Date:  Name: Rotten Netflix Docu-Series Season 2, Episode 3: Troubled Water 1. In Flint Michigan, what is the water contaminated with? _________lead_____________ 2. Americans now drink how many gallons of bottled water per year? ________47____________ 3. What country drinks more bottled water than the United States? ___China________________ 4. Who do you think got a better deal, the town of Evart or Nestle and why? Nestle, because the deal is forced onto the town of Evart being a community with low income/poverty. Nestle on the other hand receives a new location for their bottled water plant, which at no great cost to Nestle, gains a whole new supply of ‘spring water.’ 5. According to the United Nations, a family of four needs how much water per day? _______50 liters__________ 6. In the village of Manderegi, what is the problem with the free water Nestle promised to the villagers? The problem is that Nestle promised verbally, not on paper, where they would give the villagers anything they need, such as repairs or infrastructure, in exchange for their water supply underneath the village. They also promised free and safe water to the villagers, but the tap intended for them is about a 4-hour walk away, even worse than the muddy river they originally collected water from an hour away. In addition, a high-speed highway between the tap and the village sometimes makes safe crossing impossible or very time-consuming, and there is even a highway between another village and their own river. There is also an issue of water runoff from the Nestle plants being dumped into their river, making it unsafe to drink, forcing a trip to a tap. 7. In Lagos, what problem is the bottled water causing? Running water is either unavailable or unsafe to drink, with the water system being unmaintained and neglected. The water pipes run through dirty gutters and trashed bodies of water as well, and the only source of water is bottled water making 6 billion dollars (about $18 per person in the US) in Lagos. In addition, a separate issue from bottled water is that plastic bottles have created an abundant amount of unmanaged waste and garbage, piling up in the streets and into the shore and ocean. 8. Do you think water is a human rights issue? Should governments provide free, clean drinking water (bottled or tap)? Defend your position based on your thoughts. I believe that water is a human rights issue. If certain human rights are guaranteed by the government, such as freedom or education, what every human being needs to LIVE should be a given right now. Specifically, running tap water would be the ideal method, as it is much cheaper to sustain, while also being realistically much more convenient than water bottles. For example, imagine showering using bottles of water. Bottled water is also ecologically unsustainable, draining natural bodies of water or polluting it. They are also more costly and contribute to ocean garbage piles and pollution. 9. If you were to use this topic for a research project, which themes do you think would best reveal the major issues and concerns? Choose at least 2 and explain your reasoning. - To what extent is bottled water economically effective? ) Money drives things, and bottled water companies are no exception. They are made with the intent of profits, rather than supplying a necessary good. Compared to tap water, which is often running on the intent of public utility. This theme allows other topics such as the economics of garbage management, government spending, etc. - Why do so many regions of the world still lack access to clean water? ) There are many reasons as to why these regions lack an easily accessible source of safe water. Water companies, especially water bottling companies, often take or pollute existing local water supplies, or set up in places where only the rich would be able to access it easily. 10. Who are the major stakeholders in relation to this global issue? Nestle, Coca-Cola, Perrier, Pepsi-Cola, people in need of water.
