PRESENTER: GP-US PLATFORM COMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Bruce Hinkforth, bhinkforth@milwpc.com
Linda Cree, creelinda@hotmail.com
CONTACT:
LuAnne Kozma, luannekozma@gmail.com
SUBJECT: Municipal Water Systems
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: As the experience of Flint, Michigan residents shows, municipal water systems pose potential human health and social justice problems that critically need addressing. In a December meeting, the Vehicle City Greens of Flint began crafting language on a municipal water plank that was completed by several members of the Green Party of Michigan just today. Therefore, the Platform Committee urges that the following new plank be added to Chapter III: Ecological Sustainability H. Water as #9 as shown below:
PROPOSAL: Add the following paragraph on municipal water systems to the section on water under Ecological Sustainability as #9 as shown below.
Chapter III: Ecological Sustainability
H. Water
Water is essential to all forms of life. The Green Party calls for an international declaration that water belongs to the Earth and all of its species. Water is a basic human right! . . . etc.
1. We need strong national and international laws to promote conservation . . . etc..
2. Greens oppose the privatization of water and demand that . . . etc.
3. Decisions about water must be based on an ecosystems approach . . . etc.
4. Conservation must be an essential part of any water policy . . . etc.
5. Set health and sustainability water quality guidelines . . . etc.
6. Achieve a truly sustainable water policy . . . etc.
7. Oppose the disproportional political influences. . . etc.
8. Integrate land use with water use . . . etc.
9. Ensure that municipal water and water systems are publicly-owned, publicly sourced from the cleanest natural sources possible, obtained and discharged without harming the bioregion’s ecosystem, transported using safe, uncontaminated systems and materials, and treated using scientific methods to render water uncontaminated and safe to drink without health hazard. Promptly assess and replace lead pipes in the nation’s municipal infrastructure. Comprehensive water testing and analysis that includes a wide range of contaminants and radioactivity should be done throughout the municipality and the results published
promptly and publicly. Public health issues should promptly inform and coincide with water testing. Using privatized, bottled water to substitute for a contaminated public water supply is unacceptable. Since water is a human right, all humans within the municipality should have full access to affordable, clean, uncontaminated water from the municipal water system for basic needs at all times and without threat of shut-off.
REFERENCES:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969804313001425?via%3Dihub
The public ownership of water is a basic ecological principle. The private ownership of natural resources is completely opposed to the pragmatics of Green politics. nderstood by governments of the majority of
capitalist countries, only in the USA is public ownership of this kind considered “socialist.”
But that which makes cities possible, is even more important to human presence on the planet.
Impressive. Thanks for the detailed work. If passed, this section could be very educational to the general public.
Fantastic work! I love this one.
It’s very relevant to the issues of our time, not just in Flint, but municipalities all over the country.
This would also help Green candidates for water board across the country make their case more effectively.
Grammatical suggestions that I hope will be clear enough:
Ensure that municipal water and water systems are publicly-owned, publicly sourced from the cleanest natural sources possible, obtained and discharged without harming the bioregion’s ecosystem, transported using safe (DELETE COMMA), uncontaminated systems and materials, and treated using scientific methods to render water uncontaminated and safe to drink without health hazard. Promptly assess and replace lead pipes in the nation’s municipal infrastructure. (PERFORM)Comprehensive water testing and analysis that includes a wide range of contaminants and radioactivity (DELETE NEXT 3 WORDS)should be done throughout the municipality and (PUBLISH THE RESULTS PROMPTLY AND PUBLICLY) the results published
promptly and publicly. Public health issues should promptly inform and coincide with water testing. Using privatized (DELETE COMMA), bottled water to substitute for a contaminated public water supply is unacceptable. Since water is a human right, all humans within the municipality should have full access to affordable (DELETE NEXT 2 COMMAS), clean, uncontaminated water from the municipal water system for basic needs at all times and without threat of shut-off.