This week, the European Commission will respond to Europe’s first citizens’ initiative, this time for the “right to water.” Craig Morris wonders whether making your energy is not also a right. In its drive to privatize former state-run sectors, the European Union has pushed to have water supply sold off to private firms. The history is a bit longer, however; the City of Paris privatized its water supply in 1985 under a conservative government. Not everyone was happy with the change, though; some citizens felt that the new focus was on rent-seeking, not high-quality services. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYQJMdVcXCI[/youtube]The Deputy Mayor of Paris explains the “re-communalization” of the city’s water supply in 2010 from her perspective.   In the wake of the fall of communism, privatization became common. So apparently did public dissatisfaction, leading to Europe’s first campaign against the European Commission: the Right2Water. The initiative argues that “water is a public good, not a commodity” – a contentious standpoint. While bodies of water are part of the commons, tap water is as much an industrial product as … Continue reading The right to make your own energy