Proposal: Monument to Commemorate Nestlé-Brand
Water Practices
Even
though California is entering its fourth year of a serious drought, Nestlé continues to extract
water from precious, finite aquifers at unsustainable rates. It’s unclear how
much water Nestlé extracts annually, as they haven’t submitted an extraction
report since 2009. No reports have been received from their Arrowhead plant
located in the Mojave desert, as it is protected by Native American Reservation
sovereignty.
Arrowhead
Mountain Company Bottling Plant, located on Morongo Reservation land
In an
interview, the CEO of Nestlé Brand, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, admitted that he
believed the notion that humans have the inherent right to access water is an
“extreme solution”, and that it’s better to put market value on the resource
“so that we’re all aware it has its price”. Nestlé is the most prolific brand
of bottled water in the world, having presence in the Third World as well as
developed countries, even though the morality of extracting water from
third-world aquifers is still heavily debated by critics.
My
proposal includes building a 25ft long water bottle made from a specific
synthesis of Superabsorbent Polymers (SAB’s) and polyethylene and setting the
giant structure atop a cast stone fountain base set into the ground with no
apparent plumbing to serve as an actual functioning fountain. This piece would
be found in the Mojave Desert, in a rather arid, secluded area of the
territory, where it will sit inactive for most of the year. The synthesis of
SAB’s and polypropylene would serve to allow the water bottle to “absorb”
moisture caught in the air or from annual rainfall (it should be noted that the
Mojave Desert receives a maximum of three inches of rainfall annually), where
the water will sit, seemingly untouchable, until the captured water is
“extracted” by unknown means and the cycle repeats itself.
Finished
concept of the Mojave Monument to Nestlé Brand Water Practices
This
monument would be a clear illustration of Nestlé’s questionable practices
regarding the world’s shrinking water supply. The logo on the bottle itself
would be the general Nestlé logo instead of the more specific Arrowhead logo,
as it would signify its importance as relevant to all Nestlé bottled water
brands, and even the bottled water market itself. The logo would be made with
washable ink, so that, eventually, it would only be an unspecified water bottle
as the centerpiece; however, since it would need water to wash off, and since
the rainfall in the region is so little, the brand name would linger on the
bottle face for some time.
Because
of the bottle’s size, it would need to be built from separate casted molds
instead of the ultrafast high-pressure methods used by many plastic bottle
makers. Then it would have to be mounted as a separate piece onto the fountain
bed, which would be a relatively cheap construction, considering its apparent
uselessness. The bottle will be assembled completely sealed off from any access
to its hollow area; the extraction of the water will remain a mystery, and
every new visitor will wonder where it goes.
The
object of this monument is to bring greater awareness of a concern that is
happening under our very noses. Because of a plethora of political
controversies and celebrity nonsense, these unethical practices by Nestlé and
many other companies besides remain relatively unnoticed by the general
populace, unless it directly affects a specific area. If we are to take a stand
against these tycoons, first we must be educated, and before we can even do
that, we must be aware of what is going on around us. We cannot afford to wake
up one day and wonder where all the water went.
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