Scanlan: Stop exporting Wisconsin wa= ter

Melissa K. Scanlan
July 27, 2006

The one-dimensional story on the economic value of bot= tled water, "The bottled water business is booming," in Friday's Wisco= nsin State Journal missed the forest for the trees.

Wisconsin's economic growth will be determined in part by its vast water resources. But= if we export our waters a bottle at a time, we may be simultaneously exporting future water- dependent jobs and diminishing our manufacturing base.

Bottled water, unlike other products that use water such as paper manufacturing, is not just another way to capitalize on our water wealth. F= or Neenah Springs and Aquafina, water is the product. But for the vast majorit= y of Wisconsin's manufacturing jobs, water is one ingredient incorporated into a final produ= ct.

The difference might appear subtle and legalistic, but it could be the difference between exporting jobs and environmental protections and building thriving communities around the Great Lakes.

Bottled water is the most familiar form of privatizing and exporting wat= er in bulk. We think bottled water is innocuous because we see it everywhere. = But ask people if they want to see a pipeline built, or tanker trucks lined up,= to ship water to Arizona to keep golf courses green, and you'll get an angry "no" in response.

It is important to realize that there is no meaningful difference between bulk exports of water using plastic bottles or tankers and pipelines because the impact is the same: a complete taking of water out of the watershed of origin, most of which will not be returned. This stands in contrast to water uses in the basin that are just that uses where water is then returned to t= he original water body.

And once you turn on the tap for bottled water exports, legal rules prot= ecting interstate and international commerce make it very hard to turn that tap off for bulk exports via pipeline and tanker.

With global consumption of water doubling every 20 years, water scarcity= is becoming an ever-increasing reality the oil of the 21st century throughout = the world.

A handful of multinational corporations are capitalizing on this scarcit= y by amassing control of water resources in a growing, $1 trillion dollar indust= ry. These companies are doing this by taking water free of charge out of its natural state and shipping it via plastic bottle= s, tankers, pipelines and water bags to sell in other places.

And with the export of water goes jobs precisely not what Wisconsin wants.=

In the upcoming year, the Wisconsin Legislature will have the opportunit= y to turn off the tap and prohibit the export of bottled water by creating implementing legislation for the Great Lakes Compact.

Lawmakers should take swift action to stop exporting Wisconsin's water in plastic bottles. =

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