Plenty of Horne
What Is Milwaukee Water Commons?
The recently-formed grassroots group, which looks to make sure all citizens benefit from Milwaukee's water resources, holds a fundraiser.
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The recently-formed grassroots group, which looks to make sure all citizens benefit from Milwaukee's water resources, holds a fundraiser. Back to the full article.
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“the group held a fundraiser for 34 people”. Who are those people and what’s the money for?
This is the Water Hub dream in a nutshell: “Everybody in Milwaukee has a connection to the water. Everybody has a personal story. What is the collective story?”
Who cares about the personal and collective connection to water. Economic development is the main priority. Without that, this water hub is just a house built on sand that won’t last the test of time.
A better question is: Where does the capital come from to finance large R&D projects necessary to create competitive products in a crowded market?
Blurondo asks “who are these people and what is the money for”. I was the host, many of the people who support it were named in the story. I support it because I think that how the water is used and who uses it should not only be the domain of the monied commercial interests in the area. I think our rivers, the attached watersheds and the Lake is indeed a Commons– like our air– and belongs to everyone, not just the 1%.
The historical “Tragedy of the Commons” is when certain interests try to “take it all” and don’t leave anything worthwhile on the table for others…. and that is what will happen if everyone doesn’t see that water is not merely a commodity to be bottled and sold or contaminated by industrial waste– and the community gets to help define its uses.
I personally would love to see the return of the historic swimming schools and piers that used to dot the rivers before its industrial contamination that was so bad you evidently could smell it 10 miles out on the Lake– and the rivers could become a place for everyone to swim and play again.
I think that would be amazing and very cool for Milwaukee…. and would make Milwaukee a place people would be drawn to and talk about.
Thanks to Julilly, Ann and everyone at Milwaukee Water Commons for your efforts at bringing citizens into the water-related decision-making process. I have been to many cities, and Milwaukee is truly a gem – precisely because of its parks, rivers and Great Lake. While in Denver last week, I marveled at the amount of downtown redevelopment, much of it as a result of new mass transit and pedestrian options. But while their weather is hard to beat, I would never want to live there. It is a dry, arid city with no lakes and only a tiny, hidden-away rivulet on the edge of downtown that only serves as a reminder of what that city does not have – moisture. Milwaukee is among the most livable of cities, and we need to celebrate it and protect and nurture its natural resources. And should we embrace the concept of Milwaukee as a Global Water City. Yes, we should!