Use the link to answer:
This week you have explored how issues associated with freshwater are connected to various sustainability issues. In your Bolivian case study, you explored how freshwater is largely managed as a “commodity” more than a public resource. In your Guided Inquiry, you read about the many challenges associated with having enough water for both people and wildlife in the Colorado River Basin. Another perspective on the relationship between people and freshwater is provided in the Inter-Tribal Fish Commission video. In many parts of the world, human populations have deep cultural, subsistence, and economic connections to the plants and animals that live in or around their local freshwater resources. Thus, changes or shifts in the species composition of regional rivers (i.e. clams, fish, plants) in response to climate change will “leave the human communities behind”.
Many people suggest that if we view water resources as a commodity, we can more effectively protect/preserve our waterways because the water will have economic “value”. If we view water as a common resource available to everyone (more similar to the Inter-Tribal Fish Commission viewpoint), freshwater might be managed unsustainably because no one company/person can be held responsible for its use. To promote water conservation, should water be viewed as a commodity?
Only one post is needed for this week but feel free to read your peer’s responses to get some ideas!
