This might sound strange to you because, if you live in a place where water flows freely from the tap or shower at any time, it sure doesn't seem like a big deal.

這可能會讓你覺得非常奇怪，因為你居住的地方，水很自然地就從水龍頭或蓮蓬頭流出來，所以這件事看起來沒什麼大不了。

It's just there, right?

水是唾手可得的，對吧？

Wrong!

錯啦！

The only obvious thing about fresh water is how much we need it.

一個關於水最明顯的問題就是：我們有多倚賴它。

Because it's essential to life, we need to think about it carefully.

因為生命離不開水，所以我們必須審慎地思考這個問題。

Right now, at this very moment, some people—women and girls in particular—walk hours and miles per day to get fresh water.

就在這當下，許多人，多數為女性，每天花數個小時、走好幾哩路去取水。

And even then, it may not be clean.

即使如此，取得的水也不一定乾淨。

Every 15 seconds, a child dies due to water-borne diseases.

每 15 秒鐘就有一個兒童死於經水傳播的疾病。

This is tragic!

悲劇啊！

The most compelling reasons to think about fresh water, therefore, have to do with what we might call the global common good.

因此探討水資源最迫切的原因，就是我們所謂的全球共同利益。

This is not something we normally think about,

它並不是我們平時所想的那個意思，而是不論何時，我們都應認清水對滋養大地萬物的重要性。

but it means recognizing how much fresh water matters for the flourishing of human and non-human life on Earth now and in the future.

How do we think about something as local as our faucets and as global as fresh water?

我們如何思考水資源運用，這種同時具有地方性卻也具有全球性的議題？

Is there a connection between them?

全球與地方真的有所關連嗎？

Many people assume that fresh water shortages are due to individual wastefulness.

許多人以為水資源短缺是來自個人的浪費。

Running the water while you brush your teeth, for example, or taking really long showers.

例如：刷牙時讓水不停的流或是淋浴時間太久。

Most of us assume, therefore, that water shortages can be fixed by improving our personal habits:

因此大多數人都假設如果我們改變個人習慣，水資源缺乏的問題就可迎刃而解，例如：縮短淋浴時間或在刷牙時把水關掉。

taking shorter showers or turning off the water while we brush our teeth.

But, global fresh water scarcity neither starts nor ends in your shower.

但是，全球水資源匱乏的問題和你淋浴的時間關係不大。

Globally, domestic use of fresh water accounts for only 8% of consumption.

以全球角度而言，家庭用水只佔了全部用量的 8%。

8%!!

8%！！

Compare that to the 70% that goes to agriculture and the 22% that goes to industrial uses.

試著比較看看 70% 的農業用水以及 22% 的工業用水。

Now, hold up, you're not off the hook!

不過，也別以為個人完全沒有責任！

Individual habits are still part of the puzzle.

個人習慣仍然是造成水資源短缺的一部份原因。

You should still cultivate water virtue in your daily life.

你仍必須培養省水的美德，

Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth.

當你在刷牙時關掉水龍頭。

But still, it's true.

但是，縮短洗澡時間

Taking shorter showers won't solve global problems, which is too bad.

無法解決全球問題是個不爭的事實，也是問題嚴重的地方。

It would be much more straightforward and easier if virtuous, individual actions could do the trick.

如果改變個人習慣就可以解決問題

You'd just stand there for 30 seconds less, and you'd be done with that irksome, planet-saving task for the day.

你只要少沖 30 秒鐘的澡，就算完成今天份，拯救世界的麻煩任務。

Well, that's not so much the case.

嗯，事情並非如此。

Agricultural and industrial patterns of water use need serious attention.

農業和工業對於水的運用需要我們多加注意。

How do our societies value water?

我們的社會如何衡量水的價值？

Distribute it?

如何分配？

Subsidize its use in agriculture?

該補貼農業用水嗎？

Incentivize its consumption or pollution?

該鼓勵水資源的消耗或污染嗎？

These are all questions that stem from how we think about fresh water's value.

這些問題都是從我們如何看待水資源 這個問題分枝出來。

Is it an economic commodity?

水算是商品嗎？

A human right?

是與生俱來的權利？

A public good?

還是公眾利益？

Nobel prize winners, global water justice activists,

諾貝爾獎得主們、全球公平用水行動主義者、像是聯合國一般的跨國組織，乃至於教廷都在探討這個問題。

transnational institutions like the United Nations, and even the Catholic Church are at work on the issue.

But, it's tricky, too, because the business of water became very profitable in the 20th century.

但這依舊是個棘手的問題，因為用水相關產業在二十世紀開始有龐大的獲利。

And profit is not the same thing as the common good.

而獲利和公眾利益並不在同一艘船上。

We need to figure out how to value fresh water as a public good,

不論現在或未來，我們都必須想清楚：如何將水這個滋養眾生的資源視為公眾利益。

something that's vital for human and non-human life, now and in the future.

Now that's a virtuous, collective task that goes far beyond your shower.

這才是正義，也是要大家花比節約用水更多的時間來集思廣益的議題。