November 17, 2010

Privatizing Water

The campaign against bottled water, brought to you by the eco-fascist green folks of Al Gore's ilk, continues unabated. This morning on the subway I saw one of those backpacks that students wear, where it is festooned with buttons. I see these all the time. If you live or commute near an institute of higher learning you probably do too. The typical stuff was on display, education is a right, drop fees - end poverty, unlearn sexism. All are standard fare for the backpack. But so is the green agenda - sustainability, climate change and "unbottle it - keep water public". 

I'm not sure these students are fully aware of the consequences of their positions. Some perhaps are, but others just absorb what the environment provides. But the campaign to keep water public, based on the idea that plastic bottles are a danger to the earth misses the mark on so many levels.

Consider:
-Raging against the likes of Evian is not only anti-capitalism, it's anti consumer choice. It is anti-free-market. It is however, pro-government controlled water. Just like public transit. No cars, just people movers that treat people like cattle to be herded to work and home. The upshot is, both of these efforts are anti-individual. There is an implicit pro-socialism stance in the effort, whether intended or not by those supporting this effort.  Government water, government travel; these ideas are all wrapped up in the save the earth messaging that endears itself to a population that thinks during their lifetimes the planet is doomed to a corrosive, toxic, man-polluted future.
-Are plastic bottles really such a menace? If so why is only bottled water being targeted? What about Coke or Pepsi or Heinz Ketchup?  Sure, they don't come out of taps in your sink, but I am old enough to remember when they came in glass bottles. Why not pressure them to change? Because ketchup will never be government run. At least it won’t be in President Obama’s life time.  Clearly there's a bigger agenda at work - making sure the government controls the water supply. It's all about control. If the government controls the water supply they have more control over the people who need it. That may sound paranoid because the government isn't going to start putting soma in the water. But it does open the possibility.
-Plastic bottles are recyclable.  True, the recycling isn't as efficient as paper recycling, but new technologies are always coming along.  Maybe the President could create some green jobs to look into that...or there is still  the switch to glass or some other more recyclable material.  If you don't mind the added cost.
-The motivation to help the planet from certain doom is a powerful motivator to an unquestioning, impressionable mind. But the motivation of the individual is   not necessarily the motivation of the original messenger.  Ironically, the person wearing the back pack I saw today was reading a text book on critical thinking. Either the text was seriously flawed or there was a huge disconnect between the learning and the application of that learning by the student.
So what is the solution? Support bottled water sales. And more importantly, try to get those people motivated to do good blindly to really partake in some critical thinking and start applying it to their actions and assessing their motivations for their chosen positions.  A little education can still go a long way. 

1 comment:

  1. hello there thanks for your grat post, as usual ((o:

    ReplyDelete

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