Guardian editorial: make water available for free on tap [and food, clothing, shelter]

Great start Guardianistas…. but

Water is a human right under Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights

Therefore NOBODY should have to pay ANYTHING for it

We got the post WWII welfare state wrong – everyone should have been given these things as a RIGHT – not just to be given enough money to buy them through ‘social security’.

Other basic needs under Article 25 are
Food
Clothing
Shelter
– provided for all in Britain until the 1979 Thatcher government

Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

The Guardian view on plastic bottles: make water available on tap

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/08/the-guardian-view-on-plastic-bottles-make-water-available-on-tap

Editorial Thankfully the campaign to cut our plastic habit by making free fresh water widely available is gathering momentum

Friday 8 December 2017 19.00 GMT

Like a wave building far out at sea, the momentum behind universally available cool fresh water is growing steadily. It is driven by the realisation that the world’s plastic habit must be broken, quickly. It;s reckoned that a million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute; the meaning of this number is best expressed in the images of mountains of litter made of this virtually indestructable material piled by the tides on to otherwise deserted beaches in remote corners of the globe. It is an unnecessary disaster. There is no reason why water has to come wrapped in its own environmentally lethal packaging.

This week, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to develop a city-wide network of water fountains and refill stations. A Bristol-based campaign to set up refill stations in city centres and seaside resorts is flooding across Europe. Australian cities such as Melbourne have digital maps showing where drinking fountains are available.

There could be so much more – airside refill stations in every international airport to slash the thousands of bottles jettisoned at security would be a good start.

A refill station on every platform in every railway station would be even better. The choice between income from retail outlets or a low-cost move to help end plastic pollution is really no choice at all.

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