Out of sight of most Americans, global corporations like Nestlé, Suez, and Veolia are rapidly buying up our local water sources—lakes, streams, and springs—and taking control of public water services. In their drive to privatize and commodify water, they have manipulated and bought politicians, clinched backroom deals, and subverted the democratic process by trying to deny citizens a voice in fundamental decisions about their most essential public resource. The authors' PBS documentary Thirst showed how communities around the world are resisting the privatization and commodification of water. Thirst, the book, picks up where the documentary left off, revealing the emergence of controversial new water wars in the United States and showing how communities here are fighting this battle, often against companies headquartered overseas.
Read a review...http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/RVGS9OHPKT1.DTL
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An Uncle Tom's Cabin for Power Grabs
Give this book all the stars available. It is fascinating and informative, and for me life changing!
I am a seventy-two year old retired school teacher who lives in the woods in rural Skagit County, Washington. I am also an avid reader and very concerned about water.
The book "Thirst:Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water" has become my version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. I am carrying "Thirst" around in my purse and requesting that my friends, neighbors, elected officials, and even strangers read footnote 11 for Chapter One on page 216.
International corporations are no longer a distant threat. They are now in my backyard. The Macquarie Bank of Australia listed in the footnote has made a bid to purchase our electric utility company, Puget Power/Puget Sound Energy (PP/PSE). The purchase will include two dams on the Baker River fifteen miles west of where I live on the Skagit River, the second largest river in the state of Washington. The town of Concrete where one of the dams is located is already selling its water for bottling. This has to be tempting to the thirsty Australians.
Could this looming battle be a sequel to Thirst? Macquarie's reach is like a spreading fungus: power companies, toll roads, water and who knows what else.
Thank you to the authors, Alan Snitow, Deborah Kaufman & Michael Fox, for your excellent book. My life would be a lot simpler if I had never read it, but I' m glad I did. It sure has made things interesting around here.
[Thursday, April 10, 2008]
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Real World Organizing
Today's news told of anti-epileptics, sex hormones, medications, antibiotics and a mood stabilizer found in US drinking water. What that has to do with water privatization isn't clear. But the detailed, in-depth scenarios in "Thirst" have a lot to do with activism to defend a vital resource that ought to be part of the public commons, not part of a Wall Street bottom line. "Thirst" tells the stories of people from all walks of life who have have banded together to fight privatization of their water. There's much to be learned from their experiences, perspectives, mistakes and triumphs. "Thirst" documents a few important battles in an on-going fight and offers valuable insights into the delicate art of community organizing.
[Tuesday, March 25, 2008]
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Embarassingly slanted
A critical subject that needs objective analysis and decision making not just "Corporations Bad, People Power Good". Water could be the defining commodity of the next century and we need to take a very hard look at the ideas and technology being applied today if we are to avoid peak water shortly after peak oil.
[Monday, January 28, 2008]
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