Blue Gold: World Water Wars (Review and Action Plan)

Recently, we had the incredible opportunity to watch an empowering documentary about the quickly depleting fresh water supply of the world, called Blue Gold: World Water Wars.

This documentary provides moving interviews with leading organizers and researchers involved in examining and improving the fresh water situation facing the world. By illuminating the reality of this water crisis as it already exists in other nations, a frightening message is made clear...We NEED to become aware and take action. Water is the most essential element that sustains life and the way we live our lives as consumers is poisoning it.

The movie also addresses how the rapidly spreading privatization of water poses a very real threat. Protected by their legal right to act as an "Individual", corporations are pumping public water supplies, bottling it, and shipping it to other locations for a profit. This not only decreases the availability of water to the local citizens, it also removes the water from it's local ecosystem - increasing desertization in the area. Furthermore, by allowing the privatization of a diminishing vital resource, we are allowing the inevitable control and marketing for sale of that resource. It isn't difficult to imagine a future where the issues surrounding the distribution of water parallel the issues that today surround that of the world's oil.

The movie and website encourage awareness and action that we all can take in order to shift this future. It proposes the following five methods for us all to accomplish this.

*D.r.e.e.m. Reality commits to take these actions and maintain a focused intention to educate ourselves and others about more local and global sustainability, concerning water and other vital resources. *


Blue Gold: World Water Wars - Action Plan

1.What watershed do you live in?

You know your state, city, street, and country. Know the name of the waterhole which you depend on for survival. How can you protect it if you don't know it?

Take Action:

1. In the USA, click here to find your watershed based on your zip code.
2. All other countries, click here to find your watershed.

2. Who owns your water? Are they taking care of it?

Take Action:

1. Call your Water Utility (phone number on your water bill). Ask them if they are run by the government or a private company. If the later, ask who?
2. Is your water provider properly taking care of your water? Food & Water Watch can tell you.

3. Take control of your water.

Take Action:

1. If your water utility is privately owned, organize your community to stop it. Contact one of the organizations listed in #4 for guidance or aid on how best to organize your community action. As "Blue Gold" demonstrates, many others have already organized and are fighting the battle. Get in touch with them and learn from them.
2. Ask the organizations if there are already local groups in existence. If so, join them.
3. Write your local government to protect the public water and maintain control of it for the public.
4. Read the rest of this Action Plan site for specific guidance on each area of the crisis.

4. As an individual, you can only fight local battles. Support the below organizations who are fighting the global battles to change the laws and keep water a human right.

Take Action:

1. Contact the organizations below.
2. Offer your support financially, through volunteer work, and by signing the campaign petitions.
3. Ask them for recommendations of local organizations you can join.

• Food & Water Watch
• Council of Canadians
• Polaris Institute
• People and Water
• Flow For Water
• Ryan's Well
• Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation
• River Alliance of Wisconsin
• Save Our Groundwater
• FogQuest
• Potters For Peace
• France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand
• Navdanya
• Anti-Privatization Forum in Johannesburg
• Controlled Environment Agriculture Center
• One Drop Foundation
• Better Globe
• Global Water

5. Learn about the world water crisis and history of water conflicts.

Knowledge is power.

Take Action:

1. Read Blue Gold Water News daily
2. BBC Water Crisis site
3. Pacific Institute Water Conflict map
4. UN Water Statistics

~Dani

IBikeFresno.org

Always on the look out for projects to evolve our selves, the organization, the world, and the universe we have proudly joined IBikeFresno.org in their "Million Mile Challenge" for May - bike month!

Not only do we make a significant effort to ride our bikes - to the store, to work, to the park, etc. We also just made a 150 mile bike ride from Fresno to Santa Cruz! It took us 4 days and 3 nights and we went up over Pacheco and Hecker Pass along Hwy 152. What an amazing adventure and trial of heart, body, and soul!

So...

The Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, together with the City of Fresno, have joined forces to enact the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) to make the city a more bike-friendly community. IBikeFresno.org is the resource center for cyclist to find out about community biking activities, convenient routes, business contacts, and of course to bring everyone together for health and environmental awareness.

May's Million Mile Challenge intends " to log a million collective miles in the month of May and we need your help.We don’t really care why you ride, we just want you to get out there and pedal. Commute to work. Run an errand. Take the family to the park. Train for a race. Run the dog. Cruise around town. Every time you take a bike ride, come back to I Bike Fresno and log your miles. By using the green colored box on the right you can set up an account and start logging those miles starting from May 1^st."

We openly invite and encourage all of our Directors, friends, family, and fellow Fresno-ians to join IBikeFresno.org's Million Mile Challenge. When you sign up, make sure to join the D.r.e.e.m. Reality Team!

Get out there and bike for your, mine, and the world's health!

But let's keep going after May!

~Dani