The most fundamental assumption of Lohan's article is that access to clean drinking water is a human right. Anyone who reads the article and believes that to be the case will have no trouble agreeing with Lohan's claims; but those who do not believe that access to drinking water is a human right might disagree.
Lohan also manages to conclude the article on a positive note, thereby encouraging the reader to become involved in water politics and take action where needed. Because the audience is presumed to be primarily Americans, Lohan understandably uses American interests as one of the primary points. Yet the author also links what is happening in America with what is happening in other parts of the world. Already there are one billion people around the world, per day, without access to safe drinking water. This alarming statistic is then juxtaposed with the fact that 35 states in the United States are facing dire water...
Because many states' water shortages have made the news, readers will have no trouble believing that what Lohan says is true. California, Texas, and many other states have had water shortages in the past and will again in the future unless something is done.
Unfortunately, big agriculture is big business, fueling political interests in a level beyond the reach of most Americans. Lohan's optimistic conclusion belies the fact that water diversion will remain key to the big agriculture and other big industrial interests. Lobbying groups have more clout, power, and wealth to pressure politicians than grassroots groups, however romantic those groups sound on paper. Corporate giants can go ahead and claim that they will provide bottled drinking water, while diverting natural streams to their businesses. This, as Lohan points out, is the problem that needs to be immediately addressed.
