Please keep in mind while reading: The following assignment is in the format of a persuasive essay, meaning it has the potential to be highly biased. I have written this based on my honest opinion and would please ask readers to respect my point of view. Please do not hesitate to share your opinion however, just do so in a considerate manner.
Should Canada sell her water to the United State's of America?
Water is the fundamental resource required for life. Canada has been blessed with more than twenty percent of the world's rapidly decreasing freshwater. Canadians need to remember this when it comes to the issue of selling this sacred element. Canada needs to prevent water from becoming the world's next oil.
It is in my strong belief that Canada should firmly ban the sales of it's precious water to the United States of America. With a swiftly rising population, not to mention global warming, Canada is going to need all the water it can get in the next few decades. As well, many ecosystems rely on Canadian water sources to supports it's lifeforms. Finally, if Canada sells it's water to the U.S.A, they will be giving them an excuse to not solve their own increasing water problems and shortages.
If the sales of water is permitted, Canada will be depleting the water sources they will need to sustain themselves in less then a centuries time. The Great Lakes (majority residing within Canadian borders) contain almost twenty percent of the Earth's freshwater. The unfortunate fact is, only one percent of this lakewater is renewed in a year from precipitation. These enormous lakes are the most obvious source of water the Americans will focus on in their attempts to engage Canadians to trade their water. However, the American population is expected to grow by an extreme fifty percent in the next few decades, increasing their need for water immensely. If Canada allows the U.S.A to consume Canadian water with their stunningly high population growth and the Great Lake's tiny renewable water percentage, Canada will find that the lake's water levels will drop drastically, endangering it's own growing population.
Global warming which threatens to increase American demand for water by making their lands dryer and more arid, also poses a threat to Canada's water requirements. Most rivers in parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are fed primarily by glaciers. With global warming, these glaciers will soon melt, causing the rivers they fed to disappear completely. This will leave that entire region, which is most of what makes up western Canada, in desperate need of water from other Canadian supplies. As you can see, Canada does not and will not have the water to spare. By selling water to the United States now, Canada is ensuring themselves a future of hardship.
Canada needs to conserve it's water rather then sell it because of the many ecosystems that rely on Canadian lakes and rivers. Renowned for being a county with abundant wildlife and plentiful plant species, Canada would devastate it's enviroment by selling it's water. Canada is home to many endangered species such as the whooping crane, spotted turtle, chinook salmon, swiftfox and tiger salamander, all of which rely heavily on the major water sources available to them in that country. It would be a great loss to our Earth's heritage and well-being if these species became extinct due to the loss or changes in their natural habitat.
One way American's propose for transporting water from Canada to their own country is through NAWAPA which stands for North American Water and Power Alliance. NAWAPA has plans that could build a system that would consist of hundreds of canals and dams in order to transport water from one country to the other. Canadian author, Marq DeVillers insists that this plan, should it be put into action, would result in more damage to the enviroment then all the other water diversions presently in America combined. An example of this can be found in the western United States where Americans are still trying to repair the enviromental damage that has been done due to the extensive construction of dams, canals and reservoirs.
Water is a vital substance in our lives and in the Earth's heritage. To sell such a thing would be a disgrace. To pay money for something that was freely given to us by our planet is simply wrong. If Americans have not respected and taken care of the water sources they initially had, then the second chance to decrease and pollute another country's water should not be given. By selling water, it becomes the next oil, the demand high and an unstoppable flow of it to marketplaces; the respect for it ever dwindling. If you cannot buy life, then you should not be able to buy water. They are too close in nature.
As a final point, by selling Canadian water, the Americans are being given the excuse to ignore the water shortage issues they have created through their own ignorance. Instead of always running to their Northernly neighbors, the United States needs to turn around and face the consequences of their actions. Sandra Postel of the World Water Project in Massachusetts points out that the cost of importing and transporting Canadian water to the States would be ridiculously high. Ms. Postel notes that because of these costs, any products grown in the U.S.A with the aid of Canadian water would be highly expensive, and the money might simply be better directed off to a more sensible alternative.
The International Joint Commission notes that desalination would be a far more effective and much less costly method of obtaining drinkable water in the United States. Desalination plants would also be a better long term method. The world has a stunning mass of ocean water which would last far longer then present freshwater sources would. Desalination is more practical, cheaper and will ensure Americans with a bountiful supply of clean water. If the U.S.A is willing to spend millions of dollars on importing Canadian water, then I can't possibly see why they wouldn't want to invest in a more realistic method.
As the United States of America finds their water supplies diminishing in both amount and quality, Canada continues it's regime as a world leader in water treatment and management. Canadian water treatment companies and facilities surpass existing water regulations, rules and standards regarding their quality and technology. While Canada cares for it's water, the Americans are merely ignoring their self-induced, low and contaminated water issues. The United States instead have turned to Canada, expecting them to provide the solution to their problems. The enormous sums of money the United States has to offer would be better off going towards resolving their own dilemma through the building of desalination plants as well as better water treatment technology.
Canada's water abundancy is vital to it's citizens and should most definitely not be sold to the United States. Canada's dependency on it's water sources is growing and will only continue increasing as global warming takes effect and the Canadian population expands. The enviromentally rich Canadian ecosystems depend greatly on the countires water sources for survival. Lastly, if this water trade issue is approved, the United States of America will rapidly consume Canada's water sources while neglecting it's own problems. Therefore, for the betterment of both countries and the promise of water in our world's future, Canada needs to conserve it's water and stand strongly against the sales of it's most important resource.
By: Courtney DaRoza
Bibliography
www.cbc.ca/news/background/water/www.mcgill.ca/reporter/33102/water/news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/year_water_for_sale
www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcglobal/9uscan10.htmlstrategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inea-ae.nsf/en/ea02178e.html
library.usask.ca/lists/govinfo/2001/0687.html
www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/search/default_e.cfmwww.greatlakesdirectory.org/zarticles/101702_great_lakes3.htm
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I loved your point about distillation. I never thought of that, in reality it is WAY cheaper and more convineant. Good Job1 
a!
