Blue Gold: World Water Wars
Starts out with an account of a man who survived without water for seven days. (1906 about Pablo Valencia)
- This film is not about the Environment, it is about saving ourselves.
Jim Olson— Environmental Attorney
When we search for life on other planets- the fist thing we look for is water… Ancient Societies molded life around water (Egyptians & Romans)
Then Talks about THE CRISIS
- In Kenya, Global Crisis Forum:
Maude Barlow (Co-Author “Blue-Gold” & National Chairperson The Council of Canadians)— It wasn’t supposed to happen— As we were taught
3% of the Earth’s Water is Freshwater.
Cut Scene to Mexico/ USA border: Most contaminated River in USA is along the border
Octavio Rosas Landa (Centro De Analisis Social, Information Y Formacion Popular, AC (CASIFOP)) 25,000 L per Second of human Waste flow in this river- even human remains, and dead animals. Then this water goes to the crops.
Contamination is causing Cholera and water diseases= killing more children than any
Wetlands would naturally filter the contaminants out - However »
We are now depleting and mining the water faster than groundwater can replenish itself. This is an URGENT CONCERN.
Robert Glennon (Author “Water Follies”) - Ubar, in Southern Oman… There was a Civilization that just disappeared. Finally figured out it was because the civilization was offsetting the watertable while pumping groundwater. The ground Collapsed!

We now pump appox. 30 BILLION GALLONS of groundwater Every Day.
Agricultural Industry has Unlimited rights to water. However Farmers can also lose water rights if they stop using the aquifer. So they Pump more. »



Some water returns to the water table- but most of it doesn’t. This is a problem.
Soil is eroding- and hardening- draining the land of it’s moisture and life. Deforestation is also a huge contributor.The Trees retain water.
Dr. Michal Kravcik ( Hydrologist- Director NGO People and Water) Crust of the soil is changing.
Vandana Shiva (Author “Water Wars”, Physicist, Ecologist, Activist)
We have replaced permeable ground with sidewalks… This started after WW2. In 50 Years there will most likely be a collapse in the world’s water Resources.
Dr. Peter Warshall ( Environmental practice consultant)
Dams Have changed the Water system…
- This Quest to conquer nature. Over 50,000 Dams worldwide.
Helen Sarakinos( Dams Programs Manager of River Alliance of Wisconsin)
- The purpose of Rivers is to carry nutrients to the Sea. Critical to the Watershed. Leading to desertification.

A Dam is Choking the viens of the world and will cause a Massive Heart attack.
Renewable supply is in the Hydrological Cycle. What is that Renewable supply.
THE POLITICS!!! (water is becoming a privatized product)
- Wenonah Hauter (Executive Director of Food and Water Watch)- Margaret Thatcher said water is privatized. UN named water as a good.
The World Bank worked their way into water.
WTO- and the QUAD- this is the new colonialism.
Olivier Hoedmann (Corporate Europe Observatory, CEO)
All of these Privatized Water companies- Buy the water rights to an area. Algos De Balboa=Suez, Aquas De Tunari= Bechtel, Vivendi=Veolia, RWE/Thames, Perrier=NESTLE. They use different names because of their bad record… they Advertise….
Problems in Atlanta…. with Water.
French water has been widely privatized- except for in a few cities such as Grenoble, France. They are able to maintain the water supply with No problem- at low costs for over a century. SUEZ bribed the city Mayor!
Ric Davidge (Former Director of Water of Alaska under Ronald Reagan/ CEO of World Water SA focusing on Bulk water sales and exports)
Into Mexico City… (Vincente Fox- former Prez of Mexico, was the general manager for CocaCola latin america sector)
Dasani= Coke … Coke colonizes the world »

PROOF that Coca Cola make money off of water»

THE only way to ensure that you have water is to hunt and get it yourself. Now they are looking toward DeSalination
DeSalination = Taking the salt out of water.
Jack Simes (external coordination Manager, Yuma Arizona Bureau of Reclamation & DeSalination Plant)
Only rich countries can do this…
87 corporations building DeSal plants. And the biggest one of all is GE»


Water is the Hottest Property
Jon Steinhaus ( VP of Waterkeepers of Wisconsin) Preventing Nestle from opening a bottling plant. Nestlie moved to Michigan. Then got sued by the Citizens of Michigan.
BOTTLED WATER Takes the ecology away from area. When you take water out of it’s natural system …. and it doesn’t come back- it depletes from the community. LAWS must be changed.
Ecosystem is disrupted! Diversity is Disrupted!
In Kenya- One of the driest places on earth- They grow and export Roses.
Joan Thorpe Root (Documentarian and Activist) Was Murdered.
In Ghana:
Al- Hassan Adam ( Ghana coalition Against the Privatization of Water) They are forced to buy water through the pumps. They are metered, and at an expensive rate. So they go to the river infested with cholera.
Virginia Setshedi (Founder of Anti-Privatisation Forum in Johannesburg)
They are taking away the Humaneness. A shack caught on fire- and two girls died because they did not have water tokens to put the fire out)
Ryan Hreljac (founder Ryan’s Well Foundation)
Developing countries are forced to grow cash crops, tea/ Coffee.
Dr George Morara Ogendi (Professor of environmental Geology, Arkansas State University)
The WTO has forced developing countries to remove tariffs on exports- which makes it hard to get out of debt… etc.
» American corporations really make money off of developing countries.

THE WATER WARS
- the Chinese symbol for control also means water.
- Southern CALIFORNIA… LA is part of a hydraulic system.
Water WARS—- Water of Kavery River, India… The farmers needed the water on both sides of the river. So many water wars are presented as religious conflicts. But in reality it is resources that are precious.
» Brazil Reserves.

Dr. Rosinjha (Congressman of Curtiba, Brazil) American Military was stationed in Paraguay.
THE WAY FORWARD
- The Bolivian Gov. Kicked Betchel out the county.
To revitalize the groundwater by digging holes ! So easy. and Not depleting it again!
And fixing cement/asphalt roads with porous ones that enable groundwater to exist. »

Bolinas, California limited the growth of the city to the water shed.
In Uruguay, They changed the constitution because privatized water was overpriced and contaminated. This is what needs to happen. The Right to water and Air must be Added to the Constitution.