Billions of people in the world suffer from water scarcity. The proble

Billions of people in the world suffer from water scarcity. The problem is not a lack of suitable water in the world; it is an uneven distribution of that water--an uneven distribution, to be more exact, of the resources and facilities needed to manage water, as well as the natural sources of water themselves. It has been estimated that a billion people lack access to potable water, and 2.4 billion lack access to the basic sanitation that is necessary for basic water usage.

In the case of the domestic shortage of water, which is small in demand relative to commercial uses of water, the problem is not so much that there are no water resources, but that those without water lack the political and financial capital to access that water. Granted, natural forces do play a role. In regions of need, terrestrial water resources may be distributed quite unevenly, leaving large populations at great distances without such sources, and rainwater may fall only sporadically throughout the course of a given year. In such regions, making water accessible is costlier and may require considerable investment in infrastructure.

I would like to propose a radical measure to address water shortage, especially in African countries. I suggest that multinational soft drink companies be given incentives to enter the countries afflicted by water shortage and invest in the development of the water infrastructure. This proposal is not as absurd as it may first sound. First of all, most major soft drink companies nowadays are also in the business of selling bottled water; they have expertise in purification and other relevant knowledge areas. Second, the soft drink industry is among the very first industries to penetrate and profit in emerging markets, because of the general appeal and low price of their product. Moreover, the more a given economy develops, the more that particular soft drink provider stands to profit. In other words, soft drink companies have both the capability to help and some interest to operate in a given country that needs assistance.

You may object that soft drink companies already would have entered a country to help if they had seen benefit in doing so. That critique may be true, but it does not necessarily mean that a company could not be driven to action through direct financial incentives, partial ownership of constructed infrastructure, assistance from international organizations and pressure from more developed neighboring countries in which that company already has an entrenched interest. Moreover, to the criticism that infrastructure building is the work of governments, not companies, there is a valid response: partnerships between governments and corporations have thrived for centuries in major projects and could benefit both the people and involved corporations in this case, as well.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to propose

A. a cheaper way to develop water infrastructure
B. a way to address water scarcity that benefits both people and corporations
C. direct financial incentives to commercial bottling operations
D. a new system for partnerships between government and corporations
E. an alternative to traditional efforts to combat water scarcity

2. The author implies that all of the following statements about water scarcity are true EXCEPT

A. the scarcity of domestic drinking water is not primarily due to insufficient quantities of water
B. addressing water scarcity potentially has business value
C. lack of purification contributes to the problem of water scarcity
D. addressing water scarcity in a country would help its economy develop
E. in some areas, the business of providing drinkable water would benefit soft drink companies more than that of selling soft drinks

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements would best explain why local governments alone cannot address water scarcity?

A. Local governments are unwilling to give up partial ownership of water infrastructure.
B. Local laws inhibit the construction of water infrastructure.
C. Transporting unevenly distributed water would require the cooperation of neighboring countries that have strained relations.
D. Local governments lack expertise in purification and other relevant knowledge areas.
E. Local governments, to the extent they have sufficient political capital to build water infrastructure, lack sufficient financial capital.