Throwing Shade at Industry
This blog is written by LWVDC’s Climate Team.
This past June, a Wisconsin administrative law judge gave the green light to the City of Racine to remove up to 7 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan. The majority of this water, about 5.8 million gallons, is to be sold and consumed by the Foxconn Technology Group compound currently under development nearby. A snapshot of the issues at stake can be found here.
To recap a little history, a year ago the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) granted Foxconn’s water request. A coalition of groups, including The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, challenged the DNR decision because the water being pulled from the lake supports private corporate interests, not the general public. The judge disagreed.
Prior to the judge’s decision, Foxconn—already steeped in controversy as the recipient of massive tax breaks—announced that the company would scale back water demands, to 2.5 million gallons per day, by employing a technological solution that allows the company to recycle and reuse much of its wastewater. If Foxconn follows through, this is great news.
Hoover Dam
Photo by Cédric Dhaenens on Unsplash
We depend on our government entities to enforce regulations that keep industries from exploiting and degrading public resources, but well-funded industries hold tremendous power to sway local governments in their favor. There is no better object lesson surrounding water wars than the history of water access in the state of California. The saga was neatly documented by Marc Reisner in his 1986 book, Cadillac Desert. You can read about it here.
As climate change rearranges long-term weather patterns, industry, as well as the technological innovation engines it supports, are becoming an increasingly essential partner for viable water allocation and use solutions.
It is equally important for consumers of industrial products—which is pretty much all of us—to recognize the power of the marketplace. If consumers demand their corporations be more socially responsible, industry has an incentive to act. Already, corporate executives like Marc Benioff are pushing other executives to build social responsibility into their business plans and companies like Adidas have responded to plastic trash pollution by introducing a shoe that is made to be recycled.
Incentivizing industries to make environment and social responsibility as important as profit is good policy for everyone. Check up on companies you care about here.
Splash photo from Manitowoc, Wiscsonsin: Sunrise on Lake Michigan, by Wendy Lutzke, NOAA Weather in Focus Photo Contest 2015
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This blog is written by LWVDC’s Climate Team. If you receive blog posts by email, our system automatically inserts “by Brook Soltvedt.” Brook is the webmaster, not the author of the blog.