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Oregon Territory

March 24, 2006 — Who Owns Water?

part one part two

download links: part one | part two

Commercialization of water supplies around the world - from the privatization of municipal water to corporations like Vivendi Universal and Suez in France who deliver freshwater for profit to millions of people in hundreds of countries—is on the rise.

Twenty years ago, many people laughed at the idea of purchasing water in a bottle. These days, on planes, in restaurants, everybody drinks bottled water provided by companies such as Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The bottled water corporations make billions each year in profits. Meanwhile, most of the plastic bottles end up as pollution.

Clean, non-polluted fresh water is becoming so rare that some proposed projects suggest reversing the flow of Canada’s northern rivers!

Our guest this week believes the commodification of water is wrong—ethically, environmentally and socially. She’ll discuss how we got to this point, and offer some alternatives to a world where everything—including water—is a commodity.

Host: Christy George

Guest: Maude Barlow, national chairperson of The Council of Canadians, a nonpartisan group working against global trends in privatization and deregulation.

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