Just finished a crazy tasting of top Canadian microbrews. Top ones, http://t.co/WNT2JZjO, http://t.co/mgSu7ADf, http://t.co/yiK7BC2H
| 22 March 2010
| Article Index |
|---|
| World Water Day |
| World Water Day Events |
| All Pages |
Page 1 of 2
This year's theme for World Water Day is Clean Water for a Healthy World.
The idea of World Water Day stemmed from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Do you have easy access to clean running water? Almost 2 billion people worldwide don't. They're forced to rely on contaminated water, or must travel great distances to access it. Here in Canada, finding clean drinking water is difficult for some, but we contribute to the problem in another way that, in future, may come back to cause problems for us.
Enough of us (yes, that includes me) buy bottled water at least some of the time. The problem is that the act of buying and selling those bottles commodifies water. As soon as it's possible to make a profit, a whole list of rules and regulations concerning that commodity suddenly materialise. And just like gas, the price of water will rise and fluctuate until it's out of bounds for many people. The question, though, is whether or not access to water is a basic human right. If you answered, yes, then allowing profits to be made on water runs contrary to that idea. "A major challenge to Canada's water security is the privatization of our water infrastructure, with for-profit treatment companies, new water markets in Alberta, and the bottled water industry assuming greater control of Canada's water resources and services," says Dylan Penner of the Council of Canadians.
Below is a short list of events promoting the idea that water is a basic human right are taking place today and throughout the week. Check your local newspapers to find an event near you.