Did anyone catch the short Documentary on SBS or ABC last night about the privatisation of water? I had to duck off to Ultimate Frisbee (more on that later) so missed most of it, but thought the topic was fascinating nonetheless.
Although some people may think this is a bit over the top, It really doesn't matter. It is an inescapable reality that one day, clean, fresh water is going to be a precious commodity. Whilst the amount of fresh water in the world will remain constant, population and pollution growth will drastically reduce the amount of clean fresh water we have per capita, not to even mention distribution problems for places like Australia where it has a habit of not showing up where its most required.
A friend asked me recently for a long term investment tip. I told him of a few stocks I had my eye on but I also told him that long long long term - anything to do with water was going to be a winner. Innovation with regard to water quality has recently been a hotbed of activity, and with good cause, we can't live without it, and eventually it will be a commodity for which we will have to pay a hefty price for. People complain about paying $1.50L for petrol, what about $1.50L for water? Your average 5 min morning shower would cost more than $25.
3 comments:
There was a sermon on this a couple of weeks ago in church (yes, I go to church now), about how the church is opposed to government bodies, private companies, and other organizations/agencies/companies charging for water. I agree with you, I don't think we have a choice in the matter. It is getting very costly to bring clean drinkable water to everybody in the world.
Glad to hear you're still playing ultimate =)
Considering the shortage of water in Australia it's rather disgusting that more agreesive methods of water recycling & conservation have not been employed. Including charging more for any water used. In Europe it costs about 3Eur per litre, that is nearly $6 and they have a hell of a lot more water than we do and higher standards of recycling.
If Australia is going to be able to afford different methods for water production such as desalination plants then it is inevitable and right that the price of water increase.
What about desalination plants? We build heaps of them at a cost of a few billion. The plants supply a fresh water forever, because the sea is an infinite supply of water. Cost per litre? Well if we rely on them for ever, then the initial cost is a few billion. the time frame is forever hence infinity. a few billion divide by infinity is .................................zero. But i dont know what to do with global warming.
Bryan
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