489
Private corporations may also be able to leverage their substantial political clout
to negotiate inexpensive deals. For example, the state of Michigan permits Nestle
Corporation to pump water at the rate of 400 gallons per minute or 576,000 a day,
from a well near the town of Evart in the western part of the state for its Ice Mountain
label. This transaction cost Nestle a one-time application fee of $5000 and an annual
reporting fee of $200, and raises critical questions about whether water should be
treated as a commodity, a commercial product, or a human right, and the cost to
local communities and society as a whole due to ground water declines and the
ubiquitous plastic waste that result (Fleming 2018).
18.2.1.3 Energy Systems
Although some cities in liberal capitalist and neoliberal societies have public
electricity providers and distributors, primary forms of energy are provided and
distributed by the private sector. This includes coal, crude oil, and natural gas for
residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Although these primary forms of
energy—along with secondary energy such as electricity—may be produced and
distributed by local and regional firms, their transmission, pricing and availability are determined to a significant extent by national and transnational corporations and organizations (the infrastructure criterion) within the context of
extensive public regulation (such as in the case of the US electric power grid) or
subsidization (in the case of US oil and gas exploration)—the policy criterion.
Purely private, rather than public, electricity production and distribution more
typically occur in higher-income economies that can support public-debt-driven
private investment.
As with water, one of the main concerns with energy supply is the affordability
criterion. In temperate and arctic cities, people need the ability to heat their homes
(the criticality criterion). In some states, such as New York and Massachusetts, tenants have an enforceable legal right to heat (the policy criterion). In most cities,
people require transportation to get to their place of employment and to procure
food and health services. One of the drivers for the creation of food deserts is the
distance that must be traveled to reach a broadline (high-volume, low-cost) purveyor of groceries. In the absence of public transportation options, market pricing
may make it challenging or impossible for some people to purchase the energy
required to travel the distance to meet these basic human needs.
The private sector also significantly determines the demand for energy. Industrial
factories, large office buildings, and mass transportation companies can determine
to a significant extent both the amount of energy and the kinds of energy that they
consume, based on their own private investments in physical plant and operational
infrastructure. As more sustainable business models are adopted, quantities of
energy consumed are decreased, and the supply shifts from non-renewables to
renewables.
18 Cities at the Nexus
Private corporations may also be able to leverage their substantial political clout
to negotiate inexpensive deals. For example, the state of Michigan permits Nestle
Corporation to pump water at the rate of 400 gallons per minute or 576,000 a day,
from a well near the town of Evart in the western part of the state for its Ice Mountain
label. This transaction cost Nestle a one-time application fee of $5000 and an annual
reporting fee of $200, and raises critical questions about whether water should be
treated as a commodity, a commercial product, or a human right, and the cost to
local communities and society as a whole due to ground water declines and the
ubiquitous plastic waste that result (Fleming 2018).
18.2.1.3 Energy Systems
Although some cities in liberal capitalist and neoliberal societies have public
electricity providers and distributors, primary forms of energy are provided and
distributed by the private sector. This includes coal, crude oil, and natural gas for
residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Although these primary forms of
energy—along with secondary energy such as electricity—may be produced and
distributed by local and regional firms, their transmission, pricing and availability are determined to a significant extent by national and transnational corporations and organizations (the infrastructure criterion) within the context of
extensive public regulation (such as in the case of the US electric power grid) or
subsidization (in the case of US oil and gas exploration)—the policy criterion.
Purely private, rather than public, electricity production and distribution more
typically occur in higher-income economies that can support public-debt-driven
private investment.
As with water, one of the main concerns with energy supply is the affordability
criterion. In temperate and arctic cities, people need the ability to heat their homes
(the criticality criterion). In some states, such as New York and Massachusetts, tenants have an enforceable legal right to heat (the policy criterion). In most cities,
people require transportation to get to their place of employment and to procure
food and health services. One of the drivers for the creation of food deserts is the
distance that must be traveled to reach a broadline (high-volume, low-cost) purveyor of groceries. In the absence of public transportation options, market pricing
may make it challenging or impossible for some people to purchase the energy
required to travel the distance to meet these basic human needs.
The private sector also significantly determines the demand for energy. Industrial
factories, large office buildings, and mass transportation companies can determine
to a significant extent both the amount of energy and the kinds of energy that they
consume, based on their own private investments in physical plant and operational
infrastructure. As more sustainable business models are adopted, quantities of
energy consumed are decreased, and the supply shifts from non-renewables to
renewables.
18 Cities at the Nexus