From Alternet, an article by Juliette Beck on the growing trend towards water privatization and the battles being waged by communities who bought the spiels of private companies that
[lured] government officials with promises of cost savings and improved compliance with clean water regulations. But municipalities that embark on the path of handing their water systems over to corporate management can find themselves on a slippery slope of hidden costs and weak accountability, with tax and ratepayers usually footing the costs of broken promises.
While I don’t remember it being covered in detail in “The Soul of Environmentalism,” the battle against commodification and privatization of water seems like an excellent cause for those promoting the revitalization of environmentalism by returning to its roots in civil rights. If a company tried to privatize air, most people would be shocked and appalled. Yet, most of us (myself included) think very little about buying a bottle of Dasani…
Technorati tags: water, privatization
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