When the idea of water metering was raised at last week's event on water issues hosted by 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 CAN (Climate Action Network, of which I am a member too), Coun. Paul Lalli philosophized about water being a human right and that it should therefore be essentially free ["CAN petitions for ban on local bottled water," The Chief, June 26].
A noble sentiment this may be, but it could just as well be extended to other of life's essentials such as food and shelter, and the UN is good at doing that often enough in pious pronouncements.
Unfortunately pronouncements do not get us anywhere. Someone has to produce the food, build shelter, provide clean water, develop and maintain the physical, economic and institutional infrastructure to have everything work smoothly. Whether this is done by government, courtesy of the taxpayer, or by the private sector, it all demands an allocation of scarce resources and comes with a price tag.
The idea of free and abundant commons in a crowded world - be they fresh water, oceans, forests or the atmosphere - should be pass茅. If one takes a look at past stewardship of those commons, or rather our abuse of them, and the enormous cost we now face to clean up, repair and stabilize, one can only come to the conclusion that the clich茅 "there is no free lunch" is proven right once more.
The abundant fresh water sources we take for granted in 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 may not always be there with a growing population and possibly a drier future climate. Better to get used to conservation! I believe council is on the right track to consider water metering now. I personally would applaud a progressive rate system, where those with higher water usage would progressively be charged more.
It is not a new idea, our Canadian tax system works the same way, and few of us would find anything wrong with that aspect of it. Furthermore, every week several 10,000 bottles of water are purchased in 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 alone at an average cost of one dollar a litre, whereas the district delivers tap water for 42 cents per 1,000 litres.
It seems to me that at least those able to afford bottled water at these prices could hardly claim an infringement of their human rights by being asked to pay more for profligate use of municipal water.
Wolfgang Wittenburg,
老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料
