I've never seen Al Diamon quite so hysterical as in his column on the water issue (see "Drinking Muddy Water," May 15). Nazi analogies of the Left are simply the Ann Coulter form of crazy, especially when you are defending corporations. Hitler loved corporations and hated labor unions. So, to compare Poland Spring, which is actually an international holding of Nestlé Waters, based in Switzerland, to a concentration-camp victim is ludicrous, considering the amount of gold teeth the Swiss still have locked up in their bank vaults.
But that's not the core issue. The principle that Diamon or any of the other corporate apologists fail to recognize is that the fastest way to produce a shortage of a "renewable" resource is to make it a global commodity. Oil, timber, and fish are all renewable resources to one extent or another, and the world is running out of all of them fast. If aggressive irrigation of commercial crops is not soaking up the water tables in China and the American Midwest, the abundant water in the rest of the world is too contaminated to safely drink. Try brushing your teeth in Mexico with tap water, and you'll see what I mean.
The time has come to make some sensible plans about our fresh-water supply here in Maine, instead of just giving it away for free to greedy multinationals.
John M. Flagler
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