To the Editor,

I would like to thank councilmember Pat Housekeeper for voting against the CanAm proposal. She said, “I hate to see water bottled in a world where we are trying to become a more green economy. With more than 50 plants in Michigan, the water bottling needs are being met.” Thank you for seeing past the profits this proposal will bring to our city, and acknowledging it may not be the best choice. She continued, “At a time when people in Africa are desperate for a well and are walking 8-10 miles a day to get water, and when I look at half-empty bottles lying around following an event or run, my conscience tells me it’s a poor usage of our water.” Thank you for acknowledging that there is a larger picture to this water issue. It is not only local, it is global, and in order to make any impact globally we have to begin locally.

All over the United States, and the world, in cities like ours, citizens are fighting corporations from bottling their water. Something so essential to life is now being bottled and sold to us. This is immoral, but morality often gets pushed aside for profits. City Council should allow us to vote on what is done with our water, because it belongs to us, the public. But also because we all require water to live; it sustains us.

The 20 percent of the world’s freshwater that resides in the Great Lakes is a gold mine to the bottled water industry, and they are targeting us. Here they come with dollar signs in their eyes, eager to take what they can get their hands on without any regard for environmental degradation.

Tecumseh, by letting CanAm into our city, is unfortunately adding to this problem. Just because something can be done does not mean it should be done. Selling part of Tecumseh’s water supply to CanAm is a risky venture. Extracting water at a rapid rate will eventually deplete our groundwater resources. While CanAm will reap the majority of the benefits, Tecumseh will be left with the environmental consequences.

It would be wonderful to reside in a city that steps up and wants to become an environmental leader. We could feel proud, knowing that our city is making smart, environmentally conscious choices in a world where many cities are not. Instead, I reside in a city where most council members haven’t listened to what its residents are saying, are gambling with our water supply, and are more concerned with profits than allowing its residents to vote.

We have to stand together against the bottled water industry, not as individuals but as entire cities, and even countries, because we cannot keep bottling and selling water if we want a livable world for the next generations. It is my generation and the ones after that will have to deal with the consequences of these decisions, and that is why I cannot remain silent.

Kara Boden
Tecumseh