Water, a common good to share

Planet Earth is a closed system, essentially in what refers to the exchange of matter. Consequently, water and air, essential to life, are common property, limited to their existing amount in our planet. Air, due to its diffusivity, is available to every organism and consequently has been considered a common good by the society. However, water is not at same level of general ethical awareness: access to it is still a privilege granted to part of the humanity, and its control has been and still is an instrument of power. Moreover, scarcity and poor quality water supply is the cause of major problems and of the poverty of many communities in several countries. Also in developed countries, the irrational use of water without a holistic perspective and exclusively based on economic goals, will be, in the mid-term, a serious threat. The great economic effort made by the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the ESA (European Space Agency) generates a serious ethical question, when the most important global institutions have not been able to tackle the great ecological challenge: water availability to all humanity, in optimal quality conditions. The respect of the ecological water cycle is essential for life on our planet and, at the same time, for guaranteeing a balance between regions with different WSI (Water Stress Index), overcoming boundaries between regions and States, making the common good prevail over economic ambition and power. A worldwide educational campaign on the proper use of water is also essential to create a new and general ethical conscience that, according to our criteria, should be based on the transcendent dimension of the human being.