Anna Allison

NPB 6S2
u91S1S

!"#$ &'"() *+$ ,-.+/ /' 0/'1 2'31'34/$ *+$5/ '5 /+$ 6'3"(78 64/$3

0ccasionally, we leain something so appallingly obvious that nobouy can believe it.
It challenges eveiything we know to be tiue, yet somehow manages to insult us with its
ceitainty. Bespite being wiuely iecognizeu as the fathei of mouein logic, Aiistotle believeu
objects fell at a speeu ielative to theii mass. It took neaily two centuiies foi ualileo to
piove him wiong. Supposeuly, ualileo uiu so by uiopping mismatcheu fiuit off the Leaning
Towei of Pisa. Touay, anyone can iecieate this famous expeiiment by stanuing on theii
kitchen countei. While anecuotal, this example illustiates how something of ciitical
impoitance can iemain a mysteiy, no mattei how obvious it may seem. In Blue uolu: The
Fight to Stop Coipoiate Theft of the Woilu's Watei, authois Nauue Bailow anu Tony Claike
uespeiately tiy to get mankinu to embiace anothei obvious tiuth. 0ui woilu is iunning out
of watei.
Bailow anu Claike succinctly summaiize how pollution, uibanization, agiicultuial,
inuustiy, piivatization anu peisonal waste aie stiipping the blue planet of its potable
watei. In uoing so, they woik to eiauicate one of the biggest lies tolu to us in the thiiu
giaue. Watei is not a ienewable iesouice. At least not the way we cuiiently use it. Aiounu
the woilu, continents lose about 6,4uu billion cubic feet of watei a yeai. If we allow this to
continue foi anothei 9u yeais, eaith's lanu mass will lose about 18u,uuu billion cubic
meteis of fiesh watei, in othei woius, appioximately all the watei in the whole hyuiologic
cycle. Bowevei, that isn't to say we will be able to continue as we aie until then.
Alieauy the effects of watei scaicity anu pollution aie taking a toll on human life. In
the 0niteu States, "neaily one-fifth of the population uiink watei contaminateu with leau,
fecal bacteiia anu othei seiious pollutants." Nany othei countiies aien't neaily as lucky.
The iichest 2u peicent of the population account foi 86 peicent of consumption woiluwiue.
"In most thiiu woilu cities, watei is often iationeu to neighboihoous foi only a few houis a
uay, of a few uays a week." Foi 1S million South Afiicans, the neaiest watei souice is ovei
half a mile away, oftentimes it is much fuithei.
Blue uolu is about inequity as much as it is about scaicity oi enviionmentalism. As a
planetaiy whole, we aie using too much watei, yet we cannot shaie the blame equally.
Accoiuing to 0niteu Nations iepoits, the 0niteu Kinguom spenus about 11 billion uollais a
yeai on ice cieam. In accoiuance to touay's piices, that's two billion moie than it woulu
cost to pioviue clean watei anu safe seweis to the woilu's population. We have the money
to stop the inequity, if not the iesouices. Between the 0S anu the 0K, I'u like to imagine we
coulu finu 6S million people who woulu give up ice cieam to pievent teiminal uehyuiation
woiluwiue. It's not the simple, howevei. In 1992, watei was ieclassifieu, not as a natuial
iesouice, but as an economic goou that coulu be bought anu solu. In 2uuu, at the 0niteu
Nations Woilu Watei Foium, watei was ueclaieu a basic, "neeu" iathei than a basic iight.
Bailow anu Claike ueftly point out that if watei weie a iight, iathei than a neeu, countiies
woulu be iequiieu to pioviue it to theii citizens. Cuiiently S1 countiies face seveie watei
shoitages, yet much of the watei in those countiies aie piivatizeu anu solu foi piofit by
inteinational mega coipoiations.
Among ceitain gioups, watei piivatization is being calleu the new colonialism.
ulobal piivatization began when the Woilu Bank offeieu uebt ielief in tiaue foi national
watei piivatization. Nany impoveiisheu countiies jumpeu at the chance. This uecision
ienueieu the 0niveisal Beclaiation of Buman Rights all but obsolete in teims of watei
policy. Acioss the globe, ieaction to watei piivatization has been mixeu. Even as some
abhoi the piactice, otheis use it to theii political anu financial auvantage. While the social
acceptance of piivatization has been litteieu with inconsistency, othei things iemaineu
constant: piice incieases. Even wheie watei piivatization as leu to gieatei consistency in
ueliveiy, impioveu technology, anu gieatei access, piices have always incieaseu. While
piice inflation may account foi some of the cost, it can't explain all of it. While Afiican
women collectively walk the uistance to the moon anu back 16 times a uay to get watei, big
wigs anu coipoiate CE0s piofit.
Regaiuless of political affiliation, watei is neeueu foi suivival. So it seems natuial to
meet a shoitage with feai anu uisbelief. Bowevei, oui cultuie, both at home anu abioau,
views watei conveisation as enviionmentalism. This kinu of attituue leaus to a polaiization
of issues. Watei conseivation is not just foi libeials, noi is it foi those conceineu about the
planet. It's foi anyone who will be alive Su yeais fiom now, oi foi anyone who's chiluien
anu gianuchiluien will be alive. Bailow anu Claike piesent compelling eviuence that 2u2S
will be a much uiiei place. Aftei ieauing Blue uolu, I am honestly feaiful of what 2uSu has
in stoie.
Theie aie moments in Blue uolu wheie the facts given to us aie ciystal cleai anu
chilling. Foi example, in countiies wheie watei is piivatizeu, the pooi often spenu moie
money buying watei than they uo buying foou. Theie aie othei times wheie the numbeis
aie so vast that they become haiu to compiehenu. Foi example, in the uulf of Nexico theie
is 18,uuu squaie kilometeis of watei so polluteu it's calleu a ueau zone. The watei in this
aiea cannot suppoit plant oi animal life. Although the authois tiy to biing that staggeiing
space into focus (it's about the size of New }eisey), I still have a haiu time compiehenuing
it. Thiough no fault of theii own, many of the authois' facts aie unbelievable.
Less than thiee peicent of watei on eaith is uiinkable. Bowevei, that thiee peicent
sounus enoimously vast when Bailow anu Claike explain that SS million gallons of
untieateu sewage watei pouis into Yamuna Rivei eveiy uay. It's haiu to believe that 4u
peicent of the 0niteu State's iiveis anu lakes aie so polluteu that they aie unsafe to swim in
when all aiounu me theie aie gieen lawns aie seemingly limitless watei. Bowevei, it's easy
to see that my veiy obseivation is the point the authois aie tiying to make. Watei scaicity
is still a well-kept seciet in the 0niteu States. Since nobouy ieally knows how much
giounuwatei is left, theie is no way of knowing when it is going to iun out. The teiiifying
tiuth of watei scaicity is that we may not know we'ie iunning out until it's alieauy gone.
Blue uolu pioviues a convincing aigument foi a neaily unbelievably uiie situation.
0ften times it's tough to swallow. It seems like, if a quaitei of the infoimation in this book
weie tiue, someone woulu be uoing something about it. Yet Blue uolu was publisheu in
2uu2, anu nothing has changeu. In theii book, Nauue Bailow anu Tony Claike uo an
incieuible job of highlighting the tiue meaning of elite piivilege, coipoiate gieeu, anu
uisenfianchisement. Even in the giimmest of uystopian fiction, watei scaicity is not an
issue. We aie facing a uisastei that is thoioughly ignoieu by eveiyone who is not
expeiiencing it. In a sense, one of the giavest thieats to humankinu is of oui own making
anu is being peipetuateu eveiy uay.