WORLD WORLDWIDE FRANCE News Journal Update - (en) France, OCL CA #332 - Greenly green 332 (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Acqua is it useful? ---- "Greenly eco-friendly" has regularly addressed

the issue of the commodification and financialization of nature since
2017. This plague is based on the (more or less serious) work of
reactive and ultra-liberal environmental economists (Costanza, De Groot,
Farley and co). Their "green economy" is built on the ecosystem value
arbitrarily attributed to natural environments, ecological compensation
and reserves of natural assets (like that of Cossure in France created
by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations) and smells very strongly of
the scent of greenback. ---- In short, it is a license for the State,
developers and companies to destroy nature more or less quickly, legally
and in good conscience.

This movement of financialization is also manifested around a new
element, water.
Since 2006, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in Chicago has been
the largest global futures exchange for agricultural products (butter,
cereals, wood, fertilizers, etc.) as well as for financial derivative
products (currencies, energy and many others). things).
Quezako for us, ignorant of the subtleties of finance?
"A futures market is a market on which the price of a commodity whose
delivery is scheduled for a future date is fixed and exchanged in
advance. This protects the seller, whatever the hazards to come.»(1)
But the futures markets quickly became fabulous speculative machines.
Stock traders will resell a product not yet produced (wheat, for
example) multiple times, playing on climatic hazards, crises, wars,
scarcity, exchange rates, etc. to try to win some "money from crazy ".
This financialization and the "speculative fog" created prevent us from
knowing the real price of a product. Thus capital movements "on oil
derivative markets have a financial weight thirty times more than the
real delivery markets.»

In this logic since the end of 2020, the CME has been offering NQH2O "a
new financial product, futures contracts... varying according to a water
index set by the NASDAQ.» (1) This index is "calculated on certain water
transactions[sales of water property titles, an American
specificity]carried out in California, one of the main agricultural
regions of the United States also massively affected by the drought. ".
This local but vital water market for intensive irrigated and globalized
Californian agriculture (almonds, pistachios, prunes, etc.) is worth
$1.1 billion. And before 2020 "We saw farmers selling their titles to
the highest bidder rather than using water to produce fruit, because it
was more profitable"(2)
As water shortages will increase in California (semi-arid state) and
water is a product like any other, the CME, "which has 175 years of
experience... will allow farmers to secure their supplies.» by assuring
them of a price fixed in advance.
If we do not clearly see how NQH2O will prevent droughts (which reduce
the quantities of available water) while protecting supplies(3) even
though it does not have the means, we see, however, that in 2021 " "The
index is currently trading at $728, compared to $495 last year.»(2) We
hardly dare imagine the effects of the appearance of a speculative
bubble on water like the one which in 2020 hit the oil futures markets
completely worthless (this one at the height of crisis sold for less
than $40 per barrel).
"Only the highest bidders will be able to have access to the resource...
Large farmers and Silicon Valley will come first, while ecosystems,
"insolvent" on the market, will be at the bottom of the list.»(2)
Two years after this launch with fanfare and fierce criticism from NGOs,
the results are very meager "... it seems that this futures market is a
failure. The volume of transactions appears low and sluggish[and
therefore of little interest to speculators]. And more importantly, no
other water futures market has appeared since..."(4)
We could shout Hosanna, from the highest of the heavens, financial
capitalism is in retreat and everything is not soluble in the market.
But this overlooks another Australian model that is much more efficient
for profits: 'cap and trade' markets, where a central authority (usually
a government) issues or sells a limited number of permits for a given
period. to public and private actors.»
The owner can use it, keep it, sell it or buy another according to the
laws of supply and demand.
Water from the Murray-Darling Basin in southeastern Australia is at the
heart of the system.
Here "Irrigated agriculture in the basin consumes approximately 60% of
all available water in Australia.» Precipitation is erratic and periods
of drought are steadily increasing. An "independent" body, the
"Murray-Darling Basin Authority" (MBDA), has the role of managing and
enforcing the rules for distributing water between states, farmers,
industries and cities.
According to liberal dogmas, the establishment of these markets at the
beginning of the 2000s should allow more efficient and sustainable
management of the resource.
But the alliance of business academics and ultra-liberal business
leaders within the "Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists" responsible
for advising MBDA caused what was predictable.
Super concerned guys. Speculation ran wild. Farmers in difficulty sold
their rights to survive to speculators who did not own a m2 of
agricultural land and went bankrupt (no more water). The new Australian
"robber barons" have also illegally and systematically pumped public
water to resell it after storage, very expensive for cities in times of
drought with the complicity of the Australian states.
This model must be very profitable because "For around 10 years,
Australia has constantly promoted and sought to impose its cap and trade
market model of water rights with European institutions and around the
world.», lobbying carried out by academics profiting financially
(presence on the boards of directors of companies speculating in water)
from the deregulation of the water market.
Another danger as important as these sinister business and financial
toys is that represented by water multinationals: drinking water
suppliers (Suez, Veolia), infrastructure builders (Eiffage, Vinci),
nuclear (EDF), hydroelectricity (CNR and EDF) for whom droughts, floods
and shortages are an opportunity to put public and private money to work
here and elsewhere.
In short, nothing new under the sun. The State and Capital remain
priority enemies.

A plan for thirst
In 2017, following several heatwaves, droughts and farmer/user conflicts
around water (Sivens, Caussade, substitution reserves in the west, hill
reservoirs, etc.) the wriggling Macron and Hulot, pilot fish of
agricultural capitalism are launching the "Varenne de l'eau" on the
Sarkozy model of the "Grenelle de l'environnement". In 2019, another
repeat with the "Assises de l'eau".
This plan insisted as usual on the need to develop storage capacities
for the benefit of the thirsty FNSEA and Rural Coordination, while
claiming to significantly reduce consumption.
There must have been holes in the Varenne aqueduct because, 5 years
later, after new heatwaves, droughts and aggravated conflicts, a new
"Action Plan for resilient and concerted water management"(5 ) in 53
measures, styled "shock strategy" arrives in March 2023.
What can we say about it?
In 2019, the objectives for reducing withdrawals were set at -10% for
2024 and -35% in 2035. In the super water plan the objective is revised
downwards to -10% in 2030. Bizarre.
It seems that the 2019 water plan did not work at all because the
objectives set for 2024 are postponed to 2030. Where is the "power of
the State" and its ability to enforce regulations?
However, "France has already suffered at least a 14% drop in its
renewable fresh water resources since the start of the century and
almost nothing has been done to adapt to it. Pushing back the deadlines
will inevitably continue to weigh on ecosystems."(6)
The progressive taxation of water according to the volumes consumed
planned by the State is in fact a responsibility of local elected
officials. For the moment, not a single round has been budgeted for its
implementation.
REUT (Reuse of Treated Wastewater), namely rainwater and domestic
wastewater for agricultural uses, was already proposed in 2019. It
returns in 2023 to believe that it had remained stuck in a
spatio-temporal fault. This technique unfortunately has some drawbacks
because "...their addition sometimes generates phenomena of clogging,
leaching and excess water, which can have a strong negative impact on
the properties of the soil.»(7) not to mention the dispersion of
pathogenic germs in the soil.
The increase in the budgets of Water Agencies has been recorded, but as
they have been on a dry diet for decades this will be a partial catch-up
at best.
The main polluters (farmers and industrialists) are over-represented in
their bodies and thanks to them the polluter pays principle has been
greatly reduced. It would take stainless steel political will to change
the course but it is hard to see Macron playing Iron Man with his
friends from the FNSEA, Arkema or STMicro... The plan insists on the need to
reinvent agricultural models and to "evolve the logic of water storage".
How to say? This raises questions from Caussade to Sainte Soline via the
project of a new Sivens dam carried by the fascists of the Rural
Coordination while waiting for the dozens of basins recently validated
in court.
With this plan, as FNE points out, "We want to respect ecosystems, but
we barely name them." And yes, it's normal because a water purification
plant, a dam and storage reservoirs still have a different face than a
wetland which purifies the water, stores it in winter, releases it in
summer and regulates the floods all by itself like a big one and for FREE!
In short, this plan, which recycles in 2023 measures announced in 2017
and 2019 and never implemented, shows that Macron perfectly masters the
Menshevik strategy denounced by Lenin "One step forward, two steps back".
It must be compared to the fabulous "Écophyto" plan launched in 2008
under Sarkozy, intended to reduce the use of agricultural pesticides by
50%, relaunched under Hollande, then Macron and which resulted in a 25%
increase in their use. (8).

Splash, Krouik, Argh! Yay!
"Schadenfreude" or "evil joy at the idea of the misfortune of others"
was theorized by Freud but also appears in the extraordinary definition
of happiness in Ambrose Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary".
And it must be said that a recent event would incite us to a certain
ethically legitimate Schadenferude.
Plouf: the ultra-modern private mini submarine "Titan" from the
Oceangate company, with its CEO, an explorer of the abyss and 3 tourists
at $250,000 a place on board, sets off for a trip at less than 4,000 m
to gawk at the wreck of the Titanic.
Krouk:halfway through, the surface loses contact with the critter.
Immediately a veritable armada and military and civilian planes were
sent, the media made their headlines, we joked, we chatted, we worried
about the 5 unfortunate people who were threatened with a terrible death
by asphyxiation.
Argh: no luck, the debris from their toy rises to the surface. The
machine has imploded at depth and the tourists are completing the end of
their biological cycle by feeding the deep-sea fish.
Yay!: this story is an archetype of the nuisances generated by
capitalist mega-machines.
After having climbed all the mountains, traveled the torrid or icy
deserts, what remains to dominate for the rich in search of thrills and
social distinction? Touristifying and polluting the ocean depths and
space is their destiny.
They want it, and agile entrepreneurs without inferiority complexes are
there (Musk, Brandon, Bezos for space) to satisfy these demanding and
inevitably exceptional customers just like them.
The boss of OceanGate was built on this model: a go-getter (obviously),
a visionary (obviously) because he found the innovative solution to
revolutionize underwater tourism.
A shell in titanium (modern) and carbon fiber (the best), a basic video
game controller to drive the machine (you have to save money) and a 60
cm diameter window so that customers have their eyes full and can use
their ultra-top iPhone pro to the fullest to ruin their relationships
upon return.
A guy who also knew how to take risks: no to security tests, no to the
approval and certification of equipment, because it's criminal to
restrict the technological innovation driven by a business genius. It
takes too long and time is money and Hubris and greed is so good in what
was his world.
We can feel even a little more Schadenfreude when we compare the
debauchery of civil and military means deployed and the empathy of the
media for 5 rogue actors in the misery of the world, volunteers in a
titanium coffin, compared to the criminal inaction of the Greek coast
guards and Frontex, responsible for the hundreds of dead victims of
wars, capitalism, the murderous policies of States and smugglers.
And this Schadenfreude could turn into deep hatred when a columnist for
"Grosse têtes" (RMC), Sarah Saldmann, declared on June 23: "When you put
five rich people in danger, I find that it crystallizes anti-rich
hatred. It's this dichotomy between the rich and the poor. Impliedly,
when they are migrants, we are not interested in them. So that's false!
But when there is too much immigration, it is a problem. It's normal
that we worry about it and not in a positive way... They have money and
will be able to reimburse the necessary means if necessary. They are not
at our expense like migrants when they arrive..."

Rook and Eugene the Jeep

Notes
1 - H20 goes public. Antoine Costa. The Médiapart Club. December 2020
2 - Water, a common good monopolized by finance. Lorène Lavocat.
Reporterre of 09/12/2021
3 - The financialization of water, a fantasized or real threat? Bernard
Mounier, Thierry, Uso. Les Possibles no 33 autumn 2022
4 - The financialization of water: myths and realities. Bernard Mounier,
Thierry Uso. eau-iledefrance.fr December 2022
5 - Action plan for resilient and concerted water management. Ministry
of Ecological Transition etc. June 1, 2023
6 - Water Plan: First analysis by France Nature Environnement. France
Nature Environment. Press release of March 30, 2023
7 - Bibliographic summary: Impacts of treated wastewater infiltration on
soils. Julia Le Roy, Vivien Dubois, Claire Lauvernet. INRAE. OFB. 2020
8 - Reducing the use of pesticides: the reasons for failure. Martine
Valo. Le Monde of 03/23/2022

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article3919
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca