Comment This is a very bad thing (Score 1) 290
Everybody is talking about this like it's boring news and not really a big deal. I'm surprised the normally 'environmentally conscious' quasi-nerd-activist slashdot community isn't talking about the ramifications of this project.
Private ownership of water by large companies is going to be the cause of global wars, and already is in many water-deficient countries. When you give a private company the right to treat water as a commodity and own it, you create a monster. This is the basis for a very disturbing documentary titled, "Water Wars" which chronicles the abuse of citizens all over the world via. control of water supply. It is also the basis for a james bond movie, which I guess makes it seem like even less of a real threat.
It doesn't seem like a big deal for a country 'wealthy' in water as a natural resource to give it away to a 'needy' country -- but it's not being given away. Maybe we should focus on that. It is being commodified and sold, stolen for free from a country of people that don't realize they're giving away their future. If you don't think water shortages are an impending global catastrophe, read some of the comments about problems with desalination technology.
Fresh water is a resource we should be fighting to keep out of corporate hands, not laughing at.