MILWAUKEE: W.T.Flood!!!
Federal appellate judges have upheld a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision to issue permits allowing a company to leach uranium at an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of Navajos in northwestern New Mexico.
A panel of the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 opinion Monday that concluded the NRC took the “hard look” required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
Eastern Dine Against Uranium Mining, Southwest Research and Information Center and ranchers Grace Sam and Marilyn Morris challenged the NRC’s approval of permits for Hydro Resources Inc. to do in-situ leach mining near the Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock.
The opponents contend the NRC violated federal law in issuing the permits.
As far back as I can remember, water was a right, and right there for the drinking. When I was a kid, I would turn the knob and cool, clear H2O would just come out, as much as I could want.
Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and is recognized as one of the absolutely essential elements in the development of life as we know it…meaning without water, we wouldn’t be here. Due to climate change, that staple of human life is becoming a bit harder to come by.
Check this factoid from the EPA:
All regions of the world show an overall net negative impact of climate change on water resources and freshwater ecosystems. Areas in which runoff is projected to decline are likely to face a reduction in the value of the services provided by water resources. The beneficial impacts of increased annual runoff in other areas are likely to be tempered in some areas by negative effects of increased precipitation variability and seasonal runoff shifts on water supply, water quality and flood risks (IPCC, 2007)
This means that due to climate change, water is becoming a precious commodity. While over 90 percent of the world delivers water as a public utility, water privatization is on the rise in poorer countries and now in stressed areas of the US, as the climate of our planet steadily changes.
By 2013, thirty six states will experience some sort of water shortage. And the enterprising businessmen of America would love to step in and charge us to supply fresh water, even though the industrial pollution of our waterways (often by the same businessmen who support privatization) is a primary factor in the climate change that is leading to these water shortages!
The effects of privatization on lower income communities are drastic. Water bills skyrocket and invariably, the city runs dry. Check this real life story, entitled “Water Warriors”:
You’d think that if you’re paying high prices for a substance as fundamental as water that it’d be pristine and non-toxic. According to a recent report by the New York Times, that isn’t always true. Forty percent of community water systems have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act on – at least – one occasion, which is a startling factor.
So, we could look at it this way: we could purchase overpriced, potentially polluted water from multinational corporations or we could urge the administration to rexamine and come down on climate change profiteers, who purchase and poison the water systems of our communities.
Some things are too priceless to sell, and it is an affront to all Americans that we would be required to pay a privately owned company for what is, in affect, the ability to stay alive, if the climate keeps changing. That isn’t consumer choice, that’s piracy, and the question is, what are we going to do about it? Will we stand back and accept corporate control of our very ability to live and breathe?
It’s our call, and it’s about time we make it.
Posted as part of Blog Action Day | www.blogactionday.org
According to a study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, if California were to implement a few widespread water saving techniques, “they could save more than enough water to meet the needs of the three major cities of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles”.
Water conservation plays a key factor in environmental health. The Natural Resources Defense Council stated that if business were to adopt a few new tactics in terms of how they are run, individual mechanisms can reduce water use by over 50 percent.
Take a look at some of the specifics after the jump and stay tuned for a pretty interesting Youtube video:
![[VIDEO] Chicago’s Son: Doc Franchise Speaks](http://99problems.org/wp-content/plugins/simple-post-thumbnails/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/thumbnails/22219.jpeg&w=300&h=100&zc=1&ft=jpg)
