Nature's Gift to Us: Water

This week, we spoke about ecosystem services: the process by which nature renders benefits for people. My biggest concern from this week's discussion was that we often take water for granted. As it is so readily obtained, it's easy for us to forget about where and how it comes to us. For a positive future, I envision a world where water sustainability increases. Specifically, we talked about putting a price on water. This may not sound that great (especially to me because I always think of The Lorax and how people were being made to pay for air) but it may be needed to increase the sustainability of water. I know that I'm always leaving the water running when I do things like brush my teeth or shower, so something like adding a fee to increased water usage may deter me and those around from keeping the tap on. The idea that big companies should pay more is one I also agree with. For my vision, although water has a price tag, I don't want those that struggle financially to have to worry about having enough water and I want those that are able to pay (and will likely use more water) to contribute more. As water is so cheap compared to what we get, if we increase or add additional prices (such as a required fee once you use past a certain amount of water), we are also allowing more money into water recycling sanitation technology which works out in the long run for all of us :)