Water has been one of the three crucial elements living things have depended on since their existence, apart from air and food. Water has helped many great, ancient civilizations to flourish, such as the Egyptians along the Nile River; the Mayans along the Amazon River; the Indians along the Indus River; the Qing Dynasty along the Yellow River, and many others. Water was also used in Greek mythology for worship, the famous Poseidon, god of the sea, Aphrodite, Triton, Ceto etc. Water has also been the basis for the current technological era. Without it, none of these things would have been possible.
Over years, the demand for water has increased exponentially with the current population boost of the world. As we can see, many areas such as parts of Africa, India and the Middle East, where most of the third world countries are located, are suffering from water shortage as they cannot afford the cost. Although water bodies cover about 70% of the Earth's surface, but only 3% is drinkable. More than 1.1 billion percent of people do not have access to this 3% of clean water, according to a science research done at Cambridge University. The World Health Organization (WHO) is already trying to address this problem, but both the limited water supply and the need to sustain the poor has caused debates from countries whether water should be, like other items, bought, or treated as a necessity and given to people when needed.
Firstly, freshwater and groundwater are not enough to meet the daily requirements of the world. To solve this problem, scientists have made use of advances in technology to develop processes such as desalination and reverse osmosis to turn undrinkable water like seawater into drinkable water. NEWater is a good example of a local enterprise which recycles water. However, machines that do all the work cost a tremendous amount of money, thus the cost of water has been rising.
Water, in my opinion, should not be a commodity. Some people may argue that the current society is based on wealth. If one has no money to pay for the water bills, then it is just too bad for him. Besides, water is not abundant and cannot support so many, thus it would be better that some people do not receive water to save up for rainy days. However, I strongly disagree with this point. We are all humans, fellow comrades to each other. We should then treat each other equally. Is that not what the human rights are created for? This is quite a cruel and selfish mindset, to think only about one's self and not consider the plight of others.
There is a big difference between water being a commodity and it being a human right. If we take the former as a scenario, we would see many people unable to have access to water; but in the case of the latter, we would see everyone enjoying the use of water. Sadly, the supply of water is not infinite. It is a non-renewable source. But how are we going to sustain the entire world if our future is already at stake? One good solution is to start conserving water, be it for our daily needs or in factories. We should also try not to pollute water as this decreases the percentage of drinkable water.
In conclusion, water is Nature's gift to man for thousands of years. All human beings have the freedom to gain access to it, and thus it should not be a commodity. Money has become the religion of the century, and so has water. Who knows, other basic necessities might even follow up...
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