Water Privatization

According to Food and Water Watch, having bottled water means that massive corporations profit from the production of privatizing water which means there is less support for the public water supply. Corporations like Nestle Waters, Pepsico, and Coca-Cola sell single-use plastic bottles that occupies our oceans, landfills, and other areas that costs a thousand times more than what it costs to drink and use the water that comes from the tap. As bottled water has become the beverage of convenience, it is destroying the public infrastructure for the public. Public sources of water has been a source for water for over a hundred years and now corporations like Nestle want to privatize this.

Food Empowerment Project states that although most people know that the Earth is composed of about two-thirds of water, most of which is saltwater, only 2.5 percent of freshwater is suitable for drinking and growing food. Furthermore, less than 1% is available to humans and ecosystems because most of it remains frozen in the the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Today around 1.1 billion people (one-sixth of the world's population do not have adequate access to clean drinking water and about 2.6 billion people lack the proper sanitation. Researchers state that by 2025, about two-thirds of the population will be living in water stressed areas.

https://enveconunca.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/water-privatization-an-economic-solution-or-disaster/

This Project also states that Animal agriculture industries use and pollute a disproportionate share of water even though millions die every year due to the lack of clean water. As the scarcity increases, water's value as an economic commodity rises. About 90 percent of the freshwater drinking supply has remained under public control. In areas where privatization of water has been established, it has caused chronic water shortage problems. This is because corporations, by nature, are more concerned with making capital than saving people's and communities' best interest, has in turn created corruption, lack of corporate accountability, loss of local agency, weakened water quality standards, and sleep rate hikes that eliminate the poor population's access to water. As Nestle is considered one of the largest corporations in the world, it is also considered a water business and is currently leasing out around 50 spring sites throughout the United States. In many of these places that Nestle currently operates on, it is known that they have unlawfully extracted water from aquifers, engaged in price-gouging tactics, and polarized communities.

https://mikebrantley.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/the-scary-unbiblical-privatization-of-water/

The Wall Street Journal states that nearly 73 million people are served with the help of a private company. Richard Little explains that the privatization investment would cost as much as 1 trillion dollars within the next 25 years. He then goes on to state that the privatization of water offers economies of scale wherein a single company can provide the financial and human resources to serve many small systems in a far more cost-effective manner. Government-owned enterprises, on the other-hand, do not have rate structures that reflect the true cost of the service. Thus, making small publicly owned water utilities lack the means of not only making capital investments, but to also hire the professional staff needed to meet increasingly stringent water-quality standards.

Dead Zones

What are Dead Zones?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the term "dead zone" is a more common name for hypoxia, which refers to a reduced level of oxygen in the water. Hypoxic zones are areas in ocean that have much lower oxygen concentration in which animal life suffocates and dies. One of the largest dead zones forms in the Gulf of Mexico every spring. When farmers prep their lands every spring with fertilization, the run off from the rainfall gathers in streams, rivers, and lakes and creates a disturbance of the animal life within the area. These hypoxia areas occur naturally throughout the world, but scientists are concerned about the areas that are created or enhanced by human activity. There are many factors that influence the contribution to a dead zone such as physical, chemical, and biological stressors, but the issue of nutrient pollution is considered the primary cause of dead zones created by humans. The excess nutrients that run off from the land or as piped wastewater are capable of stimulating the overgrowth of algae. When an overgrowth of algae occurs, the algae sinks to the bottom of the body of water and decomposes. This process of decomposition consumes the oxygen source and depletes the supply needed to sustain a healthy living environment for the animal life. These dead zones are usually located in many areas in the United States, but particularly along the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. The NOAA states that there is not a specific country or area that is immune to producing a dead zone. The second largest dead zone is located within the United States, which is in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

http://theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch/world-watches-dead-zones-algae-ruin-water/

Vast algae blooms in northern Europe's Baltic Sea fuels annual aquatic dead zones, where the oxygen levels are too low to support most animal life. 

How Many/Where are They Located?

The Scientific American states that a new study has been reported in which there are 405 identified dead zones throughout the world. In the 1960's, there were 49 identified areas with animal life depletion due to the lack of oxygen. The largest identified dead zone lies in the Baltic Sea and it lacks oxygen year-round. The study also indicated that around 235,000 tons of food is lost to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. This amount is enough to feed 75% of the average brown shrimp harvested from Louisiana gulf. 

http://www.livescience.com/49347-lake-erie-dead-zone-drought.html

Satellite image of toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie in 2011. 

Dead Zone's Impact on the Ecosystem?

According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information, hypoxia affects thousands of km2 of marine waters all over the world. This causes mass mortality of animals,bethic defaunation, and a decline in fishery production in many places. Due to the growth of the population and global warming, over the past few decades, the severity and frequency of hypoxia has increased dramatically and is likely to be an issue in the future. The effect of hypoxia on marine animals has an effect on reproduction, development, growing, and feeding. Some fish species and marine organisms are able to detect hypoxia and are able to actively avoid it. 

Is Water a Human Right?

According to UNRIC, the United Nations National Assembly in 2010 brought up the topic of water and sanitation and how it should be declared a human right. This source states that water being considered a human right is more-so focused on the quality; making sure that each person who has it is able to have clean, safe drinking water and isn't able to get sick from it is the biggest issue rather than the quantity. Having the right to water is not specifically stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but without this access, other acts stated in the Declaration would not be fulfilled. These acts include "the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being" and taken into account for "Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance". The General Assembly in 2010 declared access to water as a human right by Ms. De Albuquerque stating "Everyone has the right to water, no matter where he/she lives". Having the UN recognize that water is a human right, having safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a current pressure that local and national authorities are facing to ensure that they are able to provide a better quality infrastructure for drainage systems.  These factors will increase significantly over the years due to the rise in the population growth and rising incomes that lead to an increase in water consumption, as well as waste production. According to the UN World Water Development Report, by 2050, at least one in four people will be likely affected in their country by chronic or reoccurring shortages of freshwater.

http://wheelockglobalcauses.org/human-rights/on-water-and-cell-phones-which-is-a-more-basic-
human-right/

Right to Water states that having the human right to water entitles everyone without discrimination to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use. Having the right to human sanitation entitles everyone without discrimination to physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, which is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable, which provides for privacy and ensures dignity. Sanitation is defined as a system for the collection, transport, disposal or reuse of human excreta and associated hygiene. 

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/Overview.aspx


The World Health Organization states that the  content of the right to water may be defined as a right to access water of sufficient cleanliness and in sufficient quantities to meet individuals needs. As a minimum, the quantity must suffice to meet basic human needs in terms of drinking, bathing, cleaning, cooking, and sanitation. These correspond to those defined under a right to adequate housing. The minimum quantity of household water is dependent on its specific use; drinking water must be safe for consumption, whereas lower standards may be set for water sanitation. Having the right to water as a part of a right to food is more complex. The right to water as part of the right to food is more complex. While drinking and cooking water would be protected, water for food production would probably not be covered under the minimum needs in arid areas, as agriculture production requires such high amounts of water that individual household needs must first be ensured. The same goes for water for industrial use: although industry and electricity are important for ensuring an adequate standard of living, these uses must not infringe the right to household water.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is known as fish or shellfish farming that refers to the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all types of water environments including ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. This produces food fish, sport fish, baiting fish, ornamental fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae, sea vegetables, and fish eggs. There are two types of aquaculture: marine and freshwater aquaculture. Marine aquaculture refers to the culturing of species that live in the ocean. U. S. marine aquaculture primarily produces oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, and salmon as well as lesser amounts of cod, moi, yellowtail, barramundi, seabass, and seabream. This type of aquaculture can take place in the ocean (that is, in cages, on the seafloor, or suspended in a water column) or on in-land, manmade systems such as ponds or tanks. Recirculating aquaculture systems that reduce, reuse, and recycle water and waste can support some marine species. Freshwater aquaculture produces species that are native to rivers, lakes, and streams. U. S. freshwater aquaculture is dominated by catfish but also produces trout, tilapia, and bass. This type of aquaculture takes place primarily in ponds and on in-land manmade systems such as recirculating aquaculture systems.

An example of aquaculture that takes place in Piketon, OH sponsored by The Ohio State University.

(http://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/participants-value-ohio-state%E2%80%99s-aquaculture-programs)

Marine aquaculture in the United States contributes to the seafood supply, supports commercial fisheries, restores habitat and at-risk species, and maintains economic activity in coastal communities and at working waterfronts in every coastal state. About 40% of the salmon caught in Alaska and about 80-90% in the Pacific Northwest start their lives in a hatchery - contributing over 270 million dollars to commercial fishery. Hatchery stock is used to rebuild oyster reefs, enhance wild fish populations, and rebuild threatened and endangered abalone and corals.  The Unites States is the leading global importer of fish and fishery products, with 91% of the seafood we eat originating abroad - half of which is from aquaculture. Driven by imports, the U. S. seafood trade deficit has grown over $11.2 billion annually.

In contrast to world capture fisheries production, which has essentially stagnated since the mid-1980's, aquaculture has maintained an annual growth rate of 8.3% worldwide, making it the fastest worldwide growing form of food production in the world. In the United States sales of domestic marine aquaculture have grown on average 13% per year from 2007-2011 led by increases in oyster and salmon production. Global production is dominated by Asia (89%), while China alone accounts for 62%.

An example of aquaculture on the West Coast. 

(http://www.rafts.org.uk/aquaculture/)

The World Wildlife Organization has identified that farmed fish and shrimp as priority commodities, because collectively, they represent the largest share of global farmed seafood market. Consequently, they can have a significant negative impact on the places and species we seek to protect. The rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry has not come without impacts. As a conservation organization the WWF is concerned about the negative effects the industry has had - and will continue to have - on the environment and the society. Approximately 85% of the world's marine stocks are either fully exploited or overfished, driving accelerated growth in the farmed seafood industry.