The United Nations recently declared access to clean drinking water and sanitation a basic human right. The measure, while non-binding, could pave the way for greater governmental control over water, most likely in the form of subsidized water projects, below cost rate structures, and political allocation of water rights. As Bruce Pardy (PERC Julian Simon Fellow) notes in today’s Financial Post, putting our most precious resource under political control may only exacerbate the problem.
Water As a Human Right
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PERC Reports Magazine, Summer 2026
A special issue exploring American conservation history as the nation turns 250.
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Thomas Jefferson: The Lost Founding Father of American Conservation
Two years before he authored the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set out on the lifelong project of conserving Virginia’s Natural Bridge. Michaelle Browers has described the effort as “perhaps the first major act of nature preservation in the new republic.” The man who would be Governor of Virginia and President of the United StatesContinue reading "Water As a Human Right"
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How the Eagle Came Back
As we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, it is heartening that America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, is no longer imperiled. Although once at risk of extinction throughout much of its historical range, this majestic species rebounded in the late 20th century, and populations are now in good health. At the time of the nation’sContinue reading "Water As a Human Right"