citizens and help to pay for our National Parks that are put there to protects our rivers, lakes and glaciers and in return our precious water supply.

[MoyraM]

In theory, selling water seams like an easy fix. But is it a permanent one?

No.

For those in countries like Canada, parts of United States, Europe and China, this will be a difficult but survivable thing. But for those people who are already in poverty in third world countries, this will be yet another obstacle to survival. We will be adding thirst to hunger. People in those countries do not have the money or the means to get money to pay for water.

I can see that selling water does have a few pros to it. For example, if a billion dollar industry sets up a water production factory in a small country in Africa that is extremely short on water, than that will provide some with money (employment) to purchase clean and safe water.

I do not believe that selling water is a solution for those in need of water, but for the greedy in need of profit.

Thanks,

Moyra

[RebeccaHall]

I’d love if someone could explain to me, how a person can watch another human being suffer, or die because they don't have the money to buy their much needed water.
If you ask me, selling water isn't only wrong, it’s diminsh a persons basic right. The third world people have no money, they can barley feed themselves and their children. They’re skinny, week, and dying. We take these things for granted,we can just turn on a tap and have a glass of water, they're drinking water from dirty rivers, sewers, just plain out dirty water. Who has the right to sell something that isn't theirs; no one owns water, just like no one owns air. This is our world, our society, are we going to stand there while greedy money hungry business men take away our rights, I know I’m not. ever notice how we have to pay for water,we have to play by the rules, but to the big business men? No. They don't. oil companies and other major companies,do they pay for the water they use, I highly doubt it, They are no different from use, or people of third world countries, they're not better them them, why should they have different rights from them. They are taking advantage of there "powers".
Yes, selling water would make profit, but is that all that matters now? Money ? Have a heart.

[jason declare]

I think that we should not sell the water because it should be a human right. If we start selling water, the people who can’t afford it will suffer because their water will be dirty and they can’t survive. If we were to sell water we would be in trouble because we have the biggest supply of water and allot of countries that don’t have clean water would not get any. Then there would be a war. It would be just like oil and the cost of oil in the desert countries. So selling the water would not be good for us and our economy. The reason why it will not be good for our economy is that the water will not always be available because we would be taking allot of water from our lakes and reservoirs. The lakes and reservoirs will not be able to replenish and they will be left to dry out. If we were to start selling water, we would have to come up with a plan to ensure that water would not be taken advantage of. That wouldn’t happen because allot of people would go scared and find a way to get water that would mean crime would increase and allot of people would worry because if they didn’t have money what would happen.

[Jordyn Lamba]

I think selling water isn’t a good solution. Rebecca has a great point about how selling water affects those in poverty stricken countries, but I think selling water can also affect people where we live too. There are people who live pay check to pay check all around us, there are single mothers struggling to take care of their kids in a one income household. Imagine how much harder everything would be for them if they had to pay great amounts for something as natural as water, these people wouldn’t be able to survive. How would they bathe? How would they wash their food? Also think about the fact that those in poverty stricken countries usually live near a water source, where would someone go for water where we live? We live in areas that aren’t close to a water source, so even dirty water wouldn’t be available to those who can’t afford water in our area. I don’t think water was ever intended to be on this earth for others to gain a profit from it, I think it was intended to be a free resource for whoever wanted it. Putting a price on water, will definitely not be a solution to a sagging economy but instead a cause for poverty in U.S.A and Canada.

[Yasmeen Zoubi]

I agree and disagree with this thought. I have recently found out that Canada is the biggest source of fresh water on Earth. In a way, it would be a good idea to sell water. This is because it can give support to our economy by selling our water, considering the fact that it is fresh. On the other hand, however, this is something to not agree with. Canada has a lot of fresh water, and it would not be a good idea to waste it all. It would be bad if we used our entire water only as selling products. We should keep it for ourselves for many reasons. We can swim in the water for leisure. In addition we can keep it for our water creatures to live in. As a result, I believe that Canadian water can be sold in order to support a sagging economy. However, only a small portion of our water should be sold in order to help a stooping economy and at the same time, we can have enough for ourselves this way.

[Sean Donnelly (;]

I think we as humans all know the problem is very much real but we do need to make money. How can the world run with out money,the money brings order to the world. i do understand that we have othe rmeans of making money and also understand that water is a a get resource to sell because we have so much of it. At one point we are go to have to realize just when to stop, when we start destorying forests and animals just to get money thats when it has to stop. If we destory our planet we are srewed because this is the only on we have. the world will end by our hand water is just the start of that end. unless we start messing are around and do something about it. why would you want to sell water to people who pay for it, in other words why would to want to sit there and watch some one die when you could help. people in our world ahve mad to big of a deal that the biggest goal in life is to get rich have a big house because ofthis people do not see the world for what it truely is a master piece. The great part of our world is the water when you look at it from in space but when you get closer you see that our world is dying.

[hodan ahmed]

Selling water isn’t exactly an amazing solution to a sagging economy. In Canada we have a large amount of water but if we decide that when things get tough we are going to solve all our problems by selling one of our most important natural resources we’re in trouble. Water is something we can’t create; we can’t make a factory to manufacture it. We have a certain amount of water which we should cherish. I agree that since Canada has so much fresh water if we were to sell it all we wouldn’t have to worry about a sagging economy because water is something that every country would purchase. But we should be smart about our resources and sell a certain amount of our water, enough to keep our economy floating but not all of it because in the future will need it. Water is always going to be necessary. It’s our job to take care of it and be responsible with it so that we have it down the line. If we are careful and smart with our supply of it we might not have to worry about it because we have such a large amount but water isn’t only used for drinking, we need it for washing clothes, cooking, bathing, and so many other tasks so we have to infuses on the importance of preserving it. We should be able to sell a small percentage of our waters supply to help our economy but we can’t afford to sell it all because we could run out if it. There are many solutions to a sagging economy we just have to be smart about which ones we take advantage of.

[Adam Awada]

No, selling a resource which is highly necessary for our survival is obstructive. Sure some people may agree that selling water is our best choice for success when we strike a water stress. But a good example would be; selling air, if we sold air per liter that’d be insane. Although selling it is an amazing way to make money, fast. Sure it may be possible to do so in certain countries where they lack it severely, but if they to, don’t sell it for an ungodly price, sell it within an reasonable range where poor and rich may afford it. Water shouldn’t be gifts for certain people in the world, neither, water should be privatized. There are too many things that are privatized as it is today, you cannot go out, and find something, that is privatized, or close to it. This is almost like saying... a company is gonna take over the touch feature in phones and claim it there’s, and when a company wants to use this technology, they have to pay heavily to use it, per phone.

[alex moncion]

In developed countries selling water may seem alright if there were no pollution that comes from it. In third world countries it is a death sentence for those who can afford it. Water is a basic component of life; I believe no one should privatize water. One day we could run out of fresh water because water companies sold it all. I believe companies could make more money if we give ways of collecting fresh water in third world countries. Eventually fresh water will increase public health, people could then get jobs and buy American products. In the end, everybody wins! So why do people in the developed countries need to buy water if it's free in their kitchen or at a public water fountain? It’s like paying for air. We could undeniably live without private water companies. Unfortunately, most people assume that privatized water is a better quality than public water. I think the world needs to open their eyes if anything is going to stop this water crisis.

[Mr.Kunarac]

Yes, selling water is a must in today's current economic state. Water has been sold and privatized for as long as we can remember. Why should this stop now? The causes for the economic crisis can be made into a long list, but a huge one is the decline of the rate of profit. With that being said, what is something that us humans require the most outside of oil? Water! We need to sell water, we must and if were having a crisis. Charge even more. In this world you need money. Everyone does, some have a lot and others don't. For those who have money, it won't affect them much. Those who don't have money, too bad. It's a dog eat dog world. These third world countries who claim that water is like air. Are talking nonsense. Air will be here forever this will never run out. Water will, thats reality. So logically the best way to conserve it is to increase the price for those who are willing to pay. The more water is given out freely, the more and more the economy will suffer. The economy will not be solved overnight but we can start somewhere. Why not with the one resource that we all seem to take for granted. The the price of water will increase as the demand for water increases. This helps the water not to be wasted.

[Jake]

This isn’t Planet of the Apes, this is the real world. And if you want to make it in the real world, you need to make bank. As Mr Church said in the movie the Expendables(2010) “Only thing you need to know is the job's real, and the money's real.” Isn’t that what life’s all about, getting the job done and making some money from it. As Richard said in the movie Little Miss Sunshine (2006) “There's two kinds of people in this world, there's winners and there's losers. Okay, you know what the difference is? Winners don't give up.” If you want to win these days, you can’t give up. Selling water is like selling oil. People need it, we need money. Supply and demand, we have what they need, they have what we want. Money keeps everything safe, it gives us weapons when we need it, it buys us our sports packages when our team does really good, and lets us bet against them when they do bad. It gets us breakfast at McDonalds because you don’t like your moms cooking, it gets you pizza when you need it the most. And it gets water, to keep you alive.

[Hassan Karout]

Selling water is certainly not an amazing solution to a sagging economy. In Canada, we have a lot of water, but if we decide that when things get tough we are going to solve all our problems by selling one of our most important natural resources, then we will be in trouble. Water is always going to be necessary. we drink it every day in our lives. without it, we cannot live. i believe its our job to take care of it, we might not worry about it because we have so much water that is used for drinking and not for drinking. we need it for washing our clothes, cooking, bathing and many other things. Canada has a lot of fresh water, and it would be a very bad idea just to waste it all. A small portion of our water should be sold in order to help a stooping economy.

[Hejir Bossmoderamiwand]

Selling water would be a great advantage for our country. The economy wouldn’t be in a bad state anymore, considering our amount of fresh water and it being highest in the world. I can see Canada being very successful in getting out of it’s sagging economy. The way i see it is, is that the marketing for selling the fresh water supply won’t be so hard because, the state of other countries in need of clean water is abnormal due to the citizens of those countries not knowing how to treat their water. Other countries that are in need of water haven’t yet showed their citizens how to take care of their water supply, which is the reason why they are going through havoc. Through this Canada won’t have a problem at all, our sagging economy won’t be so SAGGING anymore if the price is right. Canada will once again be a very happy nation as a whole if this occurs.

[Raine Pellerin]

The solution to a sagging economy. Sell water. That’s all wrong, every word of it. Water is a right, not a privilege if you have the money for it. Almost a third of the world’s population is dead or dying from water diseases because they either can’t afford the water, can’t afford the health care or is drinking bottled water. Bottled water has too many chemicals in it to be “safe drinking water”. If the water is warm or sits too long the chemicals from the plastic of the bottle will come off and go into the water, poisoning it. Too many people don’t know what they’re doing. This world is not being informed of the damages and the pollution they’re causing. Of course no one wants to pollute, but just drinking bottled water is polluting because that bottle is going into the garbage at a store or in a park. We drink bottled water when we go somewhere and when we’re done drinking it, we throw it out. These garbages go to the dump and taking hundreds and hundreds of years to biodegrade. Plastic should be recycled, it is no biodegradable. So a solution to non-biodegradable things like water bottles, instead of putting them in the garbage, bring them home and put them in the recycling.

[Kelsey Rodgers]

Selling water to help the economy?.
What about the people who need the water to live and can’t afford to buy it.
Again, only the rich people would be getting clean drinking water while poor people would be suffering and struggling to find the water they need to survive. This would also effect their children and their way of life, which could then lead to crime just because they are trying to get the water that they need to live. Rebecca has a good point. I agree that we shouldn’t be standing around and having all the needs we can while others are dying . There must be other ways to help the economy, water is a necessity of life and should not be used for monetary gain.

[nolan.w]

I believe that this is the solution to fix the economy, but I think it will benefit to more than just the economy.We can't all have a stabilized economy.There's got to be a strong and a weak country.If the strong country tries to improve the weak countries economy, the strong country will become weak because it is too focused on something besides it self.So indeed, selling water will bring a country's economy to the top.The reason why is because every possible living thing in the universe needs the resource being sold.There is such high demand and stock is gradually decreasing day by day.It is an industry than runs out when the product runs out.One of the other benefits of selling it is, it keeps a nation controlled.It's a simple give and take basis that people who desire clean water must follow.If water isn't sold than people can however much they want and in several cases more than others which will create jeasouly.Some people go nuts over things like this, so the companies must make a distribution ratio that applies to everybody.Do we want a world war three?I sure don't.So SELL WATER.

[Jeremy Olding Armstrong]

I think that selling water would be a great way to pull the country out of the recession but we would be selling lots of it for a dirt cheap price so therefore it would take a very long time to see the fruits of our efforts but they would, in time, shine through.
the other problem is that we would have to do it in a way that doesn't violate the human charter of rights written by the U.N. Because of our vast amount of water we are put between a rock and a hard place, and because of that we are probably expected to serve it to the rest of the world free of charge, unfortunately that can't happen. and it won't. so what else do we do? We continue to sell it for a dirt cheap price.

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