Water: A Human Right

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Introduction (Rogerian Step One)

a. Water is among the basic human needs, along with shelter and food.
i. Despite the planet being covered in 2/3 water, 10% of the
worlds population has no access to safe drinking water.
b. The right to clean water should be a global concern, as it affects not
only undeveloped countries, but also developed countries, such as in
USA, see Flint, Michigan.
i. With the population of the world steadily growing, and pollution
increasing, clean water needs to be one of our most protected
and regulated resources.
c. Some corporations want to privatize the water industry (Nestle), and
make profits off of natural resources that should belong to the people.
i. This becomes problematic because it will limit access to water
for the impoverished people of the world.
d. Clean water is a basic human right, and should be government
regulated and subsidized to maximize the availability to all people.
Opposition Perspective
a. Water industry should be privatized
i. Private industry is more effective at distribution, and the owners
of the land should be able to harvest all its natural resources.
b. Corporations, namely Nestle, believe that if they own the land which
the water resides on, they should be able to harvest the resources of
that land and profit off of them on their own, privately determined
selling prices.
i. They want to harvest water from places that already have a
shortage of water supply, then export them to sell the water at a
premium.
c. This would be okay if they werent taking advantage of the localities in
which they are gathering water. If the people have more than enough
clean water, then it is okay to export and profit in areas where water is
not so readily available.
Writers Perspective
a. Water should be a human right, and until all people have access to
clean water, profiteering off the industry is unethical and should be
illegal.
b. Government regulation to ensure proper dispersal of water supply
should be employed, and profit margins for clean water should be
minimalized.
c. I believe that everyone has a right to live and be healthy. Clean water
is a major part of that. In this country, capitalism has corrupted our
society to where even the most basic needs, water, healthcare, shelter,
are only attainable if you have money. That needs to change.
d. This viewpoint would be best accepted if there were a plan put in place
to nationalize our water system, and have the distribution of clean
water made public, and hold the governments accountable. In the USA

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this is already done for the most part through governments, although
much of it is subcontracted out.
e. The privatization of some government services is necessary, but not
when profiteering is the main motive. Government should regulate
prices and monitor distribution.
Common Ground
a. A possible solution is to regulate prices to prevent price gouging, and
more closely monitor the private companies that are harvesting natural
resources which belong to the communities, not the private land
owners.
b. In order for this to occur, there would need to be legislation passed at
the federal level to take pricing power away from private companies
such as nestle, and set a price ceiling.
c. It will be carried out by the EPA, doing their job and monitoring the
water industry.
d. In order to ensure this, tax hikes would most likely be necessary to pay
for the proper regulation.
Alternatives
a. The only alternative to this would be to let the corporations continue
monopolizing our planets natural resources, and come a time where
water is one of our most precious resources, make billions of dollars by
price gouging.
Concluding Statements
a. I predict this wont happen. Any type of tax hike is generally hated by
the American public, so I would assume that its the same around the
world.
b. If we let our necessary resources be hoarded by speculating
corporations, will we have to pay a premium to get them back when
we need them most?
Works Cited
a. Included in Mini Annotated Bibliography